Facts: Scanning Prints vs. Scanning Film

Print Scans vs. Film Scans

You're probably wondering if it's better to digitize your prints or your slides and negatives. Scanning film, slides or negatives, will most always produce better digital images than scanning prints. Slides & negatives are the original. Prints are second generation copies of the original film and do not contain as much information or detail as the negative they were made from.

If you have the option of scanning a negative instead of scanning a print made from the negative, we recommend scanning the negative. However If you're like most of us we've lost or misplaced our negatives. If we do have them they're not in an organized fashion and may be in poor condition. If this is the case scanning your prints is a great alternative.

There are some limits to print scanning that you should be aware of. Most color prints from your regular photo finisher contain around 300 DPI of detail. There are exceptions to this 300 DPI rule. Depending on the quality of the print being scanned and how crisp the image is, scanning at 600 DPI may sometimes produce better results. However, it's normally difficult to see much difference when comparing a 300 DPI print scan and a 600 DPI print scan. 600 DPI scans produce much larger files that are more cumbersome to work with but ensure every detail in your print is recorded in digital form. We don't charge more to scan your prints at 600 DPI. If you want to be sure as much detail as possible is captured during scanning, go with 600 DPI print scans. If you want files that are easier to work with, 300 DPI scans would be a better choice for you.

One of the benefits of digitizing your photo collection is that you have the ability to create new prints or enlargements from you new digital images. The quality and size of the prints you'll be able to make from your scanned images depends on the quality of the original film or print that was scanned. The charts below should give you an idea of what to expect when creating prints or enlargements from your scanned images. As you can see from the charts, film scans are the best way to create large prints from digital files. The charts below represent the quality of prints made from your scanned images. The sizes displayed horizontally represent the size of the print being made from your scanned image. On the left side of each chart is the resolution of the film being scanned or the size of the print that was scanned.

Other Helpful Links:

Scanning Service Comparison: Film scans come in four varieties; Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Pro. Print scans come in two flavors; Silver, and Gold. Click a link to compare our processing options.
Film Scan Comparison | Print Scan Comparison

Digital Image Benefits: This article outlines the many benefits of digital photography.

Digital Imaging in a Nutshell: This article explains digital images, Resolution, and Megapixels. It provides a brief technical background to digital imaging.

Scan Resolution Help: This article explains scan resolution. It looks at scanning resolution from three perspectives and makes recommendations accordingly.

Print vs. Film Scanning: This article compares print scans with film scans. It also outlines the limitations of print scanning.

JPEG vs. TIFF File Format: This article briefly discusses these two unique file formats.

CD vs. Data DVD: Wondering what a Data DVD is? This page will explain Data DVDs and compare them with CD-Roms.

Disk Organization: This page explains how your disks will be organized after scanning.

You may also find our order planning guide helpful.

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