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Scanning a Single Slide Using the Nikon Super COOLSCAN 5000 on a Mac

Instructions

Slide Scanning Station

Welcome to the Slide Scanner tutorial. This tutorial covers scanning a single slide on a Mac scanning station.

Items Necessary to Use This Station

  • A workstation with a Nikon Super COOLSCAN 5000 single slide feeder
  • Storage for your images (CD-R, flash drive, Webspace, etc.)
  • The slide[s] you are going to scan

Loading Your Slide

Loading a Slide into the Scanner

Make sure the scanner is on and plugged in (the green light on the front should be lit).

First, load your slide into a Nikon scanner. Pay attention to the orientation of the slide, noting the front and back sides, and the position of the image. Insert the slide, left side first with the top facing up.

Scanning Your Slide

Nikon Scan Software

Open the Nikon Scan software. If the Nikon icon is not on the dock, click on the "APPLICATIONS" folder in the dock. Open the "NIKON SOFTWARE" folder and open the "NIKON SCAN 4" folder. Choose the Nikon Scan 4 icon.

A gray window will appear. A tool palette will load on right side of the screen. Leave the default settings.

To preview the scan, hit the blue button. If you are happy with the previewed image, click on the green button to scan.

Now, you need to save the image. Go to "FILE" and "SAVE AS". Title your image and leave it as a TIFF file. Save the image to the Desktop.

This is a high resolution but tiny image, and you'll need to make some changes.

Open Photoshop by clicking on the blue "PS" icon on the dock. Or go to the "APPLICATIONS" folder in the dock. Choose the "ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS4" folder. Click on the blue Photoshop icon.

Once you've opened Photoshop, go to "FILE" and select "OPEN" and select your image.

Selecting Image Size from the Image Menu

Because you scanned a small slide, the computer reads it as a tiny image with a high resolution. So you need to change the dimensions. Under "IMAGE," go to "IMAGE SIZE."

Document Size Menu

A new window will appear. The average photo size is 5x7. We'll adjust the measurements under "DOCUMENT SIZE" so that the larger side is 7 inches or the smaller side is 5 inches. The other dimension automatically adjusts to retain the original proportions.

You may need to change the image resolution. If you are printing or need higher quality, a good resolution is 300 pixels per inch. If you are uploading the image online, 72 pixels per inch is sufficient.

To save your image, go to "FILE," "SAVE AS" and choose JPEG under "FORMAT." If you want to edit it further, save it as a TIFF or Photoshop file. Be sure to rename the file if you want to save your original scan and click "SAVE." Leave the default JPEG options if you're saving it as a JPEG.

At this point, the file is still on the computer's Desktop. Remember to transfer it to your storage before you log off the computer.

If you have not done so already, make sure you remove the slide from the scanner by pressing the eject button on the scanner.