Wet Mount Scanning: How to Get the Highest Quality Film Scans at Home

Getting high quality film scans usually means taking your film to a local lab or sending it to a not-so-local one if there’s not a lab nearby. But there is a way to get high-quality scans done in the comfort of your own home using a flat bed film scanner; it’s called wet mount scanning.

Marc of the YouTube channel Analog Process put together this easy-to-follow, step-by-step tutorial on wet mount scanning that will show you how to get the highest quality scans possible at home.

You’ll need some Scanner Mounting Fluid, acetate sheets, glass cleaner, a rocket ship duster, a couple of cloths, and your preferred flat bed scanner (Marc uses an Epson V700). Using all this instead of the film holders that came with the scanner, you will sandwich your negative between two thin layers of scanning fluid, allowing you to capture a much higher quality scan than you previously thought your scanner was capable of.

“Not only are you gonna get a really high quality scan with this, probably comparable with your local lab,” says Marc. “You’re also getting it pretty much for free.”

Check out the video up top to see Marc’s step-by-step guide, and if you’re interested in trying to wet mount yourself, head over to this link where you can find all the necessary wet mount scanning materials individually and arranged into convenient kits.

(via ISO 1200)