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Have you read our Frequently Asked Questions? You will find answers to many common questions we have been asked over the years.

Have you read our Frequently Asked Questions?

Have you read our Frequently Asked Questions? You will find answers to many common questions we have been asked over the years.

If you are wondering how to place an order with us, here is a handy guide on how to order.


No emails from us ?

If you have placed an order with us you should have received an immediate order confirmation email containing your order details. If you have not received any emails from us then please check your junk / spam email folder as our emails are sometimes treated as junk. If the emails are in your junk folder then please add info@filmscanuk.co.uk as a safe sender to ensure any future emails are received directly to your inbox.


Sending items to us

We recommend you use suitable transit packaging for anything you send to us. Photos or film negatives should be in board backed envelopes to prevent them from being folded. Bulky items should be in padded bags to protect them. Please also include your contact details in the package so we can identify your items. All items sent to us will be returned when the order is complete.


In person

We do not operate from a high street store and are not open to the public, but if you are local to us and wish to drop off your items in person then please contact us to arrange a suitable time.

What do we scan ?


Photographs / Prints

We scan all sizes of photographs, colour or black and white, provided they are at least 2" in size. Albums and mounted photographs are scanned using our large flatbed scanning service. All scans are made at 600dpi, meaning you get a larger, clearer image that will look great on your mobile device, PC screen, or TV. They can also be reprinted at least twice the size of the original.


Slides

All sizes of mounted slides are scanned, from regular 35mm projector slides to 60mm medium-format slides. Half-frame slides, 126 slides, 110 slides, and 127 "Super slides" are also scanned. All 40mm frames are scanned at 4000 dpi, giving a large image suitable for all uses. Due to their larger original size, 60mm frames are scanned at 3200 dpi, which helps to maintain a reasonable final file size.


Film negatives / Transparencies

negatives up to 8 x 10-inch Large Format film. Colour, monochromatic (black and white) and transparency film are commonplace. The most common is the easily recognisable twin sprocket 35mm film, but we can also scan 110 / 126 instamatic, varying medium format film sizes from 6 x 4.5cm up to 6 x 12cm and 4 x 5 inch; Large format film, though we don't process any form of cine or VHS film.




Why convert your images to digital?


Having your film negatives, slides or photos scanned and converted to digital images preserves them before they deteriorate and fade away. This allows you to view and share them using today's digital equipment, such as computers, TVs, Digital photo frames and mobile devices.
You can upload them to social networking sites like Facebook, X (Twitter), Snapchat, WhatsApp, or Instagram or share them with anyone you wish using our Online access system. The images can also be used for presentational use with high-resolution projection systems and are suitable for publishing, either as a personal photograph album or for commercial use.

Having your images scanned to digital allows you to distribute copies of the images to friends and family. It can make an excellent birthday, anniversary or Christmas gift for a family member or friend.


The scanning process

All films are cleaned before scanning. We use an Infrared system for colour films to detect and remove most of the remaining dust and scratch defects, resulting in a clearer image. The infrared system is not available for black-and-white film scans. All items are scanned using high-quality scanners at 4000 dpi for 35 mm-based film/slides, 3200 dpi for medium format films, and 600 dpi for photographs. We use scanners designed solely for scanning the type of film or photograph, not a general-purpose flatbed scanner. We then automatically adjust the colours, brightness and contrast levels in Adobe Photoshop®.


What you get back

The images are scanned and processed as 16-bit TIFF files, then converted to standard JPG files for return. You are free to use the images for any purpose. Professional users can also select to have the images returned in the original TIFF format.

All images are available to view or download online for 30 days and can also be returned on either a disc, USB memory stick or SD card.

After we return your images to you we keep a copy of them on our secure servers for up to 2 years. So should you lose your images, we can replace them for you without having to rescan your images.


Who uses our services?

We work with a wide variety of customers, including private individuals, businesses, professional and amateur photographers, publishing houses, local government, the NHS, commercial printers, museums and archives, charities, and organisations.

Some recent customers include British Museum, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Haynes Manuals, Harewood House Trust, Cumbrian Railway Association, Watts & Co Ltd, University of Edinburgh, University of Central Lancashire, University of Oxford, Seymour Powell Ltd, Henry Poole & Co

Film Scan UK has been providing professional film and photo scanning services for almost 20 years. Originally trading as Exposure 22, we changed to the Film Scan UK name when we moved to filmscanuk.co.uk, choosing a name that more clearly reflects what we do.

No job is too big or too small for us. We regularly handle small orders of a handful of images to complete archives of many thousands of images from high-profile publishing houses, museum archives, universities, various private organisations, charities, and individuals.



Common Questions


How long does it take?

We normally try to complete each order within 10 working days, but this may be longer at peak times or if we have received a number of large orders. You can check our current estimated times here. If you are in a hurry you can select our Next day service.


Do you return the originals?

Yes, all original images are returned unless you specifically request us not to return them.


Do I need to register and place an order online?

No, you can simply send everything to us without registering.


Some of the images are faded, can you fix them?

Yes, all scans include Photoshop colour restoration, though extremely faded or colour cast images may require extra processing should you wish to restore them fully.


Do you lock the images or can I do what I want with them?

They are standard digital JPG or TIFF files which you can view and edit as you would any digital image. We place no restriction on editing, copying or sharing of the images, they are yours to use however you wish.