How to choose a scanning company
Scanning your family photos is an essential step to preserve your memories and stories for future generations. We scan a lot of photos, which requires:
- The right computer equipment
- Technical expertise to use the equipment
- And a high tolerance for repetition.
Most families have 5,000-10,000 physical photos in their collection, so it’s a big project to get those scanned, organized, and preserved for future generations. With those numbers, it’s tempting to consider price as the only factor when choosing a photo scanning company.
Unfortunately, we’ve worked with clients who used cheap services to save money, but received very low quality results. So while price is always a factor, we think scanning family photos is an important project that should be done right the first time. You’re looking for a combination of technical expertise, image quality, and trust.
As you consider your options for photo scanning, make sure you know what to expect at the end of your project. With 30+ years of scanning experience, here are ten things to consider:
- Resolution
Scanning photos is a tedious project, so we suggest doing it only once at the best quality. This ensures you get all the available details, you can make reprints and enlargements, and the memories are safe for future generations. To get maximum quality from the originals, slides and negatives should be scanned at 4,000 PPI and prints should be scanned at 600 PPI. - Cleaning
Original photos, especially slides and negatives, should be cleaned for dust, hair, and debris before they’re scanned. - Color Correction
Are your scans color corrected to original quality or are they scanned without any post-processing? - Cropping
Photos come in a variety of formats including albums, prints, frames, and slides. Are your scans straightened and tightly cropped or are they left crooked or with sloppy edges? - Rotation
Are your scans rotated to the correct orientation? - File Format
What digital file format is delivered for your scans? We typically deliver JPEGs, but can also deliver TIFF or Digital Negative (DNG) at no additional charge. - Organization
If the originals are delivered in envelopes or batches, are the scans saved into subfolders that retain this organization? - In-House
Does the company do the scanning themselves on site, or do they outsource to another company or another country? - Turnaround Time
Many companies take weeks or months to scan a project. What turnaround time are you expecting? - Backups
Does the company keep a backup of your scans, at least until the project is completed and returned?
We hope this list is a helpful guide of factors to consider for such an important project. As usual, make sure you check online reviews before you make a final choice on which scanning company to choose.
At Chaos to Memories, we offer excellent photo scanning with some optional services listed below. Our clients tell us they like that we can do all this for them in one place:
- Digital restoration of original photos that are torn, faded, or damaged.
- Organizing the photos in chronological order and re-dating the digital scans to match.
- Adding important keywords to the scans to make them searchable.
- Re-boxing the original media in archival storage for long-term preservation.
Let us know how we can help you.
Interested in working with Chaos to Memories?
If you’re near Chicago and ready to get started, come visit our Wheaton Studio Monday – Friday, 10-5. Please bring your memories with you.
Contact us for more information, shipping instructions, and to get started on your project.