Sawyer & Kodak Carousel Prep for Slide Scanning

Use this quick guide to move slides safely out of Sawyer reels, keep Kodak carousel slides in order, and set everything to landscape so your scans read perfectly.

There are two basic types of carousels. The Sawyer type holds 100 slides. Slides are “stuck” in the reel and harder to remove because the projector ran the reel on its side—more like a ferris wheel than a flat carousel. If we need to remove slides prior to scanning, there’s a small add-on fee (optional on the order form).

Sawyer carousel with slides secured in the reel prior to removal

Close-up showing why Sawyer slides are difficult to remove

Kodak Carousel Prepping for Scanning

Most people used Kodak carousels. Kodaks held either 80 or 140 slides. Slides are loose in the wheel and a top ring holds them in place.

Kodak carousel with ring removed showing loose slides

Kodak carousel ring that secures slides in the tray

Example of 80-slide Kodak tray prepared for removal and stacking

Example of 140-slide Kodak tray ready for transfer to stacks

Carefully lifting slides from Kodak carousel to maintain order

Neat stacks of slides after removal from Kodak tray

Close-up of a properly aligned stack to keep sequence

Another example stack showing consistent landscape orientation

Stacking slides gently to avoid jams and edge damage

Keeping all frames consistent before boxing and shipping

Rotate “portrait” slides to landscape in the tray. In the example below, the camera was turned for a portrait shot and the slide was rotated in the carousel to project correctly. Please rotate such slides so all frames sit landscape in the tray. Don’t worry—after scanning we rotate your images to view correctly.

Portrait-oriented slide that should be rotated to landscape in the tray

Landscape orientation maintained across a stack for smooth scanning

Final stack organized and ready for shipment to our lab

Ready to have your carousels scanned?

We’ll carefully remove, align, and scan at 4000 ppi—then rotate the final images for perfect viewing.

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