APS Film Scanner Tray for Epson Scanners

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The APS (Advanced Photo System aka Advantix) film format was popular during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. It allowed the user to choose from 3 image formats, stored image information on a magnetic track and after developing was returned to the owner in the original film canister. While this protected the film from damage it creates challenges for people wishing to scan the film using a flatbed scanner. The first challenge is that the film has been rolled up for 20 years. Attempting to get the film flattened enough to scan properly is frustrating and potentially damaging to the film. The second challenge is that the frames of the APS film are much closer to each other than other formats. Cutting the film strip and then getting the end of the film to lay flat usually is achieved by covering more of the frame than is desirable. There were scanners created specifically for APS, but the ones that were affordable were too low of resolution, and that’s if you could get the drivers to work. This project was started so that I could scan the over 200 APS film rolls I have using my Epson Perfection v550 scanner while avoiding as many of these pitfalls as possible. The final product is the result of very many iterations, starting with a version created using cardboard and a laser-cutter and ending with what you see here. One extra bonus of scanning in APS film is that, while the cameras allowed you to choose a format, every picture was taken using the full frame and depending on the format chosen when the frame was shot, some of the frame was masked when the print was developed. Chances are most of the pictures you scan will contain content you never saw in the prints. Most of the time it’s just a little bit of extra sky or empty space, but every now and then you find something special.