Photos & slides FAQs

Why should I have my 35mm slides scanned to a DVD or CD?

We all know what a hassle it is to set up a projector (if you are even lucky enough to have one!) and a screen, find a dark room, and a big enough space to view your slides.

Let Video Duplicators scan your 35mm slides and put them on a DVD or data CD. Your images are encoded into DVD video and will play in any compatible DVD computer drive or stand-alone DVD player or as JPEGs onto CD/DVD to view in your computer. Enjoy watching your images with family and friends on your television in the comfort of your family room or e-mailing your images to friends and family.

A CD is also a great way to store and preserve your 35mm images.

How does Video Duplicators scan my 35mm Slides?

We  will scan your 35mm slides with our state of the art scanner, the Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 ED. This scanner can scan up to 4000 DPI and provides superior results. Its use of LED light sources and optical glass allow for world-class results. This scanner incorporates Applied Science Fiction's Digital ICE 3 TM image enhancement technology. The Digital ICE software reads the surface of the slide for defects (fingerprints, minor scratches, dust, etc.) and then removes them prior to writing the image file. 

Can Video Duplicators improve the quality of my 35mm images?

We use state-of-the-art equipment to scan your 35mm slides. This assures that you will get the highest quality image available. We are able to improve upon the original quality of the image. Our software removes fingerprints, dust, and minor scratches. However, flaws such as blurriness, poor lighting, and major scratches cannot be undone.

How do I choose the resolution that is right for my images?

If you plan to print photos from your scanned images, remember that the resolution will determine the size of print you can produce without sacrificing quality. A higher resolution will allow you to print a larger photo size without losing the quality of the image.  If you try to print a larger size photo with insufficient dpi, you will suffer significant quality loss, as the lack of data will result in a more pixilated photo.

If you are interested in only viewing the images on a screen (such as a TV or PC screen) we recommend going with a lower dpi setting so that you will be working more efficiently with smaller file sizes.  Even at 1200 dpi, your screen can only utilize a fraction of the resulting file size.  Remember, file size matters when printing your images.