Issue 33.13
Many of us have boxes of slides and photos that we would like to duplicate in digital format. It is good to have a backup and if your photos are very old you will quickly notice that they are fading whether you have kept them in a cool dark place or not. For most of us, it is easiest to just box them up and take them to a location that does the work for us. Once we have the pictures on a flash drive, CD or DVD we can duplicate them and share them with interested or non-interested family and friends.
The issues you have to be aware of with this approach are cost and quality. The places I am aware of that do slide and picture digitization are Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club and a few other places depending on where you live. You can also mail them to companies that do this full time. A simple google search will give you a number to choose from. No matter who you choose, I recommend strongly that you have your chosen vendor do a few (20-50) for a first run and see how you like the results. You can expect to pay from twenty to thirty cents per picture for the process. That is a good choice if you have 200 slides which will cost you $40 to $60. If you have 5000 it becomes a problem, costing from $1000 to $1500.
When you get them back, carefully compare the digital image to the original, looking for color variations and especially how sharp or clear they look. Scanning (which is the process used to digitize) tends to soften or slightly blur the image unless care is taken and good equipment and software are used. If you are not happy with the results, choose a different provider or take the process to the next level – do it yourself.
Using a regular flat-bed scanner or all-in-one printer/scanner will usually give less than satisfactory results. You will want a professional or semi-professional scanner designed with photos in mind. A professional photographer and photo history specialist friend of mine chose the Epson Perfection V700 as their scanner of choice. It does a pretty good job, but they still do some editing or tweaking with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to sharpen and refine the colors and definition. Prices for this unit are under $1000. A less expensive version of this unit is the V600 which has many of the same features, but is designed for non-professionals and runs about $250. There are many others on the market, but be sure to read the comparative reviews before you buy. Some of the best known names have scanners that really don’t do the job well.
If you choose the do-it-yourself approach, remember that you will be devoting a significant amount of time to the project, but that you will probably be happier with the outcome if quality matters to you. And in this kind of project as well as any others, making duplicates of all your work is a good idea. Remember to back up anything that is important to you.
Shaun McCausland has worked in the computer industry for over 32 years, 23 years of it locally with Bits ‘N’ Bytes and Musicomp and currently does in-home and on-site computer consultation, service, training and repair. If you have questions you can reach him at 435-668-7118 or through his website at www.bitsnbytescomputers.com.