Slides and Transparencies to Digital

(Skip history and go directly to Slide Order Step One)

In photography, a reversal film is a still, positive image created on a transparent base using photochemical means. This reversal film is commonly known as slides or transparencies. Slides and transparencies can be thought of as the opposite of photographic negatives and prints.

The earliest practical color photography was the Autochrome process. This was an additive 'screenplate' method which produced a color slide, but was fairly dim. Additionally, the color resolution was limited by the fineness of the screen-plate.

The earliest practical method using a 'subtractive' method was the Kodachrome process. Kodachrome was the first commercially successful amateur color film, introduced in 1935 by Eastman Kodak. It produced much brighter color transparencies. It was initially offered in 16 mm format for motion pictures. 35 mm slides and 8 mm home movies followed in 1936. Originally used mainly for news reports, it gradually gained wider popularity. Some amateur photographers were using Kodachrome for family snapshots as early as 1940. Many utilized 35 mm roll film adapters with common 4″×5″ "press cameras." At this time, color print film had many shortcomings. The film was expensive, processing was difficult, and print life was short. Amateurs who could afford slide film and projection equipment used it extensively until about 1970 when color print film began to replace it.

To about 1995, color transparencies were the only photographic medium used for serious publishing. They were widely used for commercial and advertising photography, news reports, sports, stock photography, and nature photography. Digital media have since gradually replaced transparencies in many of these applications. Slides are still commonly used by artists when submitting their works to shows for judging, applying for solo exhibitions, applying to art schools, or for residencies (or the like) due to the perceived lack of color fidelity in digital media.

Many people still have slides at their homes. Since the development of digital media and digital photography, slides and transparencies can now be digitized. By digitizing your slides, your slides will be preserved and organized. You can store thousands of images on a handful of CDs or DVDs organizing them in small binders with reference sheets to help you find specific images easily and quickly. Additionally, these digital files will not deteriorate over time as slides do.

There are many types of slides. We work with all of them. As long as your slides are mounted in 2" slide mounts, our pricing is the same for all of them. If we must mount your slides before scanning, we must charge a small fee for mounting.

Step One: Decide what you may want to do with the digital files and the scanning resolution you need.

A major consideration when planning your photographic slides to digital project is the resolution used to scan your originals. To choose the right resolution, you should consider the purpose for which you will use your digital image files.

If you plan to use your digital image files just for your computer, e-mail, or the web, 2000 dpi is appropriate for you. Additionally, if you plan to make prints that are the same size or smaller than the originals, 2000 dpi is also appropriate.

If you plan to make photo enlargements from your digital image files, a higher resolution is recommended. Refer to the chart below to help you select the proper resolution for you. *

* We can scan to 12800 dpi. If you wish to make a large print from your slide, please contact us for pricing.

Step Two: Decide the digital format output that will work best for your purposes.

When we scan your photographic slides to digital, we are creating digital image files. These files can be created in several formats. The two most common formats used for this purpose are JPEG and TIFF.

For most people, the JPEG format is appropriate. The files are smaller, commonly used, and easy to manipulate in most software.

If, however, you plan to edit your photos and re-save them, TIFF files may be right for you because there is no loss of quality due to compression when you re-save the files.

Step Three: Decide on which digital medium you want your files stored.

After we scan your photographic slides to high resolution digital image files, we offer two types of storage media, CDs or data DVDs.

CDs are appropriate for almost everyone. Most computers in use today have the ability to read CDs. Data DVDs hold nearly 7 times more files than CDs; however, not all computers have the ability to read Data DVDs. Data DVDs can not be viewed on your television using a DVD player.

Step Four: Estimate the pricing for your photographic slides to digital image project.

In order to serve the needs of all our customers, we offer two types of pricing for your photographic slides to digital image project. If you have a large number of slides to convert to digital, you will probably find our bulk pricing to be the easiest and most economical pricing method. If, on the other hand, you need only a few slides scanned to digital, our per slide pricing may be the right choice.

NOTE: There is no need to remove your slides from their carousels. We do not charge extra for working from your carousels.

PRICING AND SERVICES TO EXPECT WITH EVERY ORDER
Physical Cleaning with compressed air of your original media	INCLUDED
First Set of up to 3 CDs or DVDs	INCLUDED
Additional CDs or DVDs as needed to complete the order	$5.00/each
Auto cropping	INCLUDED
Auto color and contrast correction (does not include redeye removal)	INCLUDED
Auto file naming	INCLUDED
Electronic dust and scratch removal	INCLUDED
Slide Mounting	$.10/each slide
Additional full CD or DVD sets when ordered at the time of original purchase	$9.50/set
Book of Index Prints	$15.00
Return Shipping	$14.50/order

Step Five: Organize Your Photographic Slides to Digital Project

If you wish to edit the digital image files yourself or you just need your photographic slides scanned economically, package up your slides and send them to us. You will receive high quality digital image files on a CD or data DVD.

If, however, you are looking for a completely finished project when you receive your CD or data DVD, investing some time to organize your photographic slides to digital project will not only help assure the most pleasing results, but could also reduce the costs. NOTE: You do not need to remove your slides from their carousels. We do not charge extra for working from your carousels.

Step Six: Place Your Order, Package Your Slide to Digital Project, and Ship It to Us.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us. 1-888-384-6970 or 513-274-1144.

photo memories to digital

www.photo-memories-to-digital.com