Why Drum Scanning is the best: 

A drum scanner is the best scanner for capturing the dynamic range, tonal quality, detail, and sharpness of negative and transparency film. These professional machines, like our Heidelberg drum scanner, have the ability to make exact reproductions. Our Tango drum scanner weighs 550 pounds and stands five feet tall, while our Aztek (the smaller scanner) weighs 140 pounds.

Your film is fluid-mounted to an acrylic cylinder (the drum) and sandwiched between optically clear Mylar. The fluid mounting increases highlight and shadow detail in your scans. It improves fine detail while removing much of the dust & scratches, emulsion blemishes, etc) in your film, and reduces film grain. There’s no way to simulate the improvements fluid mounting your film offers – you can only fluid mount film with drum scanners and some flatbeds, not with an Imacon or Noritsu scanner. The end result is drum scans that are cleaner and sharper, without feeling like the scans have been sharpened with a filter. This process is especially beneficial for areas of the film that require enhanced detail.

After mounting, the drum is loaded into the scanner, where it spins at high RPM as the scan head (also called the “periscope”) travels up and down in a series of extremely precise micro-steps, slowly yet faithfully recording the film’s details line by line. A medium format negative may take up to 2 hours of scanning time.

Excellent question! We are lucky to have two drum scanners in our studio. We prefer the Heidelberg Tango for transparencies and most negative scans. The detail it pulls from highlights and shadows is clean and effortless, and the grain is beautiful.

Our Aztek HR8000 allows us to scan large format film at a higher resolution, but that doesn’t always translate into meaningful improvements in your prints. Aztek’s software can sometimes help with extremely thin negatives.

We’re always happy to suggest which scanner is best for your particular project.

Brad (Candela’s owner, guy who does almost all of the drum scanning) has been operating drum scanners since 2005 and has owned or operated Heidelberg Tangos, Primescans, S3900, Imacon Flextights, Nikon Coolscans, Epson flatbed scanners, and Aztek HR8000s.

Brad was trained in drum scanning by Bob Cornelis of Color Folio, and has drum scanned film for clients all around the world, including Richard Misrach, Todd Hido, Roger Minick, Debra Bloomfield, and many more!

If you have copy art (slides taken of your artworks), order drum scans to start the printing process. If you have existing artwork (paintings, drawings, maps, etc) that you want digitized, please use our artwork scanning service.

Order online, or contact us here.