You can scan 35mm negatives with a flatbed scanner.
Even in the digital age, many reasons remain shooting 35mm film -- such as its soft grain and high resolution. However, it can be frustrating to not have copies available when you want to share photos with family and friends. And even if you no longer shoot film, you can scan your old 35mm negatives and save them as digital files on your computer before burning them to a CD. Once on a CD, you can share them with friends or family and easily make prints.
Instructions
1. Open the flatbed film scanner and remove the black protective sleeve. Spray the non-residue glass cleaner onto your lint free cloth and wipe down the scanner glass.
2. Buff out any smudges, streaks or fingerprints and be sure to remove any dust or hair. Cleaning the scanner glass will give you a clearer, cleaner image and save you valuable time in touch-up work after scanning.
3. Remove your negatives from the plastic sleeve, gripping the side edges, and wipe them free of any dust or hair with your orange antistatic cloth. Avoid touching the film emulsion - oils and dirt from your fingertips can degrade the image.
4. Take the 35mm negative carrier, provided with the scanner, and lift up the frame. Insert each negative one at a time, emulsion side (shiny side) up, sliding the edge of the negative into the slots provided on the carrier. Once the negative is securely in place, snap the frame closed and insert the negative carrier into the guide on the scanner glass.
5. Open the scanning software that comes with film scanner and press the preview button. Use the selection tool to select the frames you want to scan then choose "35mm sleeve" as your format. Choose "Color Negatives" for color film, "Monochrome Negatives" for black and white film and "Color Positives" for slide film.
6. Select your desired dpi from the drop down menu; the scanning software will show you the image output size for each resolution based on your preview area. Make adjustments to color, brightness, contrast and exposure then press the "Scan" button.
7. Create a folder on your desktop for your scanned images. When you save your images, use a name related to your subject matter and sequential numbers. For example: beach_01, beach_02, beach_03. This will help you identify your digital files easily.
8. Insert your blank CD into your CD/DVD drive and copy your folder of images by dragging the folder in your Finder or Explorer window and dropping onto the blank disc.
9. Press the "Burn" button -- typically located on the top right-hand side of your Finder or Explorer window. This should prompt a dialogue box that will ask you to name your disk and select a writing speed. Type in a name and choose the speed you want, then you're done!
Tags: scanner glass, digital files, dust hair, Explorer window, film scanner, Finder Explorer, Finder Explorer window