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How to Scan 35mm Slides With the Microtek Scanmaker 5900

There are number of different scanners available to amateur and professional photographers who want to scan slides or other film negatives into their computers. They vary in cost, features and the quality of the scans that they produce. The Microtek ScanMaker 5900 is flatbed scanner designed for use at home or in a small business setting. It scans at 4800 x 7200 DPI (dots per inch) optical resolution and has a 8.5 x 11.7 scanning area. Included with the scanner are a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable, power adapter, software for Apple computers or PCs, and retails for under $150. The scanner also includes an Integrated 4" x 5" Transparency Adapter that is used when scanning film or slides.

Things You'll Need

Microtek ScanMaker 5900 Scanner
Slides to scan
Anti-static cleaning cloth
Desktop or laptop computer

Instructions

- 1
  Turn on your computer, plug in the scanner, attach it using the USB cord and install the scanner&'s software on your home desktop or laptop computer.
- 2
  Organize and prepare the slides you want to scan. It is good idea to arrange the slides either by date, event or subject matter. Create folders on your computer’s hard drive to match the same categories you have sorted your slides into.
- 3
  Clean the slides using an anti-static cloth. This will remove any dust and debris from the slide and will help prevent dust collecting on them during the scanning process.
- 4
  Place the slides into the Integrated 4" x 5" Transparency Adapter as indicated in the scanner&'s instructions. Most scanners will scan the shiny side of negatives and slides, but it is always best to check first.
- 5
  Open the scanning software on your computer, indicate you are scanning slides and designate the folder you want the scanned images to be saved to.
- 6
  Repeat the process until you have scanned all the slides you wanted to convert to digital files. After the slides have been scanned, replace them back into their trays or boxes for storage. Save the scanned slides as TIFF files so they become your digital master file. TIFF files are large in size and take up more room on your hard drive than JPEGs, but they retain all of the data from the scan, whereas JPEGs will process the picture eliminating some of the original data from the file. The TIFF file format is a good choice to use as a master file for your scanned images.

Photography