Scanning

We offer a number of different scanning services.  These include scanning photographs, slides and negatives to digital format.  We also provide document scanning to image or PDF files with optional OCR for customers interested in reducing the burden of managing paper-based records.

Slide Scanning

As a point of reference, it is important to understand exactly how much data is contained in a standard 35mm slide. Determining how much data is contained in your average 35mm slide, many factors must be considered such as film brands, film speeds and the shooting conditions at the time the photo was taken. All of these factors determine "how much data" is actually contained in a particular 35mm side.

Because film is an analog medium, it is difficult to compare film to a digital scan resolution, however, it is generally accepted that a typical "good shot" would give you about 12 million quality pixels.  A "good shot" would consist of top quality film, top rated camera with a good quality lens, the subject in focus and ideal lighting conditions. There may be as few as 4 million pixels in a photo taken with a point and shoot or a camera with a poor lens. Further, if the camera was not held still, or the shot was taken in poor lighting conditions, the number will drop below 1-2 million pixels. Degradation over time further compounds the loss of quality contained in a slide.

The slide scans that we provide to you are at approximately 15 million pixels on a 35mm slide, and approximately 18 million pixels on a 40mm (127) slide at a color depth of not less than 16 bits.

Negative Scanning

Negative scanning follows the same rules as discussed in slide scanning.  They will be scanned at the same resolution and color depth as with scanned slides.

Photo Scanning

Printed photos contain far less information that what is found on slides or negatives due to a number of limitations of this medium. The medium and developing process limits the amount of usable information to be found on them.  It is for this reason that 1200dpi is considered to be able to obtain everything present on printed photos.  600dpi is our standard scanning resolution ideal for reprinting or presentation purposes.  1200dpi is perfect for archiving your memories, as this resolution would contain everything your photo has.

Post Processing on our Scanning Services

With our post processing options, we give you the customer the flexibility and power to decide how you want to receive your scanned images.  For an understanding of what the difference is between "Standard Post Processing" and "No Post Processing" please select the tab entitled "Scan Samples".  It is there where you'll see the difference between "No Post Processing" scans and "Standard Post Processing" scans.  It is further explained in the following two topics.

If you have any further questions, please contact us.

Standard Post Processing

If you've examined your old color slides, you may notice that some of them have lost much of their color, turning more sepia (muddy brown) than color. This is as a result of the dyes in the film breaking down and failing over the decades since they were used in your film. This effect is more pronounced in certain films than others. At this point however, all may not be lost.

Our scanning process involves utilizing post-process scanning software such as "Digital ICE", "Digital ROC" and "Digital GEM"

Digital ICE will automatically remove most surface defects such as dust and scratches from a scanned image.
Digital ROC will automatically preserve original colors from faded films.
Digital GEM will automatically analyze and remove digital film grain.

These three Kodak products work in concert with one another using standard settings to restore your color slides to the best of their ability. The results are quite dramatic, as a muddy brown faded slide can be brought back to a certain degree, removing the effect of time and restoring some of the color.

No Post Processing

Selecting "No Post Processing" will basically get you an exact digital copy of your slides, negatives and/or photos as they appear to the naked eye.  No corrections are applied if this is selected.

This option is only for those people who want to do all of their own post processing themselves. 

These people are handy with computers, own the correct software to manipulate digital photos and have the desire to optimize all of their scans themselves.  Those customers that choose this option, will receive unaltered raw scans of their supplied slides, negatives or photos in TIF format. 

No JPG images will be provided (as you receive with the standard post processing service), as the raw TIF files need to be post processed before they are usable.

Standard Post Processing .. or .. No Post Processing

In order to avoid confusion, please keep in mind that the decision you make affects your entire order.  If you choose "Standard Post Processing" it will apply to the entire order.

Standard Post Processing is the most commonly selected option amongst our customers.  The "No Post Processing" option is only for those with a deep interest and considerable skill in image manipulation.  Although the "No Post Processing" option is not a commonly utilized option, it is one that is not available anywhere else on the market of scanning and does have it's appeal to a narrow customer base.