Easy 35mm Slide Orientation & Rotation

Use this quick guide to stack, orient, and rotate your 35mm slides the right way before scanning. Proper prep prevents cropping, speeds processing, and can save handling fees.

What “faces the screen” when you project?

Identify the slide side that faces toward the screen when projected.
Build stacks with that “toward the screen” side facing up for every slide.
The top slide in your stack is first in the show; the bottom slide is last.

In most cases, the side with the manufacturer’s logo or ID faces the screen. Many plastic mounts even say “this side toward screen.” Align them all this way and you’ll be right almost every time.

Orientation & Rotation (to avoid cropping)

Regardless of portrait or landscape subject, stack slides in landscape position for scanning. Otherwise, portrait slides can be cropped top/bottom.
We rotate the files to display correctly, but slides must be positioned correctly for scanning.
If slides aren’t rotated for batch handling, you can leave them (and accept cropping) or ask us to correct them for a small per-slide operator fee.

Incorrect slide stack: one slide not rotated to landscape before scanning — Wrong: Not rotated for scanning

Correct slide stack: all slides rotated to landscape orientation prior to scanning — Right: All slides in landscape

Landscape 35mm slide example with longer horizontal film area — Landscape slide example

Portrait 35mm slide example with taller vertical film area — Portrait slide example

Scanner capture area illustration showing where a portrait slide will be cropped if not rotated — Scanner area: rotate portrait slides to avoid top/bottom cropping

Portrait slides that are not rotated to landscape before scanning will have the top and bottom cropped.

Example of cropped portrait slide when not rotated to landscape before scanning — Result: cropped portrait slide

Landscape slide oriented correctly for scanning — Landscape: oriented correctly

Portrait subject rotated to landscape position for scanning — Portrait subject: rotated to landscape for scanning

Slide stack order example: first slides arranged at top of stack — Show order: stack from top (first) to bottom (last)

More slide stack order examples showing consistent orientation — Keep orientation consistent across stacks

Incorrect: one slide left unrotated in the stack — Wrong: Not rotated

Correct: slides rotated to landscape position for scanning — Right: Rotated correctly

Next Steps

Ready to digitize? Proper orientation helps us keep your images uncropped and your order moving quickly.

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