Why not buy a film scanner and scan myself?

Do you want to digitize your slides and negatives but are overwhelmed by the cost of having them professionally scanned? If you answered yes then you're not alone. It does cost money to do this and so you may think about scanning yourself to try and save money. Let's take a closer look at professional scanning vs. scanning yourself....

Basically you have two options if you want to digitize your film. You can have it professionally scanned or you can buy all the necessary equipment and software, learn how to use it, and use your spare time to scan yourself. Both options will cost you money and scanning yourself also requires a lot of your spare time. In many cases our scanning services are cheaper than taking on the project yourself.

A lot of people are under the impression that scanning is a quick and easy process. This is far from the truth! Any type of scanning is time consuming and film scanning is particularly tedious, requiring a certain level of skill in addition to technical knowledge and artistic sense. In order to get high quality scans you really need to know what you're doing. You also need to have high quality scanning equipment, digital imaging software, and a high-powered computer system. So before you go out and buy your own scanner consider a few things.

Scanning is time consuming
Do you really want your scanning project to go on for weeks, months, or even years? If you scan in your spare time your project will drag on and on. Scan times vary depending on scan resolution, enhancement options, the scanner used, and the computer system used. Even with our scanner, which is the fastest available, it can still take over 4 minutes per scan. Cheaper scanners take even longer and some can take 15-20 minutes per frame! We scan full time and if you let us handle your project it will be completed as fast as possible.

Scanning in your spare time is not exactly fun
Do you want to be spending your spare time sitting in front of a computer and scanner doing tedious and repetitive tasks? Well, scanning lots of images is just that. It's tedious and the scanning process is very repetitive. On top of that you cannot be doing anything else while you're scanning. Doing so will just slow things down. Most people that buy scanners and scan themselves find it very boring. Do you really want to be doing this? Scanning is hard work.

Scanning is not as easy as it may seem
Some people think scanning is just a matter of running film through a scanner, but it's not that easy. In order to get a good scan you need to know about many different things, from film to files. The most important thing is knowing when you have a good scan and when you have a bad scan. In other words you need to have an eye for images. Having done tens of thousands of scans Carl has an experienced eye. Scans also need to be checked for color accuracy and sharpness and nearly every scan needs post scan color and exposure correction adjustments. Scanning is a mix of art and technology.

Cheap scanners produce poor results
There are many different scanners on the market and some flatbed scanners sell for less than $100. However, these cheap scanners just do not give you high quality scans. If you're thinking about scanning your film with a flatbed think again. It can be done but the quality is nowhere near that of a film scanner. Of course there are cheap film scanners, but unfortunately when a scanner is cheap the quality suffers. When it comes to scanners you get what you pay for. You need a high quality scanner to get high quality scans.

The bottom line
If you take a look at our prices you will realize that we can do many scans for you for the price of buying your own high quality scanner, software, and equipment. In some cases we can do thousands of scans! Save yourself the time, hassle, and headache and let Pearson Imaging scan your film. All you have to do is figure out what images you want scanned, request a quote, and ship your images to us. We'll get your project completed as fast as possible and you'll get your film back along with CD's or DVD's containing the digital image files. We will save you valuable time so you can be doing what you really love. If you have any questions do not hesitate to email us anytime.