Preparing and Packing Photos to Ship for Scanning

Here are some ideas about how to organize your photos for best results in our high speed scanner:

All of your photos should be removed from envelopes, cases, albums, frames, scrapbooks, or any other storage or organization system BEFORE Mailing. We suggest putting Rubberbands around medium size stacks of photos. Loose rubberbands, just tight enough to keep some order. Please do not put a rubberband around every 20-30 photos. They need to be in larger groups, such as 200 or so. Also if your photos are extremely dusty you may want to wipe them with a soft, dry cloth to prevent excessive dust particles or streaking from showing on your scan. We do have a software built in to help prevent this, but if your photos are really dirty, this will not prevent all of it.
At this point, you will want to put them in some type of shoe box or plastic box, then pack them into a mailing box. OR you can pack them tightly directly into a mailing box. DO NOT USE PACKING PEANUTS to fill extra space, as this causes extra dust. Use crumpled paper to fill any extra space and prevent your photos from bouncing around too much during shipping.

One average shoebox with photos upright is approximately 800-1000 photos.
It is not necessary to "COUNT" photos. If you want them all scanned, send them all, and we can arrange payment for the extra photos through ebay. If you want to be sure not to go over the 500, then you may need to count. We are not difficult people, so if you happen to have a few more, we won't get all grumpy about it.

Whatever order you put them in, the scanner will return them in that same order.

Label your different picture sections with a 3x5 card if your pictures are already organized. (again, large groups please, not small ones. If you have too many 3x5 cards, I will probably just run them through card and all.

When removing pictures from albums and scrapbooks, it is helpful to take a digital photo of the page first to assist in returning the photos later. If your pages are removeable, like ones in sheet protectors for example, and they are not larger than 8.5 x 11, I can scan the entire page. They can't have more than about 2-3 layers of paper on them (such as scrapbook matting) and they absolutely can't have any raised embellishments, such as buttons, staples, eyelets, etc. Flat stickers or die-cuts are usually fine. They should also be single sided, not double, unless they are thin.
Be sure all items are attached well, and repair any items that are coming loose.

For photos smaller than 2.5"x3.5" you'll need to mount them on an index card. Tiny photos won't feed through the machine. There is also a double sided scanning option if needed. Just make sure you separate those items, from your others as they will have to be done in a separate batch.

We generally scan photos directly onto a memory stick (also known as a USB drive, flashdrive, thumb drive, etc.) So if you have one you'd like us to use, please ship it with your photos. Generally you need about 1 g per 1000 photos. Otherwise we will burn them to a CD and mail it back with your photos.

FYI: PHOTO RELEASE INFORMATION

PLEASE DO NOT SEND COPYRIGHTED PHOTOS! We cannot scan photos that have copyrights. The general rule is if you have had it taken at a professional photo studio, or by a professional photographer, such as wedding photos, etc. within the past 15 years, we wont' scan it. School photos included.

Now if you have older wedding photos from parents and grandparents, or school pictures from children who are already grown, or gone, and you absolutely do not know the photographer or where they were done, we will have to make a professional decision about the ability to scan those photos. Just be aware of what the policies are, but generally we are ok to do those ones -- if we have any concerns, we will contact you. If you have copyrighted photos you need scanned and you have a release form from the photographer, please include a copy of that release and a note with your order.

If you need more information on getting photo releases, please see this article. (Towards end of article)

I know you will enjoy having your pictures scanned, archived, and ready for use in your digital Projects. I also know getting them organized is the hardest part and it takes time. My advice is to get it over with and you'll be glad you did it.

We have a quick turnaround time, and you will be very pleased with the results.

If you have need of scanning larger orders, or higher resolution, please contact us for a personalized quote. We can then post a private auction for you based on the quote. Please contact 1-888-785-9368 if you need any additional information. Thank you!