Simply defined, a digital image is any image taken from a computer, scanner, or digital camera. Digital cameras create these images using a CCD chip, which is composed of many small light sensitive cells arranged to divide the pictures into rows and columns of smaller sub areas, and scanners function almost the same way. Slide scanners contain one row of light sensitive cells, and a motor that moves the row down the slide, creating columns that form the total image grid.
Why Is It Better To Scan Slides As Opposed To Scanning Prints?
Scanning film and film slides, generally speaking, produces higher quality images than simply scanning prints. The main reason for this is because scanning the film or slide is, in a sense, using the original image to make a copy, while an already developed print is more of a second generation copy, which will in turn produce a third generation copy once it is scanned.
Film also contains greater detail and contrast, since most film is capable of at least 3,000 dpi, compared to 300 dpi for color photo paper. A film scanner allows for enough quality image pixels to be scanned, as opposed to a standard type of scanner, and thus can produce more detailed, higher quality images, particularly when it comes to creating larger sized prints.
Scanning Slides
When it comes to your precious memories, it makes sense to trust a professional slide scanning service, but there may be times when you want to scan some of your slides on your own, and if so, here are some tips to help you insure optimal results:
1. Make sure that you own a printer with slide scanning ability, and if not, scanners can be purchased online or through office and electronics store.
2. Make sure that any software that was included with your scanner is installed, and that all of your electronic components have been properly calibrated. Keep in mind that scanning slides manually can take a long time, generally three to four minutes per slide.
3. Create a folder for each set of images that you want to scan. You can create folders based on category, occasion, the name of a person, or any other identifier you choose. Make sure that you have pressed the correct button for either color or black and white images, and be sure that you are scanning the correct side of the slide. This can be confusing, and depending on the slide scanner that you are using, paying attention to the orientation of the slide is one way to help make sure you are scanning correctly.
4. Carefully stack your slides on one side of your scanner, making sure not to stack them too close to the edge of your table or desk. With a flatbed scanner, it is usually possible to load multiple slides at once. With a specially designed film scanner, you will probably have to load and scan each slide one by one.
5. Always crop your photos before scanning, via your scanner preview mode. This is very important, since most people make the mistake of cropping their originals instead.
6. Enable Auto focus mode before scanning.
Keep in mind that slide scanning is an often complicated process and that it may take a few attempts before you are able to achieve optimal results.
