© 2004-2022 Brismedia. Servicing clients Australia wide Brismedia specialise in the scanning / transfer / copy / converting of
slides photos & pictures to CD-DVD disc and Digital Images JPG. Covering Brisbane, Arana Hills, Sydney, Melbourne,
Adelaide, Hobart, Perth, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Cairns, Newcastle, Wollongong, Sunshine Coast, Geelong, Townsville,
Toowoomba, Launceston, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania.
How can I view my slides beforehand?
Most slide projectors have died and the little viewers had their batteries leak. The simplest solution is to
make a light box. Think of how doctors look at X-rays. This allow you to see if their are people or
interesting objects and if the slide has kept its colour. The image is too small to know if it’s in focus.
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A computer screen with a white background (open blank document) turned up bright does the trick.
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A table lamp with opaque piece of plastic or paper towel in front may work.
How do you decide what slides to get scanned?
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What is important to you. Back in the seventies people loved scenery so a lot of slides might be of
countryside, mountains or oceans and have no people in them.
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There could be slides that are just black totally washed out or obviously blurred.
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Look at the colours if it’s all purple say and has nothing of real interest do you really need it?
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The issue with duplicate images say of a group of people is that you can’t tell which slide has the
sharpest image or if they have their eyes closed so I suggest you get them both done.
How do you get your Slides to us?
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You can visit our Arana Hills office. We keep flexible hours 5 days a week with evening drop-off &
pickups available until 7pm (closed Sunday and Monday) Ring to make a time!
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You can post the slides to us. Keep your Aus Post receipt as it has your tracking number.
I suggest wrapping your slides in bubble wrap or padding and ensure no containers can open up.
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You can use a courier company to deliver your parcel. Couriers Please, Fastways, Startrack etc,
are all familiar with our location.
What is the best way to supply your slides to us?
We accept slides in almost all containers including slide carousels, slide boxes, A4 pouches and even
loose. If your posting the cost of shipping large carousels or wooden slide boxes can be expensive &
would also incur extra return postage. So if you are going to remove them from the containers then
the the way we like to receive them is in bundles with 2 rubber band around each bundle. If you want
them scanned in an order, number each bundle with the first slide at the top.
Are slides returned to me?
YES slides are always returned. You can have them
returned in their original containers however for Carousels,
Slide Boxes with individual slots or A4 plastic pouches a
surcharge of 5 cents is added per slide to cover our labour
time. For slide jobs under 250 we prefer to bundle them as
shown above. For jobs over 250 slides we can supply a
purpose built slide box as shown for $8 which holds
around 400 slides and is very compact, great for storage!
How are my slide files named? Can I match file names to the actual slides?
We name your images PICT_001 PICT_002 etc. If we are returning them in your original containers
each container is marked with the start and finish image (eg PICT 221 to 287). The order inside those
containers will be correct but slots that were empty will be filled. If we use our custom box each row is
labelled see the image above.
Should I choose the standard or Professional scanning service?
This boils down to budget and purpose. If you have the money get the professional service. If money
is tight use the standard service or get ruthless and cull more slides. Both services offer the same
scanning method its just the enhancement that’s done afterwards in Photoshop that is different.
So if its for a special event I recommend “Professional” as they will look great on the day.
If its simply to preserve your memories “standard” is fine.
What is 3200 PPI or is that DPI does it matter if its less?
PPI stands for pixels per inch. the more pixels per inch used to scan an image the more detailed it is.
DPI stands for dots per inch. It refers to printing an image the more dots per inch the more detailed the
paper image. So in scanning the world DPI doesn’t really apply but its still misquoted.
Having said that images do have a DPI value stored in them. In theory but not in practice its used to
determine the size of a printed version of the digital image. So if I had an image that was a 1000 pixels
across and I printed it at 100 Dots (pixels) Per Inch it would end up being 10 inches long.
This is because a 100 Dots Per Inch x 10 inches =1000 dots (pixels)
If I printed the same image at 50 Dots Per Inch it would end being 20 inches long.
The bottom line is the more pixels per inch is better. However after certain amount there is no real
benefit as you are seeing the film grain this occurs around 3000ppi for most slides.
How do I figure out what those technical terms mean?
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PPI/DPI (pixels/dots per inch) determines the detail in your image. PPI/DPI of about 3000
is optimum less means your losing details more unless your slides are absolutely amazing offers
no real benefit just increased cost & bigger files. We do offer 4800 scanning if you want it.
Optical V Interpolated. Optical PPI means the actual pixel resolution the scanner used in making
your image. Interpolated means it was scanned at a lower PPI then just up sized in software this is
a cheat to save time & I hope no one in the industry is using it. That’s why we state true optical PPI
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Dust & Scratch Removal: There are two types:
1:Software also known as Digital The software just looks at the image and makes a guess, its
rubbish and causes more problems than it solves, I’ve seen eyebrows removed. Avoid!
2:Infra-Red This is a physical second scan of the image using infra-red light. This highlights the
scratches and blemishes. Digital Ice scratch removal is a software package by Kodak that uses
that information but amazingly Does Not work correctly on kodachrome slides the most common
slide ever made! Our infra-red removal software works fine with kodachrome! (see slideshow)
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Image Enhancement: This includes getting the brightness & contrast correct, removing
colour castes eg a purple tinge, bringing up detail in darker regions. There are two methods.
1:Automated Software sometimes it gets it right, sometimes not. For example a white wedding
dress against a lot of dark foliage. Auto often says that picture is too dark and boost the brightness
washing out all detail in the dress but the shrub looks great. Once its gone it can not be restored!
2: Manual (human) I use my eyes to look at the content of your image and knowing what’s
important adjusts it to get the best result. Making peoples faces in the shadows viewable,
removing say a green tinge so skin tones are correct, enriching the colour where it has faded.