Photo Scanning Recommendations
by Pete Fontaine
Just because a scanning service offers photograph scanning at 600 or 1200 dpi doesn't mean it translates into a better quality scan. What it usually means is higher profits for the photo scanner and a misunderstanding of scanning resolution issues on the part of the buyer. Paying extra money to scan your typical photos at higher than 300 dpi is a waste of money.
Most people have not thought about the fact that a photograph's surface was not designed to reproduce an image like a negative is. So scanning a negative to enlarge a photograph makes sense, but a photo's surface does not have enough resolution.
Wasting money is not the only reason to scan at 300 dpi. Photo scanning beyond 300 dpi produces huge files that slow down just about any use of your scans. Editing, viewing, and working with your files will be slower, and possibly much slower. And you will probably have to change the size of your scan smaller to use it for just about anything.
Top notch photographers don't need to be coached on scanning practices as they already understand the issues. But if you are trying to gather some information to use for your own scanning project or to purchase scanning services, I recommend the relatively extensive discussion of scanning practices by Wayne Fulton at www.scantips.com
Most respectable photo scanning services will save your scans as a high quality jpeg. This is the most popular format. Jpeg files that are highly compressed to produce smaller files loose bits of information and can reduce the quality of your photos. High quality jpegs are compressed very little and lose very little information. You can reduce the file size later as required.
Whether you rotate your own photos after scanning or the scanning service does it make sure that you dont rotate the original scans. Most photo scanners require that your photos be in a stack when you send them in without regard to their orientation. Because your photos are recompressed during the rotation process you may loose bits of information and that can reduce your image quality. So keep your master scans untouched and use a copy to rotate or manipulate.
Create copies of your master scans to use in any digital manipulation. If your photo scanning service offers manual or automatic photo enhancement make sure that they only manipulate copies of the master scans. Automatic enhancement programs can make your photos look better. But they dont make all of your photos look their best.
There are all kinds of software both manual and automatic available to edit your photo scans. The manual editing software offers you complete control and unlimited do-overs. The automatic versions do a lot of good to most of your images and some good to the rest. Manual enhancement should probably only be used for those very special photographs otherwise you will be bored silly. Trying to choose an automatic enhancement software can be tricky because it takes some experimentation to discover which ones actually work. If your photo scanning service provides economical automatic enhancement that may be your best bet.
If your irreplaceable family photographs have not been converted to a digital format then you need to learn more aboutphoto scanning services . Pete Fontaine provides more helpful information at his web page www.nickelscan.com Scanning for a Slideshow Project by Pete Fontaine
Get those old photos out of the closet and build a slideshow that you can watch on a TV. You'll be amazed how easy and inexpensive it is to turn your precious memories into an entertaining masterpiece. The first step is to have your photos scanned. Find an inexpensive photo scanning service to digitize your photos so that you can view and work with them on a computer. If you have lots of photos don't do this yourself, it can be incredibly time consuming. You can find great quality photo scanning for as little as five cents a photo.
Get Artistic. Turn your scans into slideshows that you can view on a TV. You can purchase software like Pro Show Gold by Photodex and have a ball creating that masterpiece. It's easy, you basically just drag your images into a timeline in the order you want, add text to the images if you desire to clarify what the photo is about, and then add your own music. Pretty simple! My favorite feature is the "Ken Burns" effect that allows you to zoom in or to different parts of the photo to bring life to your images. The built-in photo editor allows you to color correct, crop, or rotate your images right in the program. Your 3x5 snapshots will look good even on a widescreen TV.
If you need slideshow freeware you'll find it on the web. Different free services and software are suitable for different purposes. Some make it easy to create and upload your slideshow to social networking sites. Some are simply slideshow creation software. Spend some time exploring the features that are offered, and always download from a familiar site. Sites like Goggle Picassa, Extra Photo Slideshow Free, and Wildbit software can include music and photo editing capabilities. They may not allow you to show your slideshow on a TV.
You may want to think about placing your slideshow in a digital picture frame. Prices have come down on digital picture frames with some 14" frames selling for as little as $99. Some of the smaller frames now go for under $25. We expect this trend to continue. With memory card prices also hitting new lows you can afford to put your entire digital photo library on them. Lots of digital frames come with slideshow software installed, and some will play audio. So when your friends come over you can crawl into the back of that closet to dig out the box of gradually fading photos, or you can flip on that beautiful digital picture frame.
