How to fix colors when scanning 35mm Film Negatives

It can seem difficult to capture the natural colors when scanning film negatives. The film brand, the production batch, storage and the light conditions when photographing will give each film (and even individual frames) a unique color signature.

Most scanner software (like SilverFast and VueScan) have predefined profile settings for many common film brands. Unfortunately, the predefined settings will not match the film you are scanning, due the reasons outlined above.

What Resolution (DPI) should I use when scanning Negatives or Slides?

Deciding what resolution you should use when scanning negatives and slides might be difficult, but if you have a relatively fast scanner, a decent computer and hard disk space, a simple answer exists.

10 Very Basic Rules when Scanning Film Negatives and Slides

1. Have fun! Treat scanning as an enjoyable hobby. This is not your job! Listen to some of your favourite music while you are at it :)
2. Be patient and take your time.
3. Learn to use the scanner software, even if it seems difficult in the beginning.
4. Wash your hands with warm water and soap before handling films.
5. Touch the sides of film negatives only. Handle your films with care.
6. Use a Bulb Blower to remove dust from films. You will typically get this with your SLR camera, and it is very cheap. Do not blow on the film to remove dust, as small wet drops will be visible on the final result!
7. Be very very careful if you are about to clean a negative film or a slide. It is possible, but if you do not have the right equipment, chances are high that you WILL DAMAGE the film/slide! More often than not you are better off doing some post processing of the scanned image. Very dirty films can be cleaned, but you really must know what you are doing. Do not attempt to clean the films with a cloth or paper, you will only end up making bad scratch marks. A very soft specialized cloth can be used as long as it is new, but it's quality will quickly degrade.
8. Never - ever use your fingers in an attempt to clean the films! This is true even if you have very carefully washed your hands. It is very tempting to give this a try if you spot a small hair or similar, but I am telling you; You Will Regret it. 
9. Use a white surface or a lightboard when sorting negatives. A good working lamp helps a lot.
10. Do not scan every photo you have. You don't really want to keep that blurry photo of your neighbour's car.

Scanning 35 mm film with Plustek OpticFilm 7600i - First impressions

What kind of results and quality can you expect to get when scanning 35 mm negatives using a hobby based scanner?

This depend on the quality of the film, the scanner you use, the scanner software and many other factors.

The photo in this article is from a scanned negative. It is typical of the result I get using a Plustek OpticFilm 7600i and the Silverfast scanner software that comes bundled with the scanner when you buy it.

How can I Rescue all my old 35mm Negative Films and Slides?

The short story on why I decided to start scanning my old negative films and slides - and have fun at the same time! I love a hobby with some challenges, and this very true when scanning films. But the best part is finding photos I totally forgot I had. It is just like living parts of my life once more. If you found this page, my guess is you have similar motives to start scanning.