I don't know about you, but prior to the digital revolution, I was one of those weekly patrons of the local photo processing center at my friendly Longs or Rite-aid. Yes, I said weekly. And, I might mention, that depending on the season or birthday schedule, I may be dropping off two or more rolls of film for prints. I am a certified picture-crazy person.To this day I carry my camera with me everywhere. Litteraly, thank goodness for advancements in technology and I no longer have to lug a camera the size of a brick around in my purse! I am KNOWN to be the one with a camera in any crowd. And until recently (read: had kids), I had gobs of time to upload and share my plentiful pics with family and friends via the fabulous web! I really do think that when I got my first digital camera it was a sad, sad day at my (former) photo store.
So now I hoard my digi-prints. All cataloged and uploaded and backed up to DVD regularly...sometimes I get enough time to upload and share some events with folks, more often than not I just remember that I should share stuff when I catch it on my computer screensaver. I am no longer a photo printer, and I do miss that. On my list of things to do, really :-)
But today, after reaching that space in the garage (yes, we moved and the pictures never made it inside! criminal!!) that holds my numerous boxes of albums, I am wondering what will become of my old photos?! They are not digital, they are not "protected" in multiple formats and locations and collections in my digital catalog! I did try towards the time of my digital conversion, to get a copy on cd of my pics, but that will only cover about a year perhaps... The rest? My childhood photos? My silly summer camp days? Those summer vacations with the family, or holidays visiting relatives? My months abroad? Fragile scraps of precious paper that hold a lifetime of memories for me, and I let them waste away in peril!
Well SCAN them you dolt, you say! And yes, I have attempted this. Anyone care to guess how long it actually takes to scan twenty four (or more often in my case, thirty-six) 4x6 photos at some quality to allow for reprints?!?
F O R E V E R....
Hours upon hours upon hours. Even giving up, and scanning multiples onto a page for later edits! Even spending afternoons at Kinkos using their fancy photo machine - and that was a pretty speedy scanner. My home scanner? Not equipped for marathon photo scanning. (blog image from my favorite Epson.com) And folks, I am talking ALOT of photos. Years of months of weekly trips to the photo counter. Even editing down to the "good" photos, I still have more photos than I will ever have time to scan. Ever. Almost more than I will have time to organize and archive and share! But that is another story! haha
Enter, the best tip I have ever found online!! Photo Scanning Services!!
There are places that will take my boxes of photos through the mail, and scan them ALL and return them to me with a copy on DVD! for pretty darn cheap! Especially if you consider the time it is saving me?!? Really worth every penny!
Now... just have to decide where to send my precious papers. Anyone have any reccomendations? I must gather all the info before just sending my memories off with a wish and a prayer, all help is appreciated! Have you ever used any of these sites? (links open into a new window)
DigMyPics.com per photo charge, default scan is 300 dpi, and they offer a online review and deletion of scans up to 35% of the total scans may be deleted at no charge - handy if you dont have time to sort boxes prior to sending for scan.
FotoBridge.com flat rate scanning charge, default 300 dpi, includes free web-ready copy of images (yay! no resizing for email or web-sharing)
ScanCafe.com per photo charge, default scan is 600 dpi, and you preview the scans and can select and pay for only the ones you keep
There are places that will take my boxes of photos through the mail, and scan them ALL and return them to me with a copy on DVD! for pretty darn cheap! Especially if you consider the time it is saving me?!? Really worth every penny!
Now... just have to decide where to send my precious papers. Anyone have any reccomendations? I must gather all the info before just sending my memories off with a wish and a prayer, all help is appreciated! Have you ever used any of these sites? (links open into a new window)
DigMyPics.com per photo charge, default scan is 300 dpi, and they offer a online review and deletion of scans up to 35% of the total scans may be deleted at no charge - handy if you dont have time to sort boxes prior to sending for scan.
FotoBridge.com flat rate scanning charge, default 300 dpi, includes free web-ready copy of images (yay! no resizing for email or web-sharing)
ScanCafe.com per photo charge, default scan is 600 dpi, and you preview the scans and can select and pay for only the ones you keep
Anyone have a better idea than these? By all means - please refer me! Thanks, in advance, for your comments and suggestions!
Happy Crafting!
~angie
1 comment:
Let me know what you decide - I too need to send boat loads of photos off to be scanned!
oxox!
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