# 35mm Slide Scanning loses color



## JoeGuy (Jul 11, 2013)

Hi folks,

I am scanning some old 35mm Kodak COLOR slides.

I am using a flatbed scanner. Specifically I am using am Epson Workforce 635. I am also using some of the backlighting ideas you see on the web given that this scanner is not a slide scanner. See for example this: The Easiest Way To Scan Old Slides With A Flatbed Scanner

I am illuminating the backlight with a handheld LED white light stick.

So I can actually get a scan but here is the catch. There is no color or at best there is very little. It looks like a black and white conversion. The whole image is there with detail!

Now I know you are saying "Well you just messed up the settings and you set the scanner to gray scale." No I didn't and in fact the printing on the slide holder which has the Kodak logo in color scans just fine. (Hint: It isn't back lit. Its up against the platen. ) So I get a color kodak logo on the slide holder around the image and then a black and white slide right on the same scan! 

I do see a bit of a faint color in some areas that are broad and solid but very little. Its very hard to make out at all. That is only in some configurations so that may be a distraction. I hesitate to mention it because they might just be artifacts I created in monkeying around. Many attempts had no color at all. 

What am I missing? Any ideas? I would be grateful for your help.


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## Light Guru (Jul 11, 2013)

JoeGuy said:


> I am illuminating the backlight with a handheld LED white light stick.



I've seen lots of people try things like that and I have never seen a scan from something like that look as good as a scan from a scanner that us actually designed to scan film. 



JoeGuy said:


> Now I know you are saying "Well you just messed up the settings



It's not that you are messing up settings it's that your scanner does not properly support scanning slides and negatives.


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## compur (Jul 11, 2013)

Spectral emissions of LEDs are not the same as from non-LED sources like the sun or incandescent lights. For example white LEDs are usually in reality blue/UV LEDs with a yellow phosphor coating which makes them appear white to the human eye but not necessarily to the sensors in a scanner.  There are full spectrum LEDs and also  LED-based sources that mix red & green & blue LEDs to produce a more complete white color spectrum emission but I doubt that your LED stick uses them.

 Try a different, non-LED light source.


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## Orrin (Jul 12, 2013)

JoeGuy said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> I am scanning some old 35mm Kodak COLOR slides.
> 
> ...



The main problem with using a flatbed scanner that does NOT have a film option, is that you are illuminating the film from BOTH sides!
Unless you can disable the regular scanner light, you will never get a good film scan.

Those scanners and multifunction printers that do have a film option, have a light in the cover that is used in lieu of the regular light
when the film option is selected.


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## Buckster (Jul 13, 2013)

Years ago, I tried all kinds of tricks found online and cooked up by my own noggin in attempts to get a regular flatbed scanner to deliver acceptable results with my negatives and slides.  I wasn't pleased or satisfied with any of them.  In the end, I just bought a scanner capable of working with negatives and slides, and it's worked great for me for the past several years.

Assuming that the reason you're going through this is that the problem with getting a negative scanner is the cost involved, there are cheaper alternatives.  Of course, you could simply have prints made from the negatives and scan the prints, for one, though that too may be more costly than you'd like, especially if you have a lot of negatives or slides to convert.

If you have a digital camera, you can digitize them yourself using methods like this DIY setup:

Scan Your Old Films For The Cost of A Happy Meal | DIYPhotography.net

Linked on that page in the comments section, here's another DIY solution:

Scaner de negativos casero. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I've also gotten slide and negative copier bellows on eBay really cheap, and they work like the first DIY solution linked to above, but with a bit more control.

ETA: Meant to include this also: http://shop.lomography.com/gb/smartphone-scanner


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## cgw (Jul 13, 2013)

Just Google "DSLR scanning." Lots of stuff from whacky to workable.


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## JoeGuy (Jul 14, 2013)

I appreciate all of the responses.

It turns out is was not simply the LED emission frequencies. The fact is the scanner has no film mode (and I'm not sure why) so it appears to be lighting on both side as Orrin noted. There is no way I know of to turn off the scanner's internal illumination.

Thanks for the other suggestions. I really do appreciate them but I was interested in working with what I have. That apparently will not work.

Thanks Again.


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## Light Guru (Jul 14, 2013)

JoeGuy said:


> The fact is the scanner has no film mode (and I'm not sure why)



Your not sure why a scanner that is not designed for film scanning has no film mode?


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## imagemaker46 (Jul 15, 2013)

I've used a bunch of different scanners, had good results from a few flat bed scanners, but generally the results were as mentioned.  I bought a Nikon coolscan a bunch of years ago, that lasted about a year and the scans from slides started to get worse, halos around the blacks, flat colour. I ended up borrowing a Plustek scanner and had better results.  I recently bought a plustek scanner 7600i  and have had  good results.  The only thing that isn't great about this model, which is last years model, really slow, and the "digital ice" scratch and dust remover only works so-so. I still end up having to work on the scans after.  But for the price, around $300 it is worth the expense.


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## Dikkie (Aug 4, 2018)

Tried it aswel with a non-backlight flatbed scanner. 
Have made the carton pyramid as the tutorial shows, but it doesn't help at all.


I have a good film scanner (Nikon CoolScan IV ED), however, does not respond in my Linux system. (worked well under Windows)


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