Message-ID: <68252AFC3C664754BD7E52B1C53240F7@BillSchuettePC> From: "Bill Schuette" <wschuette@wicw.net> Subject: Re: Question old glass negatives Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:14:29 -0500
Hi, I am the volunteer photo archivist at the Sauk County Historical Society in Baraboo. I've also dealt with glass negatives from our collection. I would strongly suggest that you scan them into a computer with a good scanner that will accept the size of negative that you have. Having them printed out onto paper copies by a professional photographer could cost a lot of money. If they are sent away to a lab, you run the risk of having them broken. I don't know if you have a flatbed scanner and what your finances are like, but I use an Epson scanner, model Perfection 4870 Photo. It will take large glass negatives as well as any size negative. It scans from the top for negatives and from the bottom for photos. A very ideal arrangement for the best quality. This is an older model, but I'm sure that Epson has newer current models that will do the same job. I believe that I paid around $450 for this one. But it was well worth it. It will also scan color negatives and positive prints and anything else that you can lay on its table. Once your images are digital, you can post them on line on Flickr so that people can view and possibly buy copies. I believe that the photo collection of all museums should eventually be transferred to digital images. It saves the original should visitors wish to look through your collection. If they are digitalized, you can simply point them to the computer and let them browse without damaging the originals or without taking up your valuable time to search the collection. It's a win, win situation. Bill Schuette Photo Archivist, SCHS