About
Professional Drum Scanning is a boutique photography business run from our design studio in Ballachulish, (near Glencoe) by Tim and Charlotte Parkin. Tim is the technical guru behind the scenes and unlike many people operating drum scanners, he is an accomplished photographer himself using 5×4 and 10×8 large format cameras and both transparency and negative films.
Worldwide Scanning Service
The scanning service was originally started to service the needs of the small British large format photography community but our reputation grew and we now receive orders from all over the world – UK, Australia, the USA, Hong Kong, Brazil, China, Spain, Canada and many more. Our customers include professionals in the architectural, portrait, food, advertising, book publishers, fine art, reproduction and landscape but we also work with many amateur and semi-professional photographers. From urgent commercial work to archive scanning we offer the best quality scans available at a price that is difficult to beat.
Why are our scans cheaper than the competition?
Typically a repro house will have to employ a full time scanner operator and pay them a decent salary due to their in depth knowledge of engineering, colour management and photography. This salary will need to be paid regardless of the volume of work and they will need paying even when the scanner is spinning and they have nothing else to do.
We have a second business running a landscape photography magazine, On Landscape, and so you aren’t paying us a salary when the drum scanner is just spinning away. It also means that you also aren’t paying for the ground rent for the scanners and unlike many of the repro companies who still offer drum scanner services, we aren’t still amortising the cost of new purchase (up to £100,000 per scanner if bought before 2000).
Workflow & Attention to Detail
We also have a process that minimises dust and so you aren’t paying for Photoshop work. What you pay for is the care and attention spent in cleaning and mounting your film and the expert colour management and photographic eye that guarantees you great results – and of course access to the best device ever built to digitise your precious film. Don’t take our word for it though – have a look at the testimonials online and give us a call! We also have a ‘free trial‘ available if you need convincing further.