True resolving power
Each pixel is sampled directly from the emulsion, so fine grain, micro-detail and texture survive even when you print big or crop hard.
Professional Drum Scanning Services in Europe
Analog Perfection Digitized.
“We operate a legendary Heidelberg Tango drum scanner to extract the soul from your negatives.”
At wescan.film we specialise in professional drum film scanning on a Heidelberg Tango. You mail your 35mm, 120 or large format negatives to us and we send back clean, high-bit scans ready to edit, print and archive.
Since
1996 in film photography
Scanner
Heidelberg Tango drum scanner
Formats
35mm · 120 · 4×5 · 8×10
Output
True 16-bit TIFF drum scans
About wescan.film
We scan film. That’s it.
Thank you for trusting your film with us. At wescan.film we don’t run a minilab or sell chemicals on the side – we scan film, and only film.
Whether it’s 35mm, 120 or sheet film up to roughly A2 in size, every frame goes through the same careful process. Our preferred method is drum scanning on a highly regarded Heidelberg Tango, giving photographers high-resolution, clean, colour-faithful scans with the full character of the original negative or slide.
Portfolio
See what a Tango drum scan can pull out of film.
A few real-world examples from our clients – 35mm, 120 and large format drum scans on the Heidelberg Tango. Zoom in, look at the grain, the shadows and the highlight roll-off. This is the level of detail and tonal control you can expect from wescan.film.
Location & lab
High Quality Film scanning service in Europe
Our film scanning lab is conveniently located in Riga, Latvia. We provide high quality film scanning service for photographers, art curators and private collections from across Europe and rest of the world.
My name is Jānis Ratnieks and I’ve been into film photography since 1996.
High quality film scanning for professionals.
Why drum scanning
What a real drum scanner does that others can’t.
Drum film scanning isn’t about nostalgia – it’s about extracting everything that’s actually on the negative. A Heidelberg Tango with wet mounting delivers the kind of resolution, tonality and consistency that flatbeds and DSLR rigs simply struggle to match.
Edge-to-edge sharpness
Wet mounting on a perfectly flat drum eliminates film curl and focus shift, giving you crisp corners and clean geometry on every frame.
Clean, open shadows
The Tango’s dynamic range digs into dense shadow areas, revealing information that cheaper scanners leave as blocked-up noise.
Controlled highlights
Smooth highlight roll-off and gentle tonal curves keep skies, skin and specular highlights from clipping into harsh white.
Dust & scratch management
Proper cleaning, wet mounting and a controlled workflow greatly reduce visible dust, minor scratches and Newton rings before you ever retouch.
Neutral, repeatable colour
A calibrated drum scanner plus a consistent colour pipeline gives you predictable, neutral drum scans that respond beautifully to grading.
Drum scanning Kodak E100 slide film in Europe.
Deep dive
Why drum scans?
Why Drum scans you would ask? I can name ten other ways of digitising film, that are easier, quicker and cheaper than a drum scan, but hey – there is one more THING that comes to mind – quality.
Drum scans give us the ultimate quality, with drum scans you will chew the last available grain out of your film. For portraits it will give the smoothest transition between the various shades of skin color. For landscapes it will extract all the detail that film has. There’s just no way around it! Here are three main reasons, why I prefer a drum scan over any other scan:
The digitising process
the digitising process – with a Heidelberg Tango Drum Scanner every pixel is read by a PMT (photomultiplier tube) – so there is no CCD sensor involved, PMT’s are more sensitive to light and the result is wider Dmax and a staggering resolution of 11000dpi. In real life we use up to 6000 though. When scanning with PMTs, the scanner extracts more shadow detail and also extracts detail from higlights. This is the best way to convert photons into pixels.
True 16 bit TIFF files
true 16 bit TIFF files – yes output files are true 16 bit , so they are very flexible for post processing. When scanning slides or delivering negatives to you wit no conversion, files are saved as 16 bit LAB files. If we do conversion, then we deliver them as 16 bit ProPhotoRGB TIFF files.
Wet mounting on a drum
the film is wet mounted on a drum (hence the drum scanner) – so the file is sharp across the frame – there’s no defocusing due to curvature of the film, you can really extract that special grain that film has. there’s no lens involved, so there are no scanner induced chromatic aberrations. The wet mounting also reduces visible scratches of the film, so files come out cleaner than when digitising with other methods.
I’ve shortly summed up my love for this process, I hope you’ll be enjoying it as much as I am.
Pro Film Scanning – Prices and More Info
Film Scan Sizes And Prices
We scan all film - 35mm, 120 roll film, 4×5", 5×7", 8×10", sheet film up to 297×420mm. We scan negatives, slides, black and white film and prints.
Negative Conversion
We convert our negatives using Negative Lab Pro. This is the latest still evolving software for negative conversion. Check out samples here.
Lab + Film Scans
We've partnered with a local pro lab to develop our film. We develop C-41, BW and E6. Send us your film - we will process it and scan it.
How to order film scans
1. Fill Out The Form
Let us know which frames to scan, size of the scan, whether you need us to convert negatives, and your color tone preference. Tell us everything.
2. Post Your Film
Pack your film safely and deliver it to us—you can either mail or courier it. We will confirm once we've received it and get back to you with any questions we have.
3. Scanning
It takes 1-2 weeks to fulfill orders, depending on our schedule and the size of your order. Please let us know if you need a rush order. We'll see what we can do.
4. Receive Files And Film
Final files will be uploaded and shared with you via Dropbox. If you'd like us to write them on a USB stick, please send us one. Film will be returned to you via post.
Testimonials
What photographers say about our drum scanning service.
wescan.film works with wedding photographers, fine art shooters and archives across Europe who need reliable, high quality drum scans from their negatives and slides. Here’s what some of them say about working with our Heidelberg Tango film scanning service.
“
I finally get drum scans that look like my negatives. Skin tones are smooth, shadows are
open and I don’t have to fight the files in post. wescan.film is now my default lab for
all important client work.
“
I send 4×5" and 8×10" colour negatives from long-term projects and the Tango
drum scans always hold the highlights and delicate colour I need for large prints and
gallery shows.
“
We digitise fragile archive material that cannot be re-shot. The careful handling and
consistent drum scanning quality from wescan.film gives us files suitable for both
conservation and publication.
Calling All Artists
We’re open to collabs with artists and students – if you have a project that requires scans, an exhibition or a book you’d like to print – feel free to contact us, we’re open for collaboration in exchange of our brand’s exposure.
Tell Us More
#collabs
