How to Convert Photo Slides to Digital Media
- 1). Install a digital scanner capable of reading 35 mm scans according to the device's instructions. The options for scanners with these capabilities will vary widely in format, quality and costs, so be sure to research your scanner purchase prior to selecting the device and be sure to stay within your budget and your digital image needs. For example, a professional photographer converting ten years worth of slide photography to a digital archive will need a high quality film scanner that uses a high contrast ratio to capture the proper colors, has slide adapters and scans at high resolution. This equipment creates a professional quality image scan. If you simply have a large volume of old family photos in a slide format and wish to digitize them for future generations, the high contrast ratios and large DPIs will not be as important, so a cheaper, multipurpose scanner that accepts slide film may better fit your needs. Several mid-range scanners are available that will scan paper documents and artwork and utilize a special 35 mm photo slide adapter to scan your media.
- 2). Open a digital editing software program, such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel's Paintshop Photo Pro and go to the "File" > "Import" and select the import device which is connected to your computer.
- 3). Select the proper settings for the desired output of the digital image, focusing on output size and resolution. For example, if you are converting slides to digital images in the hopes of printing large format prints for a gallery exhibit, you would select an image resolution of 600-2400 DPI or higher and you would use an uncompressed image file setting, such as a TIFF, to maintain the highest quality scan. This step will vary based on the scanner software and your editing software. Higher quality scans take much longer to create.
- 4). Set the scanner to "Reflective" when scanning photographic slides. A reflective scan means the scanner is looking at a positive image and will not reverse the image upon scanning it, as the program would for a negative scan.
- 5). Follow the scanning dialog boxes and save your images to the proper file directories on your computer's hard drive.
- 6). Transfer your images to an external hard drive for backup once the slides have been converted to a digital format. Most computer operating systems will allow you to simply drag and drop the files to your external hard drive or use a Copy/Paste method of transfer. High resolution image files can easily take up 50 megabytes of space or more, before editing, so be sure you have adequate disc space prior to beginning the scanning process. Archive your scans on external drives and on remote internet servers in case your original computer crashes and data is lost.
- 7). Use an easy to understand archival folder structure and label the images in a logical manner that reflects their original photo slides. For example, you may group the images in a folder by subject or location, then use additional sub-folders for separate dates of when images were taken and use digital file names which reflect the date and subject manner. Using a powerful archival software program, such as Apple's Aperture or Adobe's Lightroom is also an excellent idea if your archive is large and you will be working with these digital images often.
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