Gaudette-Net, LLC -- Sun City Grand, AZ residents can call 214-9639, M-F, 8am to 8pm

(A) Preparing

(A.1) Previewing

It is a good idea to look at your slides before sending them in to be bulk scanned. Over decades slides can noticeably fade, can grow mold spots, and can get unexpectedly dusty.

Slides that are loose, have torn frames, or frames warped more than 1/8th inch cannot and will not be bulk scanned.

(A.2) Cleaning

Generally, nothing can fix fading or color shifting seen on the slide itself. That said, even the most impossible looking slide can be color-corrected digitally after scanning.

A clean blower-brush is provided with the storage box. Both slide sides can be thoroughly, but delicately, brushed and bulb blown to remove most dust particles.

Rough brushing can ruin your slides! If a single dust particle is stuck to the slide, it is easier to touch-up that spot digitally than it is to hide a long brush scratch.

Small mold specks should be left alone and later touched up digitally. Large, obscuring, mold spots could be removed with Photosol's PEC-12 solvent by a practiced professional.

(A.3) Stacking

Every slide has a front and a back. One side is shiny and is the side that faces the projector's bulb. The other side is flat, almost rough, this is the emulsion side that will face the high resolution scanning heads.

Fortunately, within a slide group (processed at the same time) you will find that once you find the flat side on one slide, they are usually all that way. Just make note of the labeling.

            

Stack each slide's flat side toward the hinge of the provided storage box. Put 25 slides in each cube.

(B) Scanning

(B.1) Pixels per linear inch: 2115
(B.2) Static scan size: 3026 by 2017 pixels, (6.1 Megapixels)
(B.3) Color depth: 8bit x RGB = 24bit color; this provides for 16.7 million colors!
(B.4) Auto Focus (allows mixing frame types)
(B.5) Auto Exposure (this alone will not fix fading colors)
(B.4) File format: 300dpi, 32bit depth, Portable Network Graphics (PNG), loss-less compression, gamma compensation

(C) Showing

(C.1) The CD loads in your player, label side up, like any other CDROM disk.

(C.2) Use MS Internet Explorer 5 or Netscape Communicator 4.7 to open the file named "index.html".

(C.3) Click on a preview to see a single slide.

(C.4) The matching high quality scans are in the "archive" folder (directory) and have the same name as the previews.

(D) Storing

(D.1) It is recommended that you mark your CDs using a common Sanford Sharpie fine point permanent marker. We have chosen a CD with an especially tough top coating. Mark them as you will, but never use a stickly label or tape.

(D.2) A plastic "jewel case" as provided with the CDs is the best way to preserve the disk. The case should be clean and closed securely.

(D.3) Long term the CDROM disks should be stored in a dark, dry place, and at room temperatures. Stored under these conditions your slide archives can easily last 100 years.

(D.4) All but the oldest CDROM players will be able to read these disks. All the DVD players coming on the market can read these disks. It is expected that the next-generation beyond DVD (Fluorescent Multi-layer Discs) will be fully "backwards compatible" with all CDROM disks including these archives.