If you don’t know how to properly load your slides or negatives into your scanner, you are going to waste time˳ Here’s three simple tips to quickly determine what side is what:
1˳ Slides and Negatives Have Two Sides
Did you know that a 35mm slide or 35 negative film strip has a positive and negative side? When your film was developed, one side was coated with was is called “emulsion matte”˳ This side with the emulsion matte is the negative side, the other side is positive˳ I know, a negative strip also has a negative side˳ But don’t worry about the terminology– just know that slides and negatives have two side˳ What you need to determine is which side is the positive side˳
2˳ How To Determine The “Positive” Side Of A Slide Or Negative
I want you to take out a slide, and bring it to a light source, such as a lamp or window˳ Flip the slide back and forth, and you’ll notice a subtle difference˳ One side will be have small groves, you’ll see lines making out a shape, and it will be a bit dull or opaque˳ The other side will be shiny, smooth, and there will be no lines˳
The smooth and shiny side is the positive side˳ The other other side, the rough side, is where the emulsion matte was coated on˳ This side is the negative˳ If your Dad, back in the day, cheapened out and bought lesser quality slides, you’ll have a hard time determining what side is positive or negative˳ But keep flipping the slide back and forth, and you’ll eventually see a smooth side versus a rough side˳ Remember, smooth equals positive, rough equals negative˳
Finding the positive / negative side of negative film is a lot easier˳ You can use the same technique, or you can look closely at the numbers and letters printed right on the negative˳ If the letters and numbers are backwards, then that’s the negative side˳ If the letters and numbers are facing you correctly, that is the positive side˳
One more quick tip: After scanning over 500,000 slides and negatives, I know in a instant which side is which˳ The negative side of a slide or negative film will be concave– meaning it will scoop in like bowl˳ The positive side will be convex– meaning it will bubble out˳ But be careful with this method, sometimes cheaper film will be the other way around˳ And you’ll see, maybe after 100 scans, you’ll get the hang of it˳
3˳ How To Load Your Slides And Negatives Properly Into Your Scanner
Now that you know a bit more about the positive and negative side of film, I can now tell you what side goes where˳
If you have a flat-bed scanner, you want the positive side DOWN, facing the window˳ So when you load your slides, you want to make sure the rough side is facing you, and the clear side is facing toward the glass˳ It’s the same with with your negatives– make sure the letters/numbers on the negative are backwards when you face them˳ Just think, “shiny down, dirty up”˳
For film scanners, like the Nikon Coolscan, the method is backwards˳ Load your slides with the smooth side up, while the rough side facing down˳ With negative film, make sure the letters/numbers are backwards, facing down˳
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