Scanning your negatives will help you save your memories. This can be a very time intensive process. If you choose to try to scan them yourself, I have listed some key points below. If this is more of a project than you have time to do, then there are people, like myself, that do this every day. Please contact me by email or phone for more information.
Negatives are scanned in the NEGATIVE mode.
Scanning you negatives will help you save your memories.
Negatives present a different problem. First you will need a scanner that is capable of scanning negatives. Negatives need a source of light that is above the film. When you place the film on the scanner glass, get it as straight as possible. Next, try to find a negative that has writing on it, such as a sigh or the name of an automobile. Scan the negative and look at the results. If it is backwards, flip the negative! If the negative is curled, use tape on the edged to hold it flat.
You will need to scan at a resolution that will give you acceptable results. Negatives should be scanned at 240 - 300 pixels per inch so that you can print them at the quality that you see them at right now. A 4 x 6 print would therefore be scanned at 1200 x 1800 pixels. If you send them to photo processing store, for example, they will produce a good quality 4 x 6 print. If I have a small print, I may scan at 600 pixels per inch so that I can double the size of the final print.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure that the glass of the scanner is clean. This will avoid having your fingerprints showing in your final images. Try to get the images as straight as possible.
When you scan, remember to name the files in a way that you will be able to find them after they are scanned. My scanning software allows me to number the files sequentially so I just name them "Scan-001", for example, and let the scanner assign the numbers.
As I scan images, I keep a log of the number and who is in the image. I use a spreadsheet and also make note of the city, state, date taken and the number of the disk that they will be stored on. This makes it very easy to find the images months later. I also make duplicate copies of the disks and store them in separate locations.
Once this work is completed, you need to find a safe storage location. If your number of disks is fairly small, a small, fireproof box or safe may be enough. The house of a relative may also a good solution.
The above instructions are very basic information. If you need more information, please feel free to contact me at n2toy@comcast.net and I will help you through the process.
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