Archive for February, 2010

Slide Scanning Services – Getting Those 35mm Slides Converted

Posted in Uncategorized on February 17, 2010 by slidescanner09

Technology has taken over virtually every aspect of what would otherwise be considered mundane tasks . Sometimes, this ends up meaning you must change the way you do certain things. When it comes to pictures, the emergence of digital technology has seen more and more people towards converting their photo slides into digital images . This shows why there has been an increased demand for slide scanning services. Older images on slides can now be scanned and conveniently stored on a DVD or CD keeping them preserved for the years to come.

35 mm slides carry two very important attributes : they often carry precious information and memories , and are also very delicate . Because it is too tough to reenact the same scene and have another photo take , it is so important that you make a careful choice of the slide scanning services company to use. Go with reputable providers and have a record that shows they take special care in how they handle slides as they are scanned.

So what processes used in the scanning on slides ? First of all , the slides are put on a film carrier which is attached to the scanner . Film carriers come in various sizes with some meant for one slide while others are able to simultaneously hold several slides. During scanning this gives some stability to the slides as well as allowing slides to be well aligned during the scanning . The special carriers are made from either plastic and metal in most cases.

A light source is a part of each scanner which may either be a fluorescent or LED light. Scanners that have fluorescent bulbs in them need to be warmed first before the scanning begins . If scanning is done right after this bulb is turned on , results will be of low quality because the light levels vary. However , the warming up period for fluorescent bulbs can be reduced by using a cold cathode lamp with this bulb . The source of light is usually placed in an opposite direction from the sensor to make sure the slide is reached .

Another part of the slide scanning equipment hat is important is the special sensor which is the engine of this process . The sensor is the part responsible for the critical process of converting the light that passes through it and making it a digital format. The carrier is attached to a special stepping motor letting the slides move over the sensor and light source at a constant pace . It is then that the sensor , that has many light diodes , makes digital signals from the captured light waves .

Depending on your preference , the slide scanning services provider then puts these images on computers where you can have it saved on a DVD, USB, or a CD. There are different formats the images can be saved as including JPEG or TIF files . One of the other strong points of services that provide slide scanning is that images are saved with high resolution which helps them maintain their quality.