Converting old photos to digital format: I know I've seen this question before, but I cannot find the topic anywhere. Can anyone recommend a company that will scan old photos (boxes of...

dbjazz Loc: Long Island, NY

I know I've seen this question before, but I cannot find the topic anywhere. Can anyone recommend a company that will scan old photos (boxes of them) so that I can have digital copies of them? Many of the photos are from the 1920s -1950s. I am in New York but am willing to ship/mail them out.

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

dbjazz wrote:

I know I've seen this question before, but I cannot find the topic anywhere. Can anyone recommend a company that will scan old photos (boxes of them) so that I can have digital copies of them? Many of the photos are from the 1920s -1950s. I am in New York but am willing to ship/mail them out.

You could buy a scanner and input them into your computer yourself. Epson makes some great scanners, I have one and am very satisfied with it.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

dbjazz wrote:

I know I've seen this question before, but I cannot find the topic anywhere. Can anyone recommend a company that will scan old photos (boxes of them) so that I can have digital copies of them? Many of the photos are from the 1920s -1950s. I am in New York but am willing to ship/mail them out.

Photo scanning services can be costly. I do not think I have seen any for less than $0.10. And I would be suspicious at that rate. $0.50 is more likely. So if your photo collection is really large, it could cost a lot. So here are two articles:

DIY
https://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/fastest-way-to-scan-large-number-of-photos/

Scanning services:
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-photo-scanning-service/

Torquil Loc: The seashore

dbjazz wrote:

I know I've seen this question before, but I cannot find the topic anywhere. Can anyone recommend a company that will scan old photos (boxes of them) so that I can have digital copies of them? Many of the photos are from the 1920s -1950s. I am in New York but am willing to ship/mail them out.

I've had satisfactory results from scanmyphotos.com.

mcmama

dbjazz wrote:

I know I've seen this question before, but I cannot find the topic anywhere. Can anyone recommend a company that will scan old photos (boxes of them) so that I can have digital copies of them? Many of the photos are from the 1920s -1950s. I am in New York but am willing to ship/mail them out.

About 2 years ago I went through thousands of photos and scanned them myself onto my computer. I used a $70 Epson printer/scanner/copier to do it.

Those old photos are pretty small, and you’d probably be able to scan six at a time as separate photos. Once they’re scanned onto your desktop on the computer, it’s very easy to sort them and put them into different folders.

Yes, it took quite awhile, but it was a project of love. If you have the time, I would highly recommend doing it yourself.

blue-ultra Loc: New Hampshire

I have been scanning old photos recently and it is a long process with a scanner then PP. But at the end of the day I decided to prioritize which photos to scan to save time. Not all our old photos deserve to be scanned :-) I use an Epsom scanner for prints and have purchased a slide scanner for those old Kodachrome & Ectachrome slides... Not too happy with the output with those. There seems to be a lot of added contrast. Previous posters have mentioned scanning services being expensive, I agree and I am not sure they do all that good of job. End of the day, your choice. But I think you would be better served by doing it yourself.

Bob

Terrymac Loc: LONDON U.K.

Hi flyguy,

may I ask you what scanner you use as I need a new one and could do with one that is good a copying photos. Thank you Terry.

flyguy wrote:

You could buy a scanner and input them into your computer yourself. Epson makes some great scanners, I have one and am very satisfied with it.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

mcmama wrote:

About 2 years ago I went through thousands of phot... (show quote)

I scan the small ones on my scanner and enlarge while scanning. Having the scanner lets me re-scan if I think I can make it look better. It takes a while, but I have full control of how they turn out.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

dbjazz wrote:

I know I've seen this question before, but I cannot find the topic anywhere. Can anyone recommend a company that will scan old photos (boxes of them) so that I can have digital copies of them? Many of the photos are from the 1920s -1950s. I am in New York but am willing to ship/mail them out.

Related issue. Do you also have negatives?

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Terrymac wrote:

Hi flyguy,

may I ask you what scanner you use as I need a new one and could do with one that is good a copying photos. Thank you Terry.

I have an Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner which I had for a very long time and it still works well.They make more recent versions of this type of scanner which are reasonably priced.

The software that comes with it allows one to make a number of prescan adjustments, i.e. levels, cropping etc.so that you have more input control over the photo file and a better photo for an end result.

As others have noted in replies, you would do well to cull out as many photos as possible to shorten the length of time to complete the entire process.

Terrymac Loc: LONDON U.K.

Thanks for the quick response.

flyguy wrote:

I have an Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner whic... (show quote)

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Terrymac wrote:

Thanks for the quick response.

You are very welcome and I hope that you found it helpful.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Just copy them with your DLSR. I have a copy stand and it works great. If you don't have a stand use a tripod with the head turned upside down. - Dave

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

dbjazz wrote:

I know I've seen this question before, but I cannot find the topic anywhere. Can anyone recommend a company that will scan old photos (boxes of them) so that I can have digital copies of them? Many of the photos are from the 1920s -1950s. I am in New York but am willing to ship/mail them out.

Six years ago I sent probably 300 pictures to Fotobridge for scanning (look them up on Google, as the site won't let me put in a link - says it's spam!). They varied from tiny to large, black and white to color, very old to relatively recent, perfect to quite beat up. One was a box brownie picture of me at the age of three months - almost 91 years ago! They maintained my categories and sort order and did an excellent and expeditious job. The results were better than I expected. I recommend them highly.

Loren - Baguio City

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

flyguy wrote:

You could buy a scanner and input them into your computer yourself. Epson makes some great scanners, I have one and am very satisfied with it.

Right. Lots of companies can scan photos, but buying an Epson V600 scanner and doing the scanning yourself will be more satisfying and probably less expensive.