Photo Prints to Digital Scanning Service

Print / Document Transfer Q&A

• What do I need to provide for an accurate quote?
  • The TYPE of materials you want to transfer (Video, movie, stills, etc.) Combination orders are welcome and qualify for greater discounts
  • If a tape, the LENGTH of program on the tape. If you don't know how full the tape is, just report the number on the case, e.g. T120.
  • If a tape, the SPEED at which it was recorded, if you know. 
  • And the QUANTITY of each type of material
  • If tape is damaged, describe the problem
  • Whether you want your files on a flash drive or optical drive (DVD)
• Why transfer prints as RAW images?

  Ninety percent of the time you won't notice the difference between a RAW image and a JPG image. JPG images capture in "24-bit" color, which produces 16.8 million discreet colors. That seems like a lot, but if an image has very subtle gradients, it can cause a "banding" artifact, because there's not enough data. RAW images capture in 48-bit color, which yields close to 300 Billion colors, so banding is virtually eliminated. For photo editing RAW provides the best source. Any print can be scanned in RAW using the copystand.

• What do you mean by "lossless?"

  Digital photos are very large, in that they can create a lot of data. To make file sizes manageable, computer wizards invented image compression. With JPEG (Joint Photo Experts Group), the scanner or camera throws away data and leaves hints on how the data should be reconstructed. When compressed greatly, the computer has to guess how to reconstruct the image, and that leads to digital artifacts. "Lossless" compression, found in PNG and BMP formats, works by finding redundancies in the code that makes up the picture, and stores those as a formula, rather than throwing them away. When opened, the computer accurately reconstructs the image without digital artifacts.

  We can provide lossless output from flatbed scans or the copystand.

• How do I prepare images for transfer?

  Snapshot Prints are best delivered in bundles or boxes, grouped by print size. We will scan all the prints in a bundle and save them in a folder with a number corresponding to the bundle so you can add subject date and location data later. If you prefer the images in a bundle be in a particular order, let us know which is the starting image. If you specify a name or date for the bundle, we can name the folder accordingly. 

  Albums: For best pricing, prints should be removed from albums and delivered in bundles. If impossible to remove, the flatbed or copystand scanner will transfer images through protective film. If you prefer, we can capture the entire album page as one image with multiple photos. Those count as only one scan. 

  Framed/Large Photos: For best results, remove the picture from the frame. If that is not possible we will scan the photo in the frame, but reflections from glass may be unavoidable. Extra cost if we must remove a print from a frame and replace it.

• What is a Video Photo Album (VPA)

  A Video Photo Album is either a video file or a PowerPoint file with your images sequenced to change every few seconds.

  • VPA VIDEO provides a single video file compatible with any modern media player or set-top optical player. If delivered on a flash drive, we can render in full 4K resolution. Blu-Ray can handle HD, and DVD will be in SD widescreen. You can choose whether to "pillarbox" the images, or have us crop to the full 16:9 HD video frame. Music from our royalty free library can be added to a VPA Video at extra cost.
  • VPA PowerPoint provides a PowerPoint show file that will play on any computer with PowerPoint. PowerPoint is resolution independent, so it will adapt to whatever size screen you play it on. PowerPoint files can be edited, so you can resort, hide or delete images before running it for your event.

  Images and video from any of our transfer services, plus your own digital images can be merged into a Video Photo Album. They can also play just one time through or loop for kiosk viewing, depending on player.

• Can you print my transferred photos?

  No, with rare exceptions we do not offer printing services. You can print your transferred photos just as you would any digital photo using a desktop printer, a photo kiosk, or an online service.

• What about faded prints?

  Color dyes of some images have faded over time, due to manufacturing, processing or storage. For "machine scanned" prints, our scanner applies faded color correction as a separate image of each scan. If that is insufficient, or to provide more precise color correction, we suggest copystand transfer in RAW so we can color correct in Adobe Lightroom. Some prints with faded color are best transferred in black & white.

  We now offer to "Colorize" badly faded or black & white prints using an AI process. Learn more.

• What are my delivery options?

  USB Flash Drive:
  Most of our customers choose delivery on a USB flash drive or portable hard drive. With so many sizes available, we can usually fit all your content on one USB drive. Most modern TV sets and all computers (Mac/PC) will play content from a flash drive. We include instructions on how to backup and safeguard your investment

  DVD/Blu-Ray ROM
  Optical discs are an option, but images cannot be renamed or reordered on disc. If copied to a computer, they may be edited after removing the read-only attribute.

  Digital Download
  We do not provide digital upload/download service except if preview or approval is necessary. More on digital downloads.

• Can I provide my own disk for output?

  Yes, we support BYOD (bring your own disk). While we normally provide output on our media (cost varies with drive size), you can instead provide a new-in-box (sealed) flash drive or portable hard disk/SSD at no extra charge. We can estimate drive size needed with your estimate, and confirm it when transfers are complete.

• Can I make my own copies?

  Absolutely! We make no copyright claim on your content, so you are free to make copies (provided, of course, the material is not copyrighted by a 3rd party.) If you prefer for us to make your copies, they're available for only the cost of the media.

  Additional copies may be ordered from our master files with or without the source files for up to 3 months following delivery. Our masters are scheduled for deletion after 3 months unless you choose the archive option.