Old 35mm photographic slides will fade and become brittle in time. A scanner connected to a computer allows you to capture the images on old slides, and digitize and store them on a computer for printing. Most flatbed scanners are equipped with a special attachment on the inside lid for holding a slide in its original cardboard mount. If your scanner model doesn't have a slide adapter, special templates are available for arranging multiple slides on the scanner. Digital imaging software is used to clean up the scanned photo, adjusting color, removing scratches and even taking away red-eye problems caused by flash photography.
Instructions
1. Blast the slide with a few bursts of compressed air to remove dust and dirt specks that can become magnified in a printed picture.
2. Insert the slide into the adapter on the inside lid of the flatbed scanner. The adapter has a groove on each side the width of a standard 35 mm slide in its mount. The slide slips into the grooves, which hold it flat and level.
If your scanner is not equipped with an adapter, buy an adapter or plastic template that holds multiple slides for scanning all at once.
3. Close the scanner lid and press the "Power" or "On" button. Power on the computer and printer.
4. Press the "Scan" button to scan and transfer the image on the slide to the computer. Your scanner software should launch automatically on the computer when the "Scan" button is pressed.
5. Check the slide image on the computer monitor for color quality, blemishes, scratches or other problems. Use digital imaging software such as Adobe Photoshop to adjust the color, crop and adjust the image size, cover up scratches and remove other imperfections.
6. Check the size of your photo printing paper and adjust the image to fit. For example, if making 5x7 inch prints, click the "Image" tab at the top of the screen displaying the scanned file, then choose "Image Size". Enter the desired dimensions in the Width and Height boxes as 5 and 7 (inches), or the reverse depending upon the image orientation, then click "OK".
7. Click the "File" button in the top left-hand corner of the screen with the scanned photo on display, then choose "Print" from the drop-down menu.
8. Select a printer to use if more than one is connected to the computer. Load the printer with your photo printing paper. Click "OK". A print of the scanned image should emerge from the printer in a few minutes, depending upon the speed of the printer.
Tags: adjust image, connected computer, depending upon, equipped with, imaging software, multiple slides, photo printing