Color negative scanning, by hand

We scan 35mm, APS, 110, 126, 127, and medium format color negatives.

Your color negatives, even in protective sleeves, are in danger from the color shifting and scratching that can occur over time. Negative scanning with ScanCafe can save them:

  • Scanned and repaired by hand, one-by-one
  • High 3000 dpi resolution allows enlargements.
  • Safe, guaranteed. Door-to-door tracking, too.
  • Amazing value, $0.24 per 35mm negative frame.
  • Black & white negative scanning available
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Handcrafted quality

Chances are, your negatives are some of the most precious things you have. They're actually much more precious than prints of the same image, since the negatives will usually produce much better scans.

So when you send your negatives off to a negative scanning service, you expect them to be treated carefully. At ScanCafe, we understand that. Negatives require extremely gentle handling, and even something as simple as identifying the right side to scan (i.e., the emulsion side) takes a trained touch. And we never run your negatives through some automated correction process, where a piece of software guesses its way through a batch of your most important memories. All too often, however, that's just what other services do.

At ScanCafe, we think there's a better way. We think that every single negative you send us, frame by frame, should be examined by a highly trained technician with a good eye and a terrific set of hands. That's why we've designed our service from the ground up around the idea of a technician individually processing and correcting your images as needed. So you don't have to make a hard choice between being able to afford to preserve all your memories, and being able to preserve them well. At ScanCafe, you can do both.

Photo: F. Martin

Individual image adjustments

Essentially every image we receive requires some correction for the effects of time, since color negatives inevitably shift color and scratch over time (unless you've stored them in archival-quality, subzero conditions). For every negative we receive, we will manually perform:

  • Re-orientation
  • Cropping
  • Scratch and dust removal
  • Color correction
  • Red-eye removal

In short, for our standard level of service, a technician will spend approximately four minutes per image addressing all of the problems above, and then some. In our experience scanning nearly ten million negatives so far, this produces amazing quality almost all of the time, for just pennies per image. (Some images may be so damaged they require our restoration service, but that's relatively rare).

How it works

Frequently asked questions

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» Is it better to scan the print photo or the negative?
It is always better to scan the negative because it is usually in better condition, and the scanner can produce a digital image at a higher dpi resolution. Furthermore, it is cheaper to scan negatives than photos, and you get to keep the photo displayed in your home during the scanning process. That said, we do offer great photo scanning and slide scanning solutions.
» How do I know which side of the negative to scan?
Theoretically, it is very easy, but practically, it is very difficult. You need to scan the side that has the photographic emulsion. This emulsion side is usually less glossy. However, it takes a long time to figure this out. The best option for telling which side is which is to look at the numbering scheme on the negative. When using a negative film scanner, align the negative such that you can read the numbering scheme. You are now looking at the opposite side of the emulsion.
» Can I use Kodak Digital ICE while scanning black and white negatives?
Actually, no. The infrared light that detects dust and scratches is not compatible with the silver halide emulsion on black and white negatives. If you scan with ICE, the digital image will look "silvery" and out of focus. The only solution is to disable ICE and manually restore the B&W scan at a later time using a clone stamping tool such as in Adobe Photoshop. However, using clone stamping requires a lot of practice. If you have more questions, feel free to contact our customer support team, and we would be happy to answer your questions.
» Can you scan my curled black and white negatives?
We use a "wet mount" process for the scanning of black and white negatives. We encase each of your negative frames in a special solution between two transparent surfaces, and then scan them using our Nikon 5000 ED scanners, and the resulting scans have extraordinary image detail. However, the nature of this process is not conducive to the scanning of curled negatives. If you are not sure if your negatives are curled, go ahead and send us a snapshot of your negatives to admin@scancafe.com and our customer support team will be able to assist you. For more information on our black and white scanning, visit http://www.scancafe.com/services/black-white-scanning.