"3 Mistakes To Avoid When Scanning Slides, Negatives, Photos"

Here Are Three Quick Mistakes To Avoid When Scanning Your Slide, Negative & Photo -- And What To Do About Them

Maybe like me you went out and bought the most expensive scanner you could afford.  You learned all the instructions-- how to setup your scanner, what resolution to use, and how to use Digital Ice.

But no matter what you try, you still get lousy slide, negative, and photo scans.  Why is that?  I have been through it too.  But I managed to figure out how to get great looking scans.  

I have been scanning for a living for 6 years now.  Looking back now, here are 3 major things I have learned...

1) Do Not Think Resolution Is A Measure Of Quality 

Do not confuse a high resolution for quality.  All resolution is bits and bytes.  If your negative is really dusty, your 4000 DPI scan is going to show all that dust.  If your 60 year old slide has faded colors, setting up your scanner at 4000 DPI is NOT going to brighten those faded colors.

So what can you do?  Well, like me and most people you may have used your scanner's editing features.  But that is where another problem lies.

2) Your Scanner Was Not Built To Edit Your Scans

Do NOT rely on your scanner to fix your scans.  The minute you press that Digital Ice button, your scanner is going to do something wonky with all those pixels.

You will get faces with detail missing.  Your colors might be a bit off (grass comes out blue). Or your digital images are too dark or bright.

If you are frustrated with scanning your family's originals, this is why.

Here is the thing.  Today most scanners can do 4000 DPI.  It does not matter if you have a $200 scanner or a $6000 scanner-- they all pretty much do the same thing, which is scan at high resolutions.

The scanner manufactures know this.  So to compete they add as many features as they can.  More features, means a higher price.  Granted, my Nikon 9000 does a good at editing some scans.  But it is not consistent enough.  I still get about half the scans looking lousy.

What now? What can you do if you cannot rely on your scanner's editing features?

3) Not Getting Help -- FREE Help

Here is how I scan all my customer's slides, negatives, and photos.  First I produce a "natural" scan.  This means NO editing features were touched.  It is just a straight, 4000 DPI scan.

Next I open the digital image in a program designed for editing photos.  Digital Ice cannot come close to what Photoshop or GIMP can do.

You Do Not Need An Expensive Scanner To Get Quality Slide, Negative, Photo Scans

Or Be A Graphic Designer To Get Quality Scans...

If you want to get quality scans right now, with the scanner you already have, then here is what you can do, check out...

Free Scanning Tips: A Non-Technical Guide On How To Scan Your Family's Slides, Negatives, Photos

You do not need an expensive scanner, and you do not have to be a graphic designer.  I will show you, in a step-by-step process, how to properly scan your originals.

I will also be putting a lot more scanning tips, tricks and secrets... so stay tuned.

Good luck with your home scanning project!

This is Konrad,
HowToScan.ca