Advanced Photo System (APS) films were introduced in the 1990's, mainly in "point and shoot" cameras. Kodak calls this film "Advantix". Initially, slide (transparency) and B&W film was available, but was mostly discontinued soon after introduction; hence color negative film is by far the most common form for APS film. APS films are compact, cartridge-based, 24mm wide films allowing for three image formats, including a panoramic format. Though the film format offers a number of advantages over 35mm, it never caught on with professional or advanced amateur photographers, primarily because the small film area (roughly 50% of 35mm film) does not allow for large, detailed prints.

Every roll of APS film has a 6 digit identifying number stamped on the cartridge; generally, prints from the APS cartridge will include this number printed on the back, along with date and time information from the image (which is recorded on the film). The negatives for this film are returned in the original cartridge after processing/printing. Hence, most people never see the actual negatives. The photos below show an APS cartridge and a portion of an APS negative.

APS Negative Cartridge	APS Negative Strip removed from cartridge Frame size is 16.7mm x 25.1mm

Our APS Negative Film Scanning Service

When you send us your APS films for scanning to CD or DVD, we handle them with all the care and experience that we apply in our 35mm slide scanning, but with important additions that make all the difference when scanning these small negatives.

Since APS film is stored in the original container and not exposed to dust there is normally no need to clean the film in any way. We load the film cartridges into specially equipped Nikon 5000ED dedicated film scanners for scanning. Though there should not be significant dust or scratches on the film, there still may be small amounts accumulated during use in the camera or in processing. For this reason, we employ dust and scratch removal technologies (with a very light application) during scanning to make the digital images shine.

When we have finished scanning your APS negatives, each image is examined and optimized by a skilled digital image technician. Our goal in post-processing is to assure that the resulting image reflects the true content of the negative and gives you the ability to make use of the scanned image without any additional work required. This post-scan processing includes cropping, manual color correction and manual exposure correction. For some images, we selectively apply grain and/or noise reduction in cases where it will improve the resulting digital image. Some of the faster (e.g. 400 ASA) films benefit from this treatment since they may become quite grainy in underexposed images. Additionally, underexposed negatives tend to need more of this noise reduction treatment. Generally speaking, scans of APS films result in good quality digital images that are appropriate for smaller prints (just like the original films) and sharing.

We are happy to selectively scan individual frames on a roll of APS film. However, please note that we charge for a minimum of 5 frames on each APS roll. You can indicate which frames you would like scanned using a seperate sheet of paper. Frame numbers can be found on the back of most prints and on the contact sheet prints provided by many APS film processors.

Following post-scan processing, we generate various JPEG images from the adjusted scanned images. We place preview versions of the images online for you to view. After you have had a chance to preview the scanned images online, we return the digital images to you on archival quality DVDs or CDs (along with the original APS film cartridges) using a reliable, trackable carrier. Your APS film is treated with utmost care while it is in our hands.

APS Negative Scanning Service Prices

Given the small size of the APS negatives, we suggest scanning APS negatives at 3000PPI. Though some images do not benefit greatly from the increased resolution (because they were taken on inexpensive cameras), scanning the negatives at 3000 PPI assures that all the detail present on these small negatives is captured in the digital images.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding APS Film Scanning:

Scanning Individual Frames of APS Negative Rolls

We are happy to scan only selective frames on each APS film roll. When scanning individual frames from APS cartridges, we charge for a minimum of five frames per roll. Indicate the frames that you would like scanned by frame number (usually shown on the contact sheets you received with the processed film) on a separate sheet including the six digit roll indentification number (e.g., 435-987). If we have any questions about which frames you would like scanned from your APS negatives, we will contact you at the time that we do the negative scanning.

Scanning Black and White APS Films

We scan both color and black and white films. Please note that the automated dust and scratch removal technologies that we employ are not effective on traditional B&W film. Hence you should expect to see evidence of dust and scratches in the scanned images.

Extracting Date and Time Information

APS films normally include the date and time that each frame was shot encoded on the film magnetically. The scanning equipment that we use does not have the ability to extract this information directly from the film, unfortunately (nor does any other dedicated scanning equipment available today). The image capture dates and time can be entered manually (assuming that you have that information on prints or contact sheets or the like). We can provide this service for an additional fee. If you don't have this information, then we do not have any ability to recover it from the film. If you have prints with date and time stamps on the back, we can tag the images with date and time individually in the EXIF (and/or IPTC) data of the image. Please contact us for more information and pricing.

Do You Work with Customers Outside the USA?

Yes! We regularly work with customers from Canada. We have also worked with customers from Europe, New Zealand, Taiwan and other locations. Shipping outside of the USA is a bit more expense. We can use UPS, FedEx or the US Postal Service Priority Mail services (your choice). We will reflect our actual shipping charges to you. You are responsible for customs/duty/brokerage charges on the shipments (both inbound and outbound). We try to minimize these fees/taxes by appropriately declaring the materials being shipped.