Professional film and slide scanning is the right choice when your originals deserve individual attention. Every frame is carefully reviewed and hand-adjusted for color, density, brightness, and contrast by an experienced technician — not automated processing. Film and slides carry decades of irreplaceable images, and this service treats them accordingly.
| Film Type | Resolution | Price (plus delivery) |
|---|---|---|
| 35mm Negatives | 4800 dpi (Standard) | $5.00 / frame |
| 35mm Negatives | 6400 dpi (High) | $7.50 / frame |
| 35mm Slides | 4800 dpi (Standard) | $5.00 / frame |
| 35mm Slides | 6400 dpi (High) | $7.50 / frame |
Film doesn't last forever. Color negatives and slides begin to fade and shift in color over time — a process that accelerates without proper storage. Slides are particularly vulnerable to heat and humidity, and many people discover their old Kodachrome or Ektachrome slides have started to deteriorate before they ever thought to digitize them. Getting film scanned now, while the originals are still in good condition, is the single best thing you can do to protect those images for the long term.
A properly scanned 35mm negative or slide contains a remarkable amount of detail. Even at standard resolution, a 4800 dpi scan of a 35mm frame produces a file large enough to print at 8x10 or larger with excellent quality. At 6400 dpi, you have enough image data for very large prints or significant cropping without loss of sharpness. Film has real resolving power — and professional scanning is the way to capture all of it.
Both 35mm negatives and slides are scanned at the same resolutions and price points, but the scanning process for each is a little different. Negatives are scanned and converted from their inverted tonal values to a positive image, with color correction applied to compensate for the orange mask present in color negative film. Slides — whether mounted or unmounted — are already positive images and are scanned directly, with color and density adjustments made to bring out the full tonal range captured in the original exposure.
Both formats benefit from technician review. Underexposed or overexposed frames, film that has shifted in color with age, and frames with unusual lighting conditions all require individual attention to produce the best possible digital file — something automated scanners simply can't provide consistently.
Film scanning resolution is measured differently than print scanning. Because film is a much smaller original — a 35mm frame is only about 1x1.5 inches — scanning at 4800 dpi (our standard) produces a file of roughly 20 megapixels, which is more than enough for high-quality prints up to about 11x14. For most people digitizing a film collection for sharing, archiving, and making prints at standard sizes, 4800 dpi is the right choice.
6400 dpi is worth the additional cost if you plan to print very large from a specific frame, want to crop significantly into an image, or are creating archival master files and want to capture every detail the film can resolve. It's also a good choice for technically excellent slides shot on fine-grain film stocks, where the extra resolution can make a visible difference in sharpness and detail at large print sizes.
Contact us before you ship. Get in touch first so we can discuss your film, confirm the quantity and format, and give you the current shipping address and packaging guidance. Please don't send film without prior confirmation — we want to make sure everything is set before irreplaceable originals are in the mail.
Pack your film carefully. Negatives in strips should stay in their clear sleeves or archival pages if you have them — this protects the film surface during transit. Mounted slides can be packed in their original carousel or slide boxes, or wrapped carefully in tissue and placed in a rigid box. Loose unmounted film should be kept in protective sleeves. If you're unsure how to pack a specific format, ask and we'll advise before you ship anything.
Invoice and payment. Once your film arrives, we'll confirm receipt and send an invoice via email through Square. Work begins as soon as payment is received. Turnaround is 7–10 business days from that point.
We deliver your scans. When your files are ready, we send a secure download link by email. Files are organized by roll where applicable and ready to download. USB drive and CD delivery are available for an additional charge if you prefer a physical copy.
Your originals come back to you. We return all film and slides by mail once the job is complete. Return shipping is a flat $12.95, billed when we ship your package back.
Once your film is digitized, the files open up a lot of possibilities. Many customers use their scanned negatives or slides as the starting point for new prints — whether standard photo prints, canvas gallery wraps, or metal prints. If you have slides or negatives from significant family events, scanning them and ordering a few large prints from the best frames is one of the most meaningful things you can do with old film.
If your film has frames that are damaged, heavily faded, or have color shifts beyond what standard scanning correction can address, our photo restoration service can take the scan further — repairing damage, restoring faded color, and delivering a finished file ready for printing.
Contact us at info@yellowlabimaging.com or through our contact page. Let us know what you have — film format, approximate number of rolls or frames, and the condition of the originals — and we'll get back to you with instructions and a quote.
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Turn any images into art with our Gallery wrap canvases. We use quality coated cloth canvas, each printed with archival inks, sprayed with a UV protectant coating and stretched over a solid wood frame with flush corners.