Scanner Film Stock Preset Usage Analysis

Generated: December 2025 | Data source: SCAN_XML_SESSIONS (1,248 rolls)

Summary

1,248

Total rolls analyzed

8,683

Total scan segments

6.96

Avg segments per roll

71%

Rolls with preset changes

This analysis examines how film stock presets (NNews, NNews+01 through NNews+48) are used during scanning. Film stock presets configure the scanner's illumination level to accommodate different film densities.

Distribution of Preset Changes Per Roll

A "preset change" occurs when a different NNews preset is used within the same roll. A roll scanned entirely with one preset would have 0 changes.

Preset Changes	Number of Rolls	Percentage	Cumulative %
0 (single preset)	361	28.9%	28.9%
1-2	307	24.6%	53.5%
3-5	268	21.5%	75.0%
6-10	211	16.9%	91.9%
11-20	90	7.2%	99.1%
21+	11	0.9%	100%

Usage by Operator

Operator	Rolls Scanned	Avg Preset Changes	Max Preset Changes
CN	662	3.79	28
BB	356	3.72	19
SE	218	2.71	18

All three operators show similar patterns, suggesting this is an established workflow practice rather than individual variation.

Trend Over Time (2025)

Month	Rolls	Avg Preset Changes
May	42	3.64
June	166	4.13
July	169	3.89
August	183	2.80
September	218	2.97
October	195	4.03
November	156	3.56
December	119	4.04

The practice has remained consistent throughout 2025, averaging 3-4 preset changes per roll each month.

Example: Roll with Multiple Preset Changes

This example shows NR020827-S, a roll with 28 different presets used across 98 scan segments. Note the highlighted rows showing overlapping frame ranges where the same footage was scanned multiple times with different presets.

Preset	Frame Start	Frame End	Frame Count
NNews+31	1000	1327	328
NNews+42	1160	1479	320
NNews+22	1454	1606	153
NNews+33	1582	1600	19
NNews+43	1582	1674	93
NNews+27	1655	1845	191
NNews+29	1655	1760	106
NNews+33	1655	1681	27
NNews+14	1827	1868	42
NNews+09	1827	1950	124
NNews+04	1827	1945	119
NNews+33	1938	2050	113
NNews+16	2032	2119	88
NNews+30	2120	2385	266
NNews+23	2362	2435	74
NNews+18	2408	2747	340
NNews+16	2408	2437	30
... 80 more segments ...

The overlapping frame ranges (e.g., frames 1582-1681 scanned with NNews+33, NNews+43, NNews+27, NNews+29, and NNews+33 again) indicate the operator stopped, rewound, and rescanned portions of the roll with different illumination settings.

Observations

Multi-segment scanning is universal: Only 29% of rolls are scanned with a single consistent preset.
Rescanning with different presets: Overlapping frame ranges appear in many rolls, indicating intentional rescanning of the same footage with different light levels.
Wide preset range within single rolls: Some rolls span from NNews+04 to NNews+48 (a 12× difference in light levels).
Consistent across operators: All three operators show similar patterns (avg 2.7-3.8 changes per roll).
Consistent over time: The practice has not increased or decreased throughout 2025.
Last scan wins: When frames are rescanned with different presets, the Scanity overwrites the TIFF files. Only the final pass survives to archive.

Analysis prepared December 2025
Data: hearst.SCAN_XML_SESSIONS