​If you've been photographing since before the digital revolution, chances are you'll have plenty of old prints or negatives tucked away, gathering dust. Well what better time to bring your classic snaps into the digital age for easy online sharing with friends and family, or simply re-live some carefree memories?

With boxes of old prints, digitizing them with a regular flatbed scanner is ideal as it's fast and effective (and there are some great low-cost all-in-one printers that will do that for you). But for the very best digital conversion results, you should scan the original negative rather than a photo print. This can be done with a conventional flatbed scanner that has the option to scan negs and slides, and includes the required holders. 

You will get even better results from negatives and transparencies if you use a dedicated film scanner. Cheaper film scanners can scan incredibly quickly but at the expense of image quality, while high-end models take their time but reward you with stunning clarity, resolving every single film grain in your original photo.

We've attempted to make the process of selecting a film scanner easier by putting together a list that suits all needs and all budgets. All will scan 35mm color and black and white negatives, and the flatbed scanners can also scan medium format film, while others are capable of digitizing 8mm cine film.​

If all this nostalgia is making you miss the days of film photography, well, it's still alive and kicking! You can buy film in sizes from 35mm to medium format roll film and even large format sheet film. Check out our guide to the best film to buy. There are lots of film cameras around too, and we've got a guide to the best film cameras to invest in. There's a huge used camera market and a surprising amount of know-how and expertise around classic film cameras.

The best film scanners in 2020
So what's the best film scanner? Right now, we think it's the Plustek OpticFilm 8100 from film scanning expert Plustek: it extracts phenomenal levels of detail from your film, is backed up by excellent included scanning software, and it's sensibly priced. We love it. If you're after something that'll scan multiple film frames automatically, though, and has the versatility to scan photo prints and documents, Epson's V550 Photo flatbed scanner is a great choice.

1. Plustek OpticFilm 8100

This is baby of the OpticFilm range, yet it still boasts a respectable 7,200 dpi maximum scanning resolution. It’s also a real optical film scanner and not just a digital camera sensor in a scanner body. This does however mean the Plustek OpticFilm 8100 is no speed demon. Each 35mm film frame takes nearly 4 minutes to scan at max res, but 3,600dpi is more than adequate for most film stocks and you’ll have a scanned frame in 1 minute 20 seconds. 

Though the front panel has a QuickScan button that automatically scans and saves a frame to you computer desktop, it’s best to load up the bundled SilverFast software that provides comprehensive scanning options and pre-scan image enhancement. Even without messing with the settings, and scanning at 3,600dpi, the Plustek OpticFilm 8100 is in a league of its own for scan quality, extracting bags of detail from our 35mm negs and transparencies. It also lets you scan the entire film frame with no overzealous cropping. The 8100 did struggle to reveal every detail in the shadow areas of our high-contrast 35mm slide positive, but this is our only nitpick. 

Also consider the very similar Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE/Ai scanners which offer the same features as the Plustek OpticFilm 8100 (see below), but add some some extra software features.

Chantilly, VA  — March 20, 2020 -- Contex, the world leader in large format scanning, today announces a series of ten how-to video tutorials for the Nextimage scanning software. The tutorials provide step-by-step instructions to help new and experienced users to boost their scanning workflow while attaining top-quality results with their Contex large format scanners. The tutorials are available at Contex’s YouTube channel. ​

​“With today’s circumstances, customers are setting up their large format scanners at home, making these tutorials extremely helpful,” comments Steve Blanken, General Manager, Contex Americas. “These videos provide useful guidance for basic and complex scanning projects, and customers can view them at their own pace. Our customer support team is also readily available to answer any questions that customers may have.”
The Contex video tutorials address the following topics:

• Batch mode: Tips and tricks on how to get the most out of the batch scanning feature.
• Adaptive threshold: Learn how to clean up backgrounds in line drawings.
• Applying borders: Instructions on how to apply borders.
• Soften/smooth: Tips on how to soften and smooth images.
• Rotate: Learn how to rotate in 90 degrees segments and fine-adjust with manual rotation increments of 0.1 degree.
• Auto black and white and creating presets: Learn how to improve scans with auto black and white, and how to make a new preset.
• Image cropping: Instructions on how to crop and save.
• Oversized scanning: A comprehensive guide on how to scan oversized documents.
• Paper handling: Get to know paper handling and the link between speed and image quality.
• Choosing settings: Guidance for choosing the correct settings, which can drastically speed up the scanning process.

Additionally, Contex published a general video, which shows an overview of the functions and possibilities of Nextimage software for its range of large format scanners.
For more information, visit www.contex.com or email info@scanext.com.my
About Contex
As the world’s leading developer and producer of large format imaging solutions, Contex drives the market with innovative technology and advanced scan and copy software applications. Sold worldwide in more than 100 countries, Contex solutions are recognized in a wide range of industries for reliability, value, high performance, and superb image quality. For more information, please visit www.contex.com.

