Common Questions
Please call or email if you need any help – 01702 840 283
General questions
Which types of slides do you convert?
We only scan slides which are mounted in 50mm slides, not film strips or loose negatives.
For emergency orders, we can scan slides within hours of receipt and get images back to you over the internet. If you have a very urgent order just contact us so we can discuss the optimum approach.
Do you return the slides after scanning?
For emergency orders, we can scan slides within hours of receipt and get images back to you over the internet. If you have a very urgent order just contact us so we can discuss the optimum approach.
Do you offer discounts for bulk volumes?
We will email you an invoice when the scanning is complete and the slides are ready to post. We accept direct bank transfer, credit/debit cards and PayPal.
If you prefer to pay by cheque, just send this in with the slides. Cheques should be payable to:
THE SLIDE CONVERTER LIMITED
Order form options
Should I select for images to be returned on DVD, USB stick or internet gallery?
DVD
Our DVD's will play on a normal set-top DVD player or on a computer DVD drive where the disc will contain the jpeg image files. For use with a DVD/TV setup, when you insert the disc the DVD player will recognise that it contains image files (rather than a movie) and will offer to show the images as a silent slideshow. You can skip and pause the images using your DVD players remote control. Please note that set-top DVD players scale down the image quality on the disc to DVD resolution which is well below HD quality. Whereas, inserting a USB stick into the TV (if you have a compatible TV) will display full HD or 4K resolution. In our view its far better to use a USB stick in the TV than using a DVD.
USB stick
The USB stick and images stored on it, are 100% compatible will all computers (Mac/Windows). The stick should also fit into most TVs made after 2005, just check your TV manual or look just behind the screen on the lower left-hand side for a USB socket.
Internet gallery
We can supply your images in the form an internet download link. The link stays active for 90 days to allow time to download the images. You can share the link with anyone else you want to have access to the images. The gallery also allows you to order high quality prints of all sizes and many other print items. It is vital that you take a backup of your images during the 90 day period.
What is the option to "save images in named folders"?
If you select this option on the order form, we'll send some additional instructions asking you to insert sequentially numbered slips of paper wherever you want there to be a folder. Then follow this with an email ti us listing the slip number and the folder name you would like us to use.
To keep the cost of this option low we do need the folder names to be typed into an email rather than sent to us in paper form.
You will be able to move images and rename folders as required on your computer should you want to.
Processing & Technical
Do you retain the ordering of the slides?
What resolution will my images be?
Perfectly exposed slide film is generally accepted to be equivalent to between 10 megapixels (Kodachrome) and 15 megapixels (Fuji Velvia) so we are scanning at a higher resolution than the film itself.
Of course, the quality of the image is much more than just the resolution and that's why we check and adjust the exposure and colour on slides which are too light, dark or have got colour casts such as purple or red due to aging of the chemicals and dyes. True, we are dependent too on the quality of the original image but we do obtain the best image possible, which in many cases is enhanced beyond what you would be able to see in the projected image. See our gallery for some examples.
Are the images compatible with everything I need?
Does your process remove dust from the slides?
We do not use digital dust removal e.g Nikon Digital ICE. The reason for this is simply that it is widely acknowledged that the digital approach leads to an overall softening of the image which affects the entire picture. The physical dust removal is so effective that typically no dust is noticed in the vast majority of pictures. If you had a special use for a particular image and noticed a dust spot, it would be easy to remove this spot using an image editor. This would retain the benefit of the sharper image on the 99.99% of the image which is not affected by dust.
My slides have numbers or comments written on them, can this be retained somehow?
Can you save my images as TIFF files?
In our opinion JPEG has the best compatibility with websites, social networks, image editing software, phones, tablets, PC or Mac. High Quality JPEGs offer superb quality for the filesize because they use compression to shrink the file size.
TIFF format is more often used in commercial printing and professional editing, it requires more advanced editing software and more computer resources. Tiff files are very large and the space requirements mount up if you have a large number of them. A DVD can be filled by as few as 100 images. Zooming in on our JPEG images and comparing with TIFF there is no preceptible difference between a 7mb JPEG and and a 30mb TIFF image.
Packaging & Transportation
Where should I send my slides?
Our address is:
The Slide Converter Unit A14 Seedbed Business Centre Southend-on-Sea Essex SS3 9QY
We recommend that all customers use our free packing kit, this is the default option on the order form. Our free box is custom made to safely and securely hold your slides for transport and makes an excellent and compact way to archive you slides after scanning. We send as many boxes as are needed for your order. Only very small orders, or where you have already spoken to us, should be sent in your own packaging.
If you have fewer than 100 slides and want to send them in your own boxes this is fine. Just mark a sequence number on each box and indicate the first slide in each carton. Then mail to us in a jiffy bag or cardboard box. Please pack in such a way that the plastic lids cannot come off in transit. Please contact us if you need to send an order larger than 100 slides in your own packaging.
2. Portrait / Landscape orientation when packing: We include more detailed instructions on this in the package we send out. In brief, the slides should be packed in their "natural orientation", thats exactly as they would go into a projector - Portrait images should have the long edge on the side and landscape pictures with the long edge along the bottom.
3. Correctly "flipping" slides! (the emulsion side) You may or may not be aware that slides have a so called “emulsion side”, most slide photographers would be very aware of this. When projecting a slide, it’s important to have the matt textured emulsion side facing towards the projector screen otherwise images are mirror flipped and text does not read correctly. If you are not the photographer, you will fortunately most likely find that the whole collection is already ordered with the emulsion side facing consistently in one direction. The packing box we send includes some tips on determining the emulsion side for different makes of slide, so you can double check as you pack and of course we will do our best to correct any which are the wrong way around.
Which postal service should I use to send my slides?
The inexpensive and 100% reliable to date – “Royal Mail 1st class small parcel service” (or medium parcel 1st or 2nd class service if heavier then 2KG). For full tracking of the parcel you can opt for "Royal Mail Special Delivery".
For parcels over 4kg… Parcelforce 48 is the cheaper option for heavier parcels and is available at the Post Office too. This is a fully tracked service.