I have a large collection of 35mm slides that I often use in my classes. Would it be worthwhile to convert them to digital format? Is there any place on campus that can help me?

 The benefits of converting slides to a digital format are numerous and compelling. Once your slides are converted to

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digital images, you will no longer need to tote all those unwieldy carousel slide trays from your office to the lecture hall, and struggling with bulky slide projectors will be a thing of the past. These digital images can be easily dropped into PowerPoint presentations, course Web pages, and even become email attachments you send to colleagues around the world. More importantly, you can place your digitized images on Photo CDs, so you will always have a sturdy high-quality image archive that is much less likely to fade or deteriorate.

Slide carousels could become a thing of the past now that digital transfer is easy and affordable. Photo provided by IET Mediaworks

There are two ways IET can help you convert slides to digital files. You can either do it yourself at a campus computer lab operated by IET, or avail yourself of IET Mediaworks’ services (Mediaworks is the instructional technology and digital media service unit on campus, located in Surge II).

To tackle the slide conversion process yourself, you can use one of the two slide scanners in the Meyer Hall Media Lab. When not reserved for classes, this computer room (located in 1154 Meyer) is open for use by the campus community. However, it is important to note that you will be on your own handling any digital image cleanup and optimization (such as color correction or any other kind of image editing). For Meyer Media Lab hours, and available hardware/software, you can visit http://clm.ucdavis.edu/rooms/ or call the Meyer Media Lab at (530) 752-5215.

To get help from Mediaworks, call 752-2133. The Art and Photography Group in Mediaworks regularly works with instructors to convert 35mm slide collections into digital images. Using a Kodak high production 35mm scanner, Mediaworks can produce digital images in both TIFF and JPEG digital file formats at a very high resolution from both slides and photo negatives. Included in the service is any image optimization or color correction necessary. Standard service takes about two business days, while economy service takes about five business days. This service has become popular at Mediaworks, as faculty recognize the many benefits of digitizing their collections.