Packaging Your 35mm Slides

It is very important that you read these 3 pages from beginning to end. Please Note: If you do not want to go to the trouble of doing this Slide Prep yourself, we can do it for you for a small fee per slide.

Slide Prep, Page #1 Storage Containers
Slide Prep, Page #2 Organization and Orientation
Slide Prep, Page #3 Packaging Slides for Shipment
Slide Prep, Page #4 We can do your slide orientation and stacking for you.

We can do your slide orientation and stacking for you.

• Slide Orientation and Organization Movie

• >

• Waxed Paper Box Organizing Movie

• Carousel Preparation Movie

It is up to you how you ship the stacks of slides but, if you use rubber bands, we would suggest using two rubber bands per stack since many time slides arrive with broken rubber bands. If the slides are not numbered, we have no way to know what order they should be in.

Number the piles of slides so that we know the position in the show. When you put your identifying number on the slide stack we are going to assume that is the start of that stack. If you put the number on the bottom of the stack instead of the top of the stack, your slides will be scanned in the opposite direction than you intended. Be careful that you do your preparation carefully.

We would suggest putting a piece of 2"x2" blank cardboard on the top and the bottom of the piles so as to protect the slide emulsion. Also, label the pile as to the order in the slide show and identify the "start" and "end" of the pile, just to remove any possible confusion.

You also do not want the piles too high, otherwise when the rubber bands are removed, the whole pile may be hard to control. Be careful not to get fingerprints on the slides. (Remember that we do NOT do slide cleaning.)

Here is one way a customer recently shipped his collection of slides. He used some empty boxes that aluminum foil had come in. We think this is a great idea and, if you want to copy this method, we are perfectly fine with it. They are just the correct size for the 2" x "slides.

If you use this method, please put a piece of tape over the metal cutting edge before you start putting the slides in the box or you may cut yourself. This will also protect our workers when they have to take the slides out and put back in again.

 

Make sure you get your slides all facing the correct way and the #1 slide should be the one that is on the end that is closest to the "screen."

Be sure to mark on the box which side of your stack of slides faces towards the screen. Click to see our Slide Orientation Movie

 

 

 

 

When packing for shipping, if you have the air bag packing, it seems to work really well. You might also want to put the 35mm slides into plastic bags.

 

 

 

 

 

If you are going to pack your shipping container with foam "peanuts" or some other type of packing material that might rub off onto the slides, put the slide bunches in a plastic bag to protect them.

If you would like to ship via Priority Mail and use the U.S. Postal Service's FREE Priority Mail boxes, please click on this link for more information.

 

Slide Prep, Page #1 Storage Containers
Slide Prep, Page #2 Organization and Orientation
Slide Prep, Page #3 Packaging Slides for Shipment
Slide Prep, Page#4 We can do your slide orientation and stacking for you.

Click to see our Slide Orientation Movie