Drum Scanning - Lightsource

Please note turnaround times are currently running longer than usual, about 2-3 weeks for paper prints, and 4-5 weeks for stretched canvas prints.

Drum Scanning

Drum Scanning

Vintage technology with analog optics

When you need the very best scans from your film, there is no substitute for a genuine drum scan.

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Your film is precious. With care and precision, our scanning techniques bring out every tone and detail.

When you need to scan film for a print, book or exhibition, it is vital to get the best. Film photographers have known for decades that there is no substitute for a real Heidelberg drum scan. Our scanners deliver the sharpest, cleanest scans possible. The results are perfectly optimized digital reproductions for your project.

Drum Scanning

The best drum scanners ever made

We have thousands of hours of experience on the best drum scanners ever made: The Heidelberg S3900 and the Primescan D8200. With a skillful eye, our scanner operators optimize the color, highlights and shadows in every frame. New to scanning? Ask about our file mastering service.
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The best drum scanners ever made

Why Our Scans Are Better

  • Grain-sharp focus

    Grain-Sharp Focus

    The scanner optics are focused manually by our expert scanning technicians. resulting in unsurpassed tack-sharp files, right down to the film grain. Other scanners can’t provide this degree of accuracy, due to the limited capabilities of digital autofocus and set focal planes.

  • Higher Resolution

    Heidelberg drum scanners still deliver the largest non-interpolated file sizes, meaning that every pixel is optically generated. Other scanners fake their way to large file sizes by interpolating, or upresing, a smaller file.

  • Dust-Free Files

    Your files are carefully adjusted and meticulously cleaned by our expert technicians before delivery.

Drum Scan Pricing

Output1 scan2-56-1516+
100MB$60$55$48call
250MB$70$65$58
500MB$90$80$72
750MB$100$90$82
1GB$140$120$105

Please note we require a $250 minimum order for drum scanning. If you plan to order prints from your scans, the print cost can be applied toward the $250 minimum.
Drum scanning is labor- and materials-intensive, and performed on vintage equipment which is expensive to maintain. Thank you for understanding.

Contact Us About Scanning

Get in touch with us to discuss your project and arrange a handoff of your film.

“The people at Lightsource deliver. Their imaging team knows exactly what I like and how to bring out the best of my film and digital images. And their Heidelberg drum scanner makes the best scans I’ve ever seen.” Michael Zagaris Music photographer and official photographer for the Oakland Athletics