Do It Yourself 35mm Slide Scanning?
Yes, you can scan slides yourself—but will it truly save you money or time? Between equipment costs, slow workflows, and expert editing, DIY often costs more and delivers less. We handle it quickly and affordably.
Will Doing It Yourself Really Save You Money?
Yes, you can do it yourself but will doing it yourself save you money?
Either you have only a few slides and buy cheap, inferior equipment (and end up with inferior images), or you have a lot of slides and spend a lot of time—and end up stuck with expensive gear you’ll never use again. Is that saving money?
Just a note: Whatever you do, don't waste your money on a Brookstone iConvert Scanner or any of the other brands out there that are obviously the same thing but just a different case. What an absolute piece of junk… If the price is cheap, the scanner is cheap.
Like plumbing or electrical work, you can do it—but experts do it right and faster. Your time has value: how much is your time worth?
35mm Slides and Photo Scanning Costs
49 cents per scan
$20 minimum scanning charge.
4" x 6" Prints made from the scans are 49 cents each.
Real Time: How Long Will DIY Take?
You will be lucky to scan more than one slide per 2–3 minutes at high resolution. That’s ~3.5 hours (minimum) for 100 slides—and that doesn’t include editing. Don’t you have something better to do with your time?
Before & After: Why Expert Editing Matters
Equipment: The Tough Truth
If you think you’ll get acceptable scans with a scanner under $1,000, you’re likely in for a surprise. Make sure you can return it when results disappoint.
Faded Pictures & Slides
Look at some examples of faded pictures—can you color-correct them? Our service includes individualized, non-automated color restoration by a Photoshop® expert, plus corrections for color balance, exposure, saturation, orientation, and precision cropping.
Why People Try DIY (and Regret It)
- You can change your car’s oil—but you probably pay someone to do it.
- You could bake your own bread—but it’s faster to buy it.
Transferring heirloom slides to digital is harder than both—and our prices are low. Get a quick estimate.
3D Stereo Slides
We designed special adapters to scan 3D Stereo slides without removing or damaging film holders. These hand-fed, specialty scans can’t be automated—yet our prices are among the lowest. Learn more: 3D Stereo Slide Scanning.
Bottom Line
We do this work every day, very fast, and to a standard most DIY setups can’t match. Let us save you weeks of effort for just pennies a slide.