MARCH 22, 2020 BY GISUSER
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Document scanning functionality is a critical component for a software developer building a website, content management system, or office automation system. There are several different scanning drivers in the market: TWAIN, WIA, ISIS and SANE. Naturally, you may be confused as to what is the best solution for you.

TWAIN, WIA, ISIS and SANE, are all scanning drivers that support acquiring physical images from scanners and storing the digital images on a computer. Although they are trying to achieve the same task basically, a popularity search shows that TWAIN is leading the game.
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These four scanning drivers have some different scanner functionalities and compatibilities, which makes them suitable for different situations. Let’s take a look at them one by one.

TWAIN is scanning protocol that was initially used for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh operating systems, and it added Linux/Unix support since version 2.0. The first release was in 1992. It was designed as an interface between image processing software and scanners or digital cameras.
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It has three key elements, the Application software, the Source Manager software, and the Data Source software. The Source Manager Interface provided by TWAIN allows your application to control data sources, such as scanners and digital cameras, and acquire images, as shown in the figure below.

Nowadays TWAIN is the most commonly used protocol. Actually, TWAIN is already the de facto standard in document scanners. In most cases, users should be able to either get a free TWAIN driver or easily find one (from the manufacturer’s website), for their scanners – Canon, HP, Epson, Kodak, Xerox, you name it.

Although nearly all scanners contain a TWAIN driver that complies with the TWAIN standard (the latest version is 2.4), the implementation of each TWAIN scanner driver may vary slightly in terms of scanner setting dialog, custom capabilities, and other features. It is good if you want to use features specific to a particular scanner model, but if you want your application’s scanning behavior to be consistent on different scanners, you need to be wary of customized code.

The TWAIN standard is now evolving to the next generation, called TWAIN direct. The TWAIN working group, that Dynamsoft is an associate of, claims that with TWAIN direct vendor specific drivers will no longer be needed. The application will be able to communicate directly with scanning devices. The best of TWAIN direct is still to come.
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If you are interested in a TWAIN scanning SDK, you can take a look at the SDKs we provide:

• Dynamic Web TWAIN (JavaScript/HTML5 TWAIN SDK, for web-based applications)
• Dynamic .NET TWAIN (.NET TWAIN SDK, for desktop-based applications)

WIA (Windows Image Acquisition), introduced by Microsoft since Window Me, is the driver platform delivered with the Windows OS, including Windows 7, Windows 8, etc. It enables applications to acquire images from all kinds of digital cameras and scanners. It sounds very similar to TWAIN, doesn’t it?

Both TWAIN and WIA can work with scanners and cameras as long as the driver is installed. Generally, if your application is going to interact with scanners most of the time, especially if old scanners need to be supported, TWAIN is recommended. For cameras, WIA offers better support. But, sometimes TWAIN based applications can communicate with WIA devices, such as scanners or cameras, via the “TWAIN compatibility layer”.
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There are other differences between TWAIN and WIA. TWAIN has three transfer modes(native, memory, file) while WIA has only two (memory, file). TWAIN enables device vendors to create a customized user interface for each driver. WIA uses a simplified user interface for all devices, based on a scripting object model. If you only need basic scanning functions, WIA is enough. If you need to use more sophisticated features of a scanner, such as different options for each page when scanning in duplex mode, TWAIN should be your choice.

ISIS (Image and Scanner Interface Specification) is a proprietary scanner interface developed by Pixel Translations in 1990 (today: EMC Captiva).

Unlike TWAIN, produced by a non-profit organization, ISIS doesn’t come for free. Scanner vendors need to pay a royalty fee in order to use the ISIS driver. Although ISIS was originally targeted for a production environment (higher volumes, supporting advanced features of high-end scanners), the high cost is driving vendors away. As a result, ISIS is not popular in enterprises.
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Moreover, despite ISIS’s reputation in performance, many developers also claimed that no obvious technical advantage is identified when comparing ISIS to TWAIN.

SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) is an application programming interface (API) commonly used in UNIX (including GNU/Linux). SANE is an open source project. You can download its source code (latest version 1.0.24) at http://www.sane-project.org/source.html .
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Unlike TWAIN, SANE separates the user-interface (front-end) from the driver of a device (backend). The SANE driver only provides a backend interface, with the hardware and the use of a number of “options” to drive each scan. One example of an option to define the scan area is as below,

So now have you got an idea and made up your mind?
Below is a comparison table for these 4 drivers that summarizes what was mentioned above.

