Don’t Panic:

How to Find the Best Drum Scanning Service for Your Analog Images

By Marwan El Mozayen / SilvergrainClassics

Drum Scanning is the Gold Standard

In the words of ‚The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy‘, “Don’t panic” – especially when it comes to digitizing your precious analogue images. At SilvergrainClassics, we know that drum scanning is the gold standard for getting the full tonal range and minute details from film. But as we recently found out, not all drum scanners are created equal. Let’s dive into the world of drum scanning: Why it’s so important? How can you find the best service providers to get impressive results? We’ve even compiled a list of top-notch professionals for you.

Photo: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Germay

The Story of Two Scans – and a Slight Panic

The idea for this series came from a recent conversation we had with a photographer friend who is currently working on a book project. She is as passionate about film photography as we are and naturally opted for drum scanning to digitize her negatives. The service of her choice was equipped with a Heidelberg drum scanner. The exact same model that we use in our SilvergrainStudioLab. But when she saw the results, she was visibly disappointed. Where was the magic she had heard about in images coming out of a drum scanner? Where were the stunning details that should have been visible in her images?

Knowing how powerful drum scanning can be, we asked the photographer to send us her negatives so we could do it with our Heidelberg drum scanner. After scanning her images again, we were amazed at the difference from the first attempt. Her beautiful negatives came to life in a way that the original scans had simply not captured. What had gone wrong?

A Drum Scanner is a Precision Machine

To get to the bottom of the matter, we turned to Karl Hudson, Heidelberg’s only remaining service technician. Yes, you read that right – the last man on the planet still able to service these legendary machines. The two Heidelberg drum scanners in our SilvergrainStudioLab in Bad Nauheim, Germany are also regularly serviced by Karl Hudson. We told him about our friend’s experience with a drum scanner service and the unsatisfactory results she had received back. Karl’s answer was as obvious as it was alarming: a drum scanner, like any precision machine, needs regular maintenance as well as expert operation. Without this, even the best scanner in the world can only deliver inferior results.

Suddenly it was clear why our friend’s scans had fallen flat: The scanner had most likely not been properly maintained. It was possible that the person who had operated it had not been sufficiently trained and was also not in a position to assess the results competently. Incidentally, Karl didn’t know the provider.

Searching for the Best Drum Scanning Services

This experience got us thinking: how can we help photographers find reputable, professional drum scanning service providers they can trust? No photographer wants to spend a lot of money on a service whose results don’t do their work justice.

When drum scanning is done right, the finest details from your film can be revealed – from the shadows to the brightest highlights – with incredible sharpness and dynamic range. To achieve this, however, both an experienced scan operator and a well-maintained scanner are essential. A drum scanner is a precision instrument that requires care, attention and expertise to perform at its best.

Enter Karl’s Worldwide List of Trusted Drum Scanning Providers

With Karl’s invaluable input, we’ve started compiling a list of top drum scanning service providers who only use Heidelberg drum scanners. They also keep them in peak condition through regular maintenance by Karl Hudson and have trained operators at the helm. While this list doesn’t claim to be exhaustive, it’s a starting point for photographers who want the best for their money. We’ll begin with service providers in the USA and will soon expand to cover Europe, Asia, and beyond.

Help Us to Help You

Do you know an excellent service provider with a drum scanner that is not yet on our list? Do you know a provider who has absolutely convinced you with their results? Please let us know. We are constantly updating our list so that photographers all over the world can be sure that their images are in good hands.

Keep an eye on our website: the first part of our list of drum scanning service providers will be published soon. So, don’t panic! We’ll help you find the best drum scanning service for your analog treasures. As always, get in touch if you have any questions or recommendations. We’re here for you to make sure your images get the care they deserve.

Happy photography and happy scanning!

Get in Touch with Karl Hudson

Karl Hudson

Specializing in maintenance and repair of prepress equipment manufactured in Kiel, Germany

Hudson Grafik Services, Inc.

www.hudsongrafik.com

Get your copies of SilvergrainClassics today

You can find more information on the subject of scanning in the following issues of SilvergrainClassics:

• Scanning: a Historical Perspective – SilvergrainClassics #3
• High-End Scanners – SilvergrainClassics #4
• Scanning Software Solutions – SilvergrainClassics #14
• Scanning: A bridge between digital and analog – SilvergrainClassics #22
• Plustek and SilverFast raise the bar of desktop Scanning – SilvergrainClassics #23