1y ago

Advice needed about scanning photos, negatives and slides.

Hopeful this is the correct subreddit or someone would be willing to point me in the right direction:) I have 1,000’s of old photos, slides and negatives that need to be scanned for prosperity. The task will be incredible daunting so I’d like advice on a scanner. My goals are firstly quality images as well as ease of use and workload. The images range mostly from the 1930’s-early 2000’s. I want to do the job “right” the first time and willing to pay up to $3,000ish. Please help:)

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i think r/analogcommunity is better suited for this question. this sub cares about the file storage, but that sub cares about the image quality.

3000? Okay, ill do it for you for 3000. Little hint, ive done this exact thing you wanna do, last year, and ive done it with 20 bux. But you can still pay me 3000 i dont mind :)

r/analogcommunity is a good place to start
They might talk about DSLR scanning but unless you have such a camera and are interested in trying it you are best just sticking to a photo scanner plus software that will scan multiple slides at once.
They will probably recommend an Epson scanner but Canon make them also.
The software usually is supplied with the scanner and usually will scan several slides or negatives at once.
Because you have so many to scan you dont need to scan at too great a detail. The resolution of scanners are usually hyped up on the packaging, if you scan at a lower resolution to speed up scanning.
Prints can be scanned at 600 or 1200dpi as they are already quite large. Negatives and slides can be scanned at 2400 or 4800dpi, which will give decent speed plus a finer detail to allow them to be enlarged.
Over 4800dpi is not usually worth it as the hardware resolution of the scanner usually tops out at 4800 or 9600dpi.

I used to have a v850 Epson for scanning negatives.
Be aware that the amount of labour involved is staggering.
Your negatives will have dust on them even when cleaning them right before scanning. It’s a battle. Even with the software, removing dust only does a halfway decent job.
To scan negatives properly you are going to want to wet mount them which will give you the best result outside a lab.
Keep in mind you will also have to photoshop the colour/grading to your liking afterwards. The software can only get you closer to what you want from the photo.
If you have the time and inclination I’d say try it out and decide if it’s a project worth your time.
You may be better off scanning already existing prints, or just having a facility do a professional scan of those super important photos you really want done right.

I became the family photo and negative custodian a few years back. It was a mix of 126, 120, 110, APS, 35mm and various other formats. I bought a Plustek 8200i for the 35mm negatives and slides, which formed the majority of the collection, and an Epson V600 for the rest. I had to get some 3D printed holders for some of the odd sized negatives which was a pain back then but is far easier now.
I used (and still use ) the vuescan software as I found it easy to set up and I ended up with a fairly quick worflow. I scan the negatives at the highest resolution as TIFF and JPG and then upload downsized JPGs to Goolge albums for sharing with the family. The scanned images are stored on multiple hard drives and in the cloud. Negatives were stored in archival sheets in binders. Prints and the like went into acid free storage bags.
By far the hardest thing was to find the time and motivation to do all the scanning and all I can suggest there is to break it into manageable chunks and to work at your own pace. Oh and don't fall into the trap of post processing every image to perfection when you scan them in, you can do this or even rescan individual images later.

For speed and quality, I've had great luck with the fujitsu scansnap. Mine is much older. I'm not sure what types of improvements they've made (or have ruined). It was great for batch photos and documents. I have no experience with how it would do with slides or negatives, but for pictures, I think it was good.

Have you looked into local photography stores for scanning services? One near me offers the service which they do onsite. I don't know anything about it, but Scan my Photos has a package that will do about 11,000 photos for just under $1k. It really depends on if you'd rather spend money or time.

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