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
Scanning Resolution | Megapixel | Images 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.
Scanning Resolution | Megapixel | Images 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
|