Digitising Glass Plate Negatives
Glass Plate Negatives Scanning and Restoration
Glass plate negatives are delicate, invaluable historical artifacts that require expert care. At Colour Factory, we specialise in scanning and restoring glass plate negatives to preserve these precious pieces of history.
After each negative is digitised and adjusted in Photoshop, we then carry out a quality control check on each negative. This means ensuring that all information has been captured correctly and the image quality meets our capture standards.
Many glass plates, both negatives and transparencies can become damaged easily, so it is worth preserving them before they become unusable. Scanning your slides, negatives, and photos to high-resolution images protects the history that has been preserved on these valuable mediums.
Our Services:
High-Quality Scanning:
Using cutting-edge technology, we meticulously scan glass plate negatives to create high-quality digital files.
Expert Restoration:
Our skilled team repairs and enhances glass plate negatives, revitalising damaged images.
Safe Storage Solutions:
We provide professional advice and solutions for the safe storage and preservation of glass plate negatives.
Case Study: Digitising Glass Plate Negatives
Preserving a Rich Family History
This project involved sorting and scanning an extensive family history captured on glass negatives. Glass plate negatives, commonly used between approximately 1880 and the late 1920s, are also known as silver gelatin dry plate negatives. These negatives have a light-sensitive emulsion with a binder thinly layered on one side of a glass plate. Due to their fragile nature, they require careful handling to prevent damage.
The negatives had been stored in old newspapers, which provided additional historical context, indicating the age of the film. Amongst the glass plates, we discovered pieces of old photographic advertising, information on various paper types, and details about photographic chemicals available at the start of the 20th century.
Our team meticulously handled each negative, ensuring they were scanned with the highest quality to preserve their historical significance. This project not only safeguarded valuable family memories but also offered a fascinating glimpse into the early 20th-century photography practices and the passion of a keen photographer from that era.