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This one-page guide will give you the bare bones of what you need to work the photo negative / photo slide scanner. If you need high-quality scans, we highly recommend you work through the full tutorial.
If you get lost, refer back to the user manual on the Home page. Contact information for KSL staff is available on the left-hand navigation of each page. Service Center staff can also assist with basic troubleshooting.
Ensure that slides and negatives are clean and free from debris. You will need to know what kind of film you have (ie black and white or color) and what side is the emulsion side. Review the full tutorial for more information.
Make sure the scanner is turned on. The switch is on the front of the scanner.
Carriers for film strips and slides are located next to the scanner. If you cannot find these carriers, please reach out to lab staff or email FreedmanCenter@case.edu. Before you load slides, ensure they are clean. See our overview for more.
The film strip carrier may hold negative strips with up to 6 images. To load:
The carrier can hold up to four slides. To load:
From the Start Menu or on the Desktop, launch "SilverFast 9." The software may take a few moments to open the first time you use it.
On the SilverFast 9 splash screen - click the large blue Start button. The Welcome screen will open. Choose Scanning in Manual Mode and then OK (or Don’t Remind Me Again).
The Scan Dimensions are found directly below the scanner's scan settings in a dropdown. Choosing a File Location Path and selecting a File Format are found here.
File Location: In the Path box, click the folder and browse to your documents or pictures folder.
File Format: Next to the Name box, select TIFF from the File Type dropdown. Learn more about file formats in the full tutorial.
The following settings should be completed, which will equal a scan that takes about 4 minutes. For more information including how to determine the color and type of your film, review the full tutorial.
Resolution: Within in Scan Dimensions, drag the red dot on the slider bar for Res. to the right to 7200 ppi (pixels per inch).
Film Type: On the top left of the screen are the scanning options based on the film type you intend to scan. Select Positive, Kodachrome or Negative.
On the top middle of the screen, select Scan.
You can monitor the progress in the lower left-hand corner.
At 7200ppi, the scan will take about 4 minutes.
Files should be taken with you when you leave the computer, as the memory is wiped regularly. Use either an external hard drive or flash drive or cloud storage. If you are a CWRU affiliate, your OneDrive is already linked to the computer when you log in.
Want to do more with your images? The Freedman Center Technology Lab has post-processing and editing software, including the Adobe Creative Suite. Some relevant tutorials are: