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Your slide collection captures decades of family history in vivid color — but slides fade, scratch, and degrade over time. Let Scan5 bring them back to life with high-resolution scans you can view, share, and keep forever.
Consumer flatbed scanners can't capture the full detail locked inside a 35mm slide. At Scan5, we use dedicated film scanners with multi-pass scanning and Digital ICE technology to remove dust and scratches automatically — delivering sharp, true-to-life scans at resolutions up to 4000 DPI or higher.
Every slide is handled individually by our technicians. We review color balance, exposure, and sharpness to ensure your scans look as good as the day the photos were taken — or better.
35mm slides — also known as transparencies or chromes — were the go-to format for serious amateur and professional photographers from the 1950s through the 1990s. Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Fujichrome, and countless other slide films captured family vacations, weddings, and once-in-a-lifetime moments in stunning clarity.
But slides are vulnerable to fading, color shift, mold, and physical damage. Kodachrome slides can last decades, but many other emulsions have already begun to deteriorate. We accept standard 35mm slides in cardboard, plastic, or metal mounts, as well as medium format slides and glass-mounted lantern slides.
Choose the scan resolution that fits how you plan to use and display your digitized slides.
Great for digital sharing, email, and social media. Produces files optimized for screen viewing on phones, tablets, and computers.
Larger, detail-rich files suitable for printing up to 8×10 and beyond. The best all-around option for preserving the full quality of your slides.
Maximum DPI scans that capture every detail in the film grain. Ideal for large-format printing, restoration work, and permanent archival storage.
Mold, broken mounts, and faded emulsions are common in older slide collections. We handle each slide with care and can address many common issues before scanning.
We carefully clean slides to remove dust, fingerprints, and surface mold before scanning, and use Digital ICE technology to minimize the appearance of scratches in the final scan.
Faded or color-shifted slides can often be dramatically improved with professional color correction. We can restore warmth, contrast, and clarity to slides that look washed out or discolored.
Once your slides are scanned, you have a few options for how to store and access your digital files.
We've digitized slide collections for families, photographers, and institutions across the Chicago area.
Bring us one carousel or one thousand slides — we scan entire family collections and organize your images so they're easy to browse and share.
We handle high-volume slide scanning orders for museums, universities, historical societies, and professional photographers with competitive turnaround and pricing.
We understand how personal your memories are, and we treat them with the utmost care. Your photos, tapes, and videos are always secure with us, and we never share them with third parties. Your physical items are kept safe in our climate controlled inventory room at our office building with 24/7 monitoring.
We scan standard 35mm slides in cardboard, plastic, and metal mounts, as well as medium format slides (120/220 film) and glass-mounted lantern slides. If you're unsure about your slide type, contact us and we'll help identify it.
We offer multiple resolution options ranging from standard (great for sharing) to high-resolution (suitable for large prints) to maximum archival DPI. We'll recommend the right option based on your intended use.
Yes. We clean slides before scanning and can apply color correction to restore faded or color-shifted images. Slides with minor mold or surface contamination are carefully cleaned. Severely damaged slides may have limited recovery, but we'll always give you an honest assessment.
Scans are delivered as high-quality JPEG or TIFF files depending on the resolution tier you choose. TIFF files are recommended for archival use and large-format printing; JPEGs are ideal for sharing and everyday viewing.
No — you can bring your slides in carousels, trays, or loose in boxes. We'll handle sorting and loading. We'll return everything in the same order you brought it in.
You can drop off your slides at our Chicago studio at 4001 N Ravenswood Ave Suite 502-B, schedule a courier pickup, or ship your slides to us (we provide a prepaid label upon request).
Most projects are completed in 1–2 weeks. Larger collections or archival-resolution orders may take longer. Rush service may be available — contact us to discuss your timeline.
Yes. We offer volume discounts for large collections. Contact us with an approximate slide count and we'll provide a custom quote.
Don't wait until it's too late. Let Scan5 preserve your family's photo history before it fades away.
