Stanleys offers professional film scanning services for the film, TV, broadcast, and archive industries. Based in London, we have been handling film of all gauges for over 50 years, with the expertise and equipment to deliver exceptional results.
Whether your film is a family archive, a feature film negative, or a broadcast documentary, we have the equipment and expertise to scan it to the highest possible quality.
We scan film at up to 6K resolution using professional frame-by-frame film scanners, capturing every detail of your original footage. Our scanning process is gentle on fragile and aged film, ensuring your material is handled with the utmost care.
Our experienced colourists can grade and restore your scanned footage, correcting for fading, dirt, and damage to bring your film back to its original quality — or better.
Each film reel is initially inspected on a winding bench to identify any damaged splices, worn sprockets, or structural issues that could compromise the scanning process. Any detected damage is professionally repaired to ensure safe handling and uninterrupted scanning. The film is then carefully hand-cleaned using a microfibre cloth to remove surface dust and debris prior to scanning.
Upon completion of preparation and initial cleaning, the films are transferred to the scanner. Each reel is mounted and passed through two additional cleaning stages. The first stage utilises PTR rollers to remove fine particulate matter not eliminated during hand cleaning. The second stage employs our Wet-Gate scanning system, which applies a thin layer of isopropyl alcohol to the film surface. This process temporarily fills surface-level scratches and refracts light to significantly reduce their visibility, while also minimising the appearance of blemishes. (Note: scratches that penetrate the emulsion layer cannot be corrected.) During scanning, the system dynamically adjusts exposure levels, improving visibility in underexposed areas and controlling highlights in overexposed sections. Advanced Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) colour correction is applied to restore balance and vibrancy to films that have faded or discoloured over time, delivering a superior result compared to standard scanning or projection methods.
After scanning, your film files are transferred to our colour-grading workstation, where a technical base grade is applied to fine-tune colour accuracy, exposure, framing, and overall consistency. Every file then undergoes a detailed quality control review to ensure optimal focus, stability, and image clarity. Finally, your films are rendered in your chosen format and delivered via your preferred method, providing a professionally finished result ready for viewing, archiving, or sharing.
Every film scanning project is different. Contact our team to discuss your requirements and receive a tailored quote.
Decades of expertise in film handling and digitisation
Full quality control with no outsourcing
Super 8 to 35mm and everything in between
ProRes, MXF, H.264, or your preferred format
Secure and confidential handling of all material
Competitive pricing with fast turnaround