Make no mistake, using a wide-format printer can be an expensive proposition that makes producing traditional office documents seem downright economical. After all, everything is bigger, including the printer's price tag, the paper and how much ink you need. 
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All of this adds up to a potential budget buster. If your company is struggling with the expense associated with creating banners, posters and marketing materials (but you need a wide-format printer), there are several ways to curtail the costs. From buying ink in bulk to combining prints, there's a lot you can do without sacrificing the printed materials your company counts on. 
Here are eight ways to reign in wide-printing costs.

1. Bigger is better with ink cartridges.
It might seem counterintuitive, but one of the easiest ways to save money on wide-format printing is to buy the largest ink modules you can get. That's because as the ink module's size increases, the ink's cost drops quickly. It's the same ink, it just costs less. 
For instance, Canon sells three cartridge sizes for its iMagePROgraf Pro-4000 series: 160, 330 and 700 milliliters (ml). The cost of the ink declines from 61 cents per milliliter for the small (160 ml) cartridge to 52 cents per ml for the medium one (330 ml) to 42 cents per ml for the large (700 ml) cartridge. Overall, it can add up to significant savings. 
Better yet, printers that don't utilize ink cartridges can save you even more. Some printers, like the LUS 150 formulation that the Mimaki JFX 2000 uses, contain ink reservoirs. When a particular color of ink is running low, you simply pour ink from a bottle into the appropriate reservoir. It can be messy, but the cost is approximately 10 cents per ml of ink. [Interested in buying a wide-format printer? Check out our best picks.] 

2. Use draft mode.
The easiest way to shave wide-format printing costs is to avoid using top resolution or photo-quality settings for works in progress. Instead, print in draft mode. You'll get a print that is suitable for marking up and soliciting comments on while slashing 20 to 40 percent of your costs. 
You may be able to configure the printer's default settings so that an item is automatically set to print in draft mode. Users must then manually change the printer's setting to print an item with high resolution for final prints. 

3. Combine print jobs.
Wide-format printers create large printed items that other devices can't produce. But smaller items can be combined to cut costs, save time and reduce paper use. 
Say, for example, that you have 10 prints to make ranging in size from 24 x 36 inches to 48 x 60 inches on your Roland Soljet EJ-640. They can be printed individually or arranged across the EJ-640's 64-inch wide bed. They're printed more quickly, and there's less waste (but the prints will need to be trimmed). 
Some printer manufacturers include nesting software, like Epson's Layout Manager, that optimizes placement of individual prints on the sheet to help you make the most of your print jobs. 

4. Faster printers allow for greater efficiency.
We're always in a hurry to get the print job done, but a faster printer can be a great way to further lower expenses and make the printer pay for itself, because the more you use it, the less it costs per item printed. 
Take printing a dozen D-sized (24 x 36-inch) posters with HP's PageWide XL 6000 printer. It's capable of producing them in less than a minute, leaving the printer ready for its next job. This increases the printer's capacity utilization while lowering the cost per item. You might even be able to consolidate costs by eliminating slower printers in your office and instead using one fast device. 

5. Two rolls are better than one.
It may seem like an inconvenience, but a wide-format printer that can switch between two or more paper rolls easily can be a money saver. This is because you don't need to waste 10 or 15 minutes taking the old roll out, inserting the new one and feeding the paper properly. With a dial-roll device, you select the right paper size in the setup menu, just like you would with a regular printer if you were printing legal-sized documents versus letter-sized items. 

6. Reduce paper waste with print preview and overseeing printing.
One of the best ways to cut paper and ink costs is to train employees to use the Print Preview function before they print their project. This step eliminates a lot of mistakes and waste. 
It's also a good idea to monitor your print job. The paper doesn't always feed straight into the printer or the ink isn't always laid down evenly. If you catch it early, you can start again with less waste. 
Some printers, like Epson's SureColor P20000, have a sensor hidden near the print heads that monitors the print, detecting any changes in ink density variations, paper skewing and slack. If it detects a problem, it corrects it instantly so there are fewer wasted prints. 

7. Cut repair bills with an extended warranty.
Wide-format printers are complicated, expensive machines, and there's nothing worse than having a broken machine sit idle. That's where an extended warranty comes in. 
For instance, it costs about $2,200 to extend the original one-year warranty for Canon's imagePROGRAF iPF785for an extra year. It's money well spent, because in the event the printer requires a major repair, the costs to repair the printer coupled with the costs to your business in terms of delays, productivity, etc., are astronomic compared to $2,200. 
Check to make sure the extended warranty is transferable should your company sell the printer. 

8. Limit employee use and require necessary approvals.​
Finally, one of the best ways to reduce printing costs is to limit its use. Curtail access to the printer to only those employees who need to print and monitor who's printing what. 
HP's SmartTracker software works with all PageWide XL devices to control the printing process, including who can and cannot print on the device. It also shows who is using the printer with helpful graphs and can estimate per-page costs. 
Another bonus to this approach is that you can charge back the use of this companywide resource to those departments that use it most.