Unfortunately, we received some heartbreaking news yesterday. Our grandparent's entire photo album collection was stolen in an estate sale that my family had over the weekend. The albums were behind lock and key but that didn't deter the thief. We're trying to move past it all and hope that somehow they're recovered (we're guessing the perp took the box filled with photos not realizing what was inside). While we're coming to terms with the fact that we'll probably never see these photos again (huge sob) we wanted to give our readers some options so this won't ever have to be a reality for you.
Essentially, the process is as follows; your photos are scanned professionally and given to you on a CD or DVD. Because the photos are scanned by the pros, the photos (especially the vintage ones) come out looking better than before. Just because the photos are scanned and given to you on a CD/DVD doesn't mean you throw away the originals--we look at it as insurance for your photos (which are irreplaceable). We also like the fact that you can now share these family photos with the grandparents and aunts and uncles that live in another state (all with just the click of a button). Digitizing your photos is also a great organizing tool--you can categorize the photos online (which makes them much more accessible than flipping through a photo album or a random batch of pics that have lost their paper sleeve). We found a handful of companies online for you to check out. Some companies require you to remove the photos from the albums and others do the work for you. Some companies have a quicker turnaround time (especially if they perform the work on site) instead of shipping your photos out of state. The prices varied quite a bit so it's important for you to choose a company that fits your specific needs.
Have you digitized your photos? Was the process easy and how have you benefitted from digitally archiving your photos?
Related Organizing Posts
- Keepit Photobox from Wrapables
- Turning Your Photos Into A Book
- Good Questions: Organizing Online and Scanned Clippings?
Originally posted by Beth/Apartment Therapy Los Angeles
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Comments (5)
I just wrote an article about this for the May issue of Traditional Home. In addition to scanning in hard copies, please consider backing up all digital files (photos, communications, etc.), renting storage at a third party provider online. And not something like Flickr or Snapfish but a secure data storage site. There are nominal yearly or monthly fees, but think of it as a safe deposit box for digital records.
It's heartbreaking to lose what amounts to a family history.
Daddy!
I used www.scantodigital.com to scan my grandmothers photos. I had about 500 photos scanned for about $60.00. They had the photos scanned in about 5 days. I made copies and gave them to my brother and sisters for Christmas. I also placed a copy in my safe deposit box. Glad I did. Great idea.
David
I used digmypics.com to scan about 200 photos. It was $60, including USPS return shipping. The pictures turned out pretty good but it took them 15 business days to do the job. If you have thousands of pics you want to scan, and you have the time, I would suggest you buy a scanner instead since you can get a good one for less than $100.
On a recent trip to the motherland I manually scanned a few old family albums. Took a long time but worth the effort since they tend to get tossed around and not much value is put on them.