Have film or photo you would like to digitize and save on CD or USB medium?  No problem.  

What scanning resolution do I need?

It depends on what your budget will allow and what you intend to do with the scanned images that we create for you.

For slide and negative scans:

Customers who simply want to digitize their family’s slide collection at the lowest possible cost opt for the 2000 dpi scan. Professionals and serious amateurs usually opt for 4000 dpi. Everyone else falls in the middle at 3000 dpi. If you want to view your images on your PC or a DVD Slideshow and want to print up to a 6x9 a resolution of 2000 dpi would be great for you! If you would like to be able to print an 8x10 or want to be able to cut certain portions of the photo for printing then our 3000 dpi would be what you would want to select. If you simply want the best possible resolution for your photos then you should select the 4000 dpi scan.

We have created a table that will provide additional details about each scanning resolution for 35mm slides and negatives

Resolution Chart -- Based on 35mm Slides and 35mm Negative Film
Scanning
Resolution
MegapixelImages per CD
JPEG
(estimate)
Images per CD
TIFF
Images per
Data DVD
JPEG
(estimate)
Images per
Data DVD
TIFF
Image size
in pixels
JPEG
image size
in MB
(estimate)
TIFF
image size
in MB
Print size in
inches Short
side at
300 dpi
Print size in
inches
Long side at
300 dpi

2000 dpi

4.6

176

46

1500

321

1740x2660

3

14

6

9

3000 dpi

9.2

72

21

672

145

2625x3900

6.7

31

9

13

4000 dpi

18.5

43

12

375

83

3500x5200

12

54

11

17

 

For photo print scans:

Printed photos provide a much larger original to scan from than either slides or negatives. Therefore, the scanning resolution required for prints is much lower than slides and negatives. For example, a 35mm slide scanned at 2000 dpi will produce the same size digital image as a 6x9 print scanned at 300 dpi. In almost all cases, it makes very little sense to scan photo prints at a resolution higher than 300 dpi. Scanning photo prints at higher resolutions tends to accentuate imperfections and texture from the paper as well as dust and scratches. We have created a table that will provide additional details about each scanning resolution for printed photos.

Resolution Chart -- Based on 4x6 Photographs
Scanning
Resolution
MegapixelImages per CD
JPEG
(estimate)
Images per CD
TIFF
Images per
Data DVD
JPEG
(estimate)
Images per
Data DVD
TIFF
Image size
in pixels
JPEG
image size
in MB
(estimate)
TIFF
image size
in MB
Print size in
inches Short
side at
300 dpi
Print size in
inches
Long side at
300 dpi

300 dpi

2.2

350

100

3000

650

1200x1800

1.5

7

4

6

600 dpi

8.8

88

25

750

162

2400x3600

6

28

8

12