Scan my photos
Your first step starts with you and your photos, spending time together.
You may be surprised that having your photos professionally scanned is not the beginning of your journey into preserving your legacy for future generations. Your first step starts with you and your photos, spending time together.
Put aside a weekend or two or three. You are in for a treat! Sorting your photos can be a pleasurable trip down memory lane, and you need time for that. Count it as 'me' time. You won't regret it.
Why spend the time?
Some of us just don't have the time to sort through all our photos, but they still need to be digitised. It's on the 'To Do' list. If this is you, click on the button below. We love scanning photos and we'll receive them with care and love.
but consider this
Spending time with your photos, sorting them into life events, places and people, will help you tell a story, an amazing story about you and where you're from. This is your story to tell your kids and grandkids and their kids. And above all, your photos remind you about how wonderful, joyful, exciting and beautiful you are, and how important the people that you share your life with are. It's well worth the effort. It's worth the time.
Getting your photos ready for scanning
Loose Photos
Pack your loose photos in batches and in the order you want them scanned. Place the labels at the head of each batch.
Photo Albums
There are a number of ways to scan your photo album. Read below and contact us to discuss the most suitable option for you.
Negatives
Keep the negatives in their sleeves, or if they are loose, pop them in a sandwich bag or envelope to keep them together.
Slides
If your slides are not in their own box, pop them in a sandwich bag, envelope or box to keep them together.
Keep scrolling for more information.
How do I sort my photos for scanning?
Before you start, decide how you want to categorise your photos.
Below are common ways to categorise your photos:
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by years
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by people - grandparents, parents, children, relatives, families, friends
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by events - weddings, births, christenings, anniversaries
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by suburb - your home
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by holidays
The most common method is chronologically (by date). This will get you started. Sorting your photos into a timeline is most popular because it helps you tell your story as it happened.
For Photo Index Books
Our Photo Index Book system works alphabetically. If you're telling your story, using the year as your first category will keep your photos in chronological order.
Here is an example:
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Folder name: 1978 - Julie Dave Wedding
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Folder name: 1983 - Julie Dave Home
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Folder name: 1985 - Amy Christening
If you were to sort your photos without the year, this is the order the above folders would be in the Photo Index Book:
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Folder name: Amy Christening
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Folder name: Julie Dave Home
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Folder name: Julie Dave Wedding
What do I need to do before I send my photos?
We suggest using the items below:
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Labels - Download our label template by clicking the button below. Print out as many as you need and cut them down so that you can slip the label in with your photos.
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Pencil/pen - to write on your labels. (If you use a pen, be careful that the ink is dry and doesn't transfer onto the front of the photos)
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Zip lock plastic lunch bags - the perfect size for batches of standard size photos, or
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Pack your photos into a box.
It's time to choose a temporary area of your home where your photos won't be disturbed and you can spread them out for sorting. Your exquisite time for reminiscing begins. This is your 'me' time. Immerse yourself. Get a nice warm coffee on a winters day, or a lovely glass of wine to sip... but be careful not to spill on your photos.
Getting your photos ready for scanning
Here's a few pointers on how to best provide us with your photo collection for scanning:
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Cleaning: Remove blue tack, sticky tape or any adhesive from your photos - if we need to stop the scanner to remove tape, blue tack of any other matter from your photo, this will be counted as an individually handled photo, so it is best to remove before sending to us.
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Labelling: As above in 'sort your photos for scanning', label each batch of photos with the information you require. Your first and second sorting preference will be used in the digital file name of the photo (up to 35 characters). If there is remaining information, this will be applied to the information section of the digital photo file and can be searchable and accessed via properties of the file.
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Loose Photos: Batch your photos and insert them with a label into a zip lock sandwich bag, or
pack your photos into a box in the order you want them scanned, with labels at the head of each batch. Make sure photos are packed firmly so they don't move during transportation. If there is space in the box, scrunch up some paper or packing, and fill the space to prevent the photos from mixing together and getting out of order during transportation. -
Photo Albums: Depending on the condition of the photos in your album, you can decide whether to remove them from the album yourself; have us remove them for you; have your photos individually scanned without removing them from the album; or have the whole album page scanned. If you are removing the photos yourself, please follow the above instructions.
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Negatives: Keep the negatives in their sleeves, or if they are loose, put them together in an envelope to avoid any further damage to the emulsion.
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Slides: Most slides come in cardboard slide mounts and sometimes have their own box. If they don't have their own box, pop them in a sandwich bag, envelope or box to keep them together.
Counting your loose photos to get an estimate
In order for us to give you a quote, we need to know how many photos you want to scan. Here is an easy and quick technique to get a rough estimate of the quantity of your photos:
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Count out your first 20 or 50 photos.
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Place this first bundle of photos on the table.
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Gather the rest of your photos and place them in bundles to the same height as your first bundle.
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Count the bundles that you have and multiply them by the number in your batch.
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This should give you a quick estimate on how many photos you have to scan. This method can be used to count larger quantities of photos by using bundles of 100 or more.
Getting your photos to us for scanning
We are located on the Northern Rivers of NSW and provide a pick up and drop off by appointment in Murwillumbah, Banora Point and Kingscliff locations. If you live outside this area, we will use Australia Post.
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Place an order with us and we'll send you our postal address.
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Make sure your photos have been packaged securely to prevent them from being damaged.
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Send to us via Australia Post or a courier of your choosing.
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Northern Rivers only - call 0403 724 347 for a drop off and pick up appointment in Murwillumbah, Tumbulgum, Banora Point or Kingscliff.