Organizing before Scanning

To optimize our work flow we need your help to organize your pictures.  You can group your pictures by date or significant characteristic such as people involved, event, or subject.  The default organizational scheme is to group pictures according to the year they were taken.  Each item in a group of pictures does not have to be exactly the same size. Color and BW images can be grouped together as long as they can be treated equally (all scanned as color documents or all as BW).

Individual Hand Scans (more expensive)

Items larger than 8x12 will need to be scanned on the flatbed scanner. Its often better to leave odd items (old, damaged, bent, or fragile) to be scanned on the flatbed scanner. That leaves us with the chance to examine them and communicate with you our recommendations.

Multiple Group (Stack) Scans (less expensive)

4X6 and 3.5X5 prints are always good candidates for group scanning in our document feed scanner. But any images on paper in good condition (such as no bent corners, no cracks, no surface dirt that will come off, no severely curled paper) will scan in groups. Either side or both sides can be scanned at one time, thus leaving you with the potential of saving notes written on the back. Pictures to be scanned on both sides should be grouped together and labeled as such. All images should be oriented face up. We suggest that you use index cards to write pertinent information. Put these cards on the top of each stack. The cards will tell us what we are doing as well as explain to you what your purpose was at the time.  These information "cards" can go through the scanner easily and will enable you to customize your organization any way you wish.    

Boxing Your Groups of Pictures for Scanning

Small unframed pictures (3.5x5) or (4x6)

Use containers like shoe boxes to hold your stacks.  Their size is large enough for many pictures yet easy to handle.  Put the stacks right side up just like you would a set of index cards in a file drawer. You can also wrap them in rubber bands and enclose in zip lock bags to keep the stack together and protect from moisture.

Large unfraimed pictures (5x7) and larger

Large items should be laid flat in an appropriate box. Place an index card on top of each group to define you needs. Enclose each group in a ziplock bag. Pad your box so that the pictures are not scrambled in transit.

Framed pictures

Framed pictures must be taken from the frame.  We can not put frames on our flat bed scanner because of the danger of scratching the glass.

Albums and Scrapbooks

Pictures should be taken from an album.  When these pictures are included in stacks they can be scanned much faster.  If the are left inside an album they will be scanned on our flatbed one page at a time if possible. We do not return pictures to an album because there is a high risk that we would not order them correctly.

Scrapbooks or albums that can not be open completely for each page to be scanned flat against our scanner will not be scanned. You would not get a good image. If we feel we could hurt your album or scrapbook or our scanner we reserve the right to not scan it.

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