Scanning Slides and Negatives
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But don't let this dissuade you from scanning a matte print. It's just that you'll probably need to sharpen it a bit more in your image processing software after the scan is done.
Start by cleaning the glass surface of your scanner. These things tend to collect dust and, especially, fingerprints, very easily. Use a regular glass cleaner and a soft,lint-free cloth. Be sure to allow the surface to dry thoroughly before you lay a print down on it.
Put the print face down on the glass and make sure the edge of the image - not just the paper - is parallel with the edge of the scanner plate.
Usually, you can run a scanner either with the software that came with it or through an image editing program like Photoshop. If you're going to use the scanner's software, launch it now. With Photoshop, go to "Import" in the File menu, choose your scanner (there are probably a couple of other import options here so be sure to click on the correct one).
Now you're ready.
Begin with a Preview. Here's where you'll see a "rough draft" of the entire scanner plate. If you see that your print isn't aligned correctly, straighten it and do another preview.
Since the Preview scans the entire plate you'll need to select the area you want to scan. You'll do this by dragging the cursor from one corner of the picture to another while holding down the mouse button. You can select an entire image or any portion of it you choose. But remember, the smaller a section is, the larger (i.e. higher resolution) you'll need to make the scan.
Look at the menu of choices your scanner offers relative to image size, resolution, whether the image is color or black & white, etc. Adjust the resolution and image size.
For a scan you intend to print, choose a resolution that will render an image of 300 ppi (pixels per inch) at your target size.
Example: You have a 4x6 inch print to scan. But you want to make an 8x10 print.You can set this up one of two ways:1. Scan the image at 600 ppi (twice the resolution of your desired final print), or2. Scan at 300 ppi and set the output to 200% of the original.
SIDEBAR
If you choose option #1 you will realize that a 4x6 print being scanned does not translate into an 8x10 print. The ratios are wrong. So a 4x6 will translate into an 8x12. That means that somewhere along the way you'll have to decide where to crop in order to get your final print size.
I know this sounds very elementary for anyone who knows even a little bit about mathematics. But, believe me, I've had to explain this to more than one or two "professional" photographers who absolutely insist that I scan their image "full frame" (from either a 4x6 print or a 35mm negative) and then make an 8x10 out of it so that they can fit the print into the precut mat they've already bought and are intending to sell.
For scans that you intend to use on the internet, the resolution and file size can be smaller. So, in this case, scan so that your longest side is about 640 pixels. You may scale it down even more later on.
Use Auto Exposure and the scanner's default color settings. You may want to experiment with these later, but for now, trust that the scanner and software probably know a little more about this than you do.
I don't recommend that you mess around much with brightness and contrast controls now unless it's absolutely necessary. These are adjustments that can be handled more accurately and more easily later in Photoshop.
Now - finally! - you're ready to hit the scan button. Once the scan is complete you'll see the image pop up in another window (usually behind the scanner window).
If this is the only scan you're doing right now, quit the scanner software and save the new file. My best recommendation is to save it as a TIFF or PSD (Photoshop) file rather than a JPG.
If you haven't already done so, please refer back to my page on Scanning (Here) to understand the differences between scanning slides and negs on either a flatbed or a dedicated scanner.
The first thing to do is make sure the film is clean. (Remember: you're about to translate a very small image into a much larger image. So every dust spot is going to look like a boulder unless the film is spotless!) Use canned air as your first line of defense. (Careful not to let the propellant hit the film!) If necessary, you may also use a static cloth to wipe the film gently (Pick one up at your camera store). If your film is really dirty - with, perhaps, mold stains and other "guanigoobers" on it - use a professional grade film cleaner and lint-free "wipes" which you can also get at your local photo store.
All film has two sides: one of them looks slightly "textured." That texture indicates the "emulsion" side of the film or slide. So when you insert your film into the scanner be sure that the emulsion side is facing toward the light source.
Hold the film at an angle to a strong light source so that you can see light reflected on the surface. Then you'll be able to tell easily which side is which.
Once you've inserted the slide or film into the carrier of your scanner select the film "type" from the menu. This will probably say something like Color Negative, Black & White Negative, Transparency (slide), etc.
Then hit "Preview," just as you would with a print scan, explained above.
Adjust the scanner resolution based on the final use of the image. For web scans choose 640x480 pixels (or thereabouts).
For a scan to print you have two choices:1. Multiply the print size by 300 (your target printing resolution) to find out the number of pixels, or2. Choose the highest possible resolution your scanner can make (My Nikon 4000 dedicated scanner has a maximum resolution of 4000 ppi, which translated into an 12x18 print at 300 ppi).
By choosing option #2, you're getting as much resolution as your scanner can offer, and you can scale the saved image down as needed later while preserving the maximum amount of information.
(Okay, if you've already read the print scanning information above, you're going to notice that what follows is, word-for-word, identical to what I said up there.)
Use Auto Exposure and the scanner's default color settings. You may want to experiment with these later, but for now, trust that the scanner and software probably know a little more about this than you do.
I don't recommend that you mess around much with brightness and contrast controls now unless it's absolutely necessary. These are adjustments that can be handled more accurately and more easily later in Photoshop.
Now - finally! - you're ready to hit the scan button. (Be patient. Film and slide scanning takes a while) Once the scan is complete you'll see the image pop up in another window (usually behind the scanner window).
If this is the only scan you're doing right now, quit the scanner software and save the new file. My best recommendation is to save it as a TIFF or PSD (Photoshop) file rather than a JPG.
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