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Its opening day! This is the second box in my voyage of discovery through boxes of memorabilia rescued from attics and closets. I didn't realize there were this many different types of slides! These are the first slides I've run across so I need to decide how I'm going to catalog, digitize and archive them.
I've tried to scan slides before with less than ideal results. Digital image processing services? These might be an excellent option for handling the slides. Digital image processing centers take the photographic materials you send (or hand deliver) and scan them for you. The originals are returned along with a digital copy of your photographs or slides. Different processing centers handle different media (slides, photographs, etc.) and offer different options for the size of the digital image. Images might be mailed to you on DVDs or hard drives or put online.
There are many different services and many reviews on the web including Mac World's "Outsource your Photo Scanning Projects." A few of the more popular services are: ScanDigital, Digital Pickle, ScanMyPhotos, Digital Scanning Services, ScanCafe, Lee Digital Scanning, FotoBridge, Larsen Digital Services, SlidestoDigital, DigMyPics.
Slides have many of the same archival storage requirements as photographs – about 70 degrees (cooler is better) and 30 percent relative humidity. They can be safely stored in carousels, polypropylene sleeves or slide boxes. All storage materials should be photo-safe. I’ve elected to store my slides in boxes since they will take less room, do not require upright storage like a binder and have passed the Photo Activity Test.
There are many different services and many reviews on the web including Mac World's "Outsource your Photo Scanning Projects." A few of the more popular services are: ScanDigital, Digital Pickle, ScanMyPhotos, Digital Scanning Services, ScanCafe, Lee Digital Scanning, FotoBridge, Larsen Digital Services, SlidestoDigital, DigMyPics.
Slides have many of the same archival storage requirements as photographs – about 70 degrees (cooler is better) and 30 percent relative humidity. They can be safely stored in carousels, polypropylene sleeves or slide boxes. All storage materials should be photo-safe. I’ve elected to store my slides in boxes since they will take less room, do not require upright storage like a binder and have passed the Photo Activity Test.
I'm left with two questions to explore further - slide sizes and digital imaging services. If you've ever used a digital imaging service, I'd love to learn about your experiences! Know of a great resource on the history of slides that include their sizes? Pass it along!
Sources:
Long, Jane S. and Richard W. Long. Caring for your Family Treasures. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2000.
Taylor, Maureen A. Preserving your Family Photographs. Charleston: Picture Perfect Press, 2010.
you say you scanned slides with less than ideal results. care to elaborate? i know i have and i was happy with the results. maybe the scanner needs to be upgraded?
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HUGZ
I must say it has been a few years. I've done some with both my HP flat bed and with a dedicated slide scanner (on loan).
ReplyDeleteThe HP flat bed scanner didn't do a very good job and was very slow to use. It would take years to scan the contents of the box. :)
The dedicated slide scanner did pretty good. But was also very slow. Both of these are 10+ year old technology so....
What scanner were you using?
mine dates back to 2006, so, it's not the most recent model, but it's an Epson Stylus RX620. I must say I am satisfied, whatever i put in there.
ReplyDeleteJust make sure you program the settings for optimum results. It made a difference for me when I tried printing stuff in the beginning...
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HUGZ
Thanks! I'll see if tinkering with the settings works on my scanner. Then I'll time how long it takes to make a scan and decide whether it would pay off to use a service vs. personal scanning.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely be scanning the odd sizes myself!
good luck to you. try increasing your pixels per inches. that will already be a good start. never settle for the default settings.
ReplyDelete:)~
HUGZ
I have an Epson Perfection V700 scanner which gives beautiful results.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the tips here and also all the private emails. The overwhelming response is that good scanning results are possible even with a conventional flat-bed with slide adapter. I'll have to play with the settings. Which way to go will likely be a time vs. money decision in the end.
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