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Home > News > How To Scan and Convert Film Negatives to Digital for FREE!
geekbeattv--tipaday-008-scan-negatives--2012

How To Scan and Convert Film Negatives to Digital for FREE!

April 12, 2012 by Mark Zamora

Tip A Day #8

Many of us have film negatives lying around so here’s a quick and easy way to convert those to a usable digital format!

Convert Film to Digital

Requirements:

  • PC or Mac
  • Image Editing Software
  • Scanner
  • Thin, non-fibrous paper
  • Phone or Tablet

Step 1
Place film on scanner, shiny side down (aka emulsion side up.)

Step 2
Place thin paper on top of film.

Step 3
Place tablet/phone on brightest setting face down on paper over the film.
NOTE: For best results, use a blank website/app with a bright screen.

Step 4
Use favorite image editing software to scan.
This option is usually found within the File > Import option.

Scan as hi-res as possible for best results!
(Suggested: 1200 DPI)

Step 5
Don’t forget to invert the colors!

Enjoy your new high-res digital copy of your photos!
Thanks for checking out Tip a Day!

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Filed Under: News, Tutorial Tagged With: Free, how-to, photography, Tip a Day, tips

About Mark Zamora

works in the background for sites like GeekBeat.TV, WebBeat.TV, and One Man’s Blog. He is currently attending the University of Texas at Dallas. He loves film, video games, music, animation, technology, and a good conversation with those interested in the same things so feel free to get in touch through the many available social networks.


Comments

  1. Lucio Campos says

    April 25, 2012 at 1:19 pm

    Great tip! now to dig out some old negatives!!

  2. john conway says

    April 21, 2012 at 9:04 pm

    Thanks Mark for this piece. I come from a large family that has always had one photographer. We have tons of black and white negs from 4X5 to 35 mm. This wonderful short tutorial will have a lasting ripple effect for a long long time. Thank you sooooooo much

  3. Adam says

    April 17, 2012 at 11:44 am

    Nice creative solution. I wonder if this solution would work for slides. I have many of them and wish to have them converted to a digital image. I’ve tried to look at purchasing a flat bed scanner that supports slides but unfortunately I’ve had great difficulty locating a flat bed scanner that states this feature. It was mentioned in the past but since the all-in-one printers, quality and features have decreased.

    • Mark Zamora says

      April 17, 2012 at 11:48 am

      From what I’ve gathered, it should work just fine on slides! As long as you’re careful this in no way harms your stuff so it’s worth a shot! 🙂

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