You can have your slideshows hosted online at Picturetrail or Iwebphoto. You can then send your friends and family a link to your slideshows. This can simplify matters somewhat. If you have a lot of photos it can save everyone from downloading the files. And you can add remove or edit the slideshows at any time. Don't forget to add a text description to your slideshow to let everyone know what the photos are about. And go ahead and jazz up your photos with special effects or make a few black and white. Have Fun!
Make sure you choose a photo scanning service that scans at 300 dpi, and don't pay for more. See if you can find a service that includes automatic photo enhancement at a reasonable price. This can do wonders for some if not all of your images. And be sure to insist on a complete copy of the original scans that have not been rotated, enhanced, or manipulated in any way. Then always make a copy of your master scans to use for anything. Shop around, scanning costs can vary greatly.
Scanning photographs permanently protects them from destruction and loss. Once your images are stored on a DVD and sent to two or three different places you are assured of always being able to retrieve at least one copy. You can generate copies on your computer for the price of a blank DVD to share with your friends and family. Day to day loss of quality is no longer an issue. Your treasured memories are safe and sound.
It's easy to include your older photographs in your slide show creations. Pete Fontaine invites you to learn more aboutphoto scanning and scanning services at his website www.nickelscan.com Scanning Photos for Photo Specialties
by Pete Fontaine
When you send your photos to a photo scanning service you're probably trying to permanently protect them from damage and destruction, and you're doing the right thing. Going through the work and the expense will also protect your images from the natural deterioration that eventually claims most photos. But when you're done scanning you'll be ready to enjoy new ways to use your scans.
Once your ordinary photos are digitized they can be added to and organized along with your collection of digital photos. And when the work is done you'll be able to use your newly scanned images to generate wonderful photobooks and photo specialties. Several online businesses offer free software that lets you use your digital images to create an assortment of items from mugs to puzzels to t-shirts and more.
Recently a local sports team used an online photo publishing company to provide t-shirts with the photo of an injured player for the entire team. It was easy for the team to do this quickly and affordably, and the response from everyone involved was truly memorable.
One small company had all of their employees bring in a few meaningful photos of themselves. They then created personalized photo mugs for each person using an online company. The mugs hanging on the rack in the lunch room showed the wonderful diversity of the group. Individuals showed themselves as children, in funny outfits, playing sports, or engaging in their favorite past time. The mugs were the subject of endless conversations and seemed to bring the group closer as people's differences and similarities were discovered.
Impressed by the slideshow display that the funeral parlor had put together for a family member's funeral service, one family had the digitized photos made into photobooks for all of the relatives and friends. The photos tied people's memories together in a way that brought everyone closer together and expressed what it means to be a family in a way that words fell short of doing.
A group of guys in Maine used photo books to immortalize themselves and permanently record their Memorial Day fishing trip to Lobster Lake. Their advice was to hold the fish as close to the camera as possible so that it looks bigger. As time goes by and memories fade those photo books will become an important part of their life stories.
One cheerleading squad recently put together a photobook that included images of all of their activities and photos of the different teams that they cheered for. They made them available to anyone who was interested and they immediately became a hit with players, families, and fans. These inexpensive keepsakes did not replace the yearbook, but the cheering squad enjoyed complete editorial control. Someone even suggested using them as a fund raiser in the future.
It's probably best to choose a photo publishing company that offers software with an automatic layout feature. This can show different layouts until you find one that you like saving lots of time and effort. More advanced software can use one of your images as the background for your photo layout and allow you to adjust and review your project right from your computer without having to transfer data online. Only your finished order needs to be transfered. You can save a copy of your project at any time and continue where you left off when you're ready.
Digitizing your photos is the right thing to do. It preserves them and makes them easy to copy. The fun begins when you choose a great photo specialty company and start creating personalized keepsakes to share with your family and friends. New software makes it easy to become a creative genius, and the low prices will make you look even smarter.
Digitizing photographs for photo books permanently protects them from destruction and deterioration. Sending your photographs to a photo scanning service makes it easy and inexpensive to share a complete copy of your familys digital images with everyone in the family. Learn more about digitizing photographs at Pete's website www.NickelScan.com
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Scanning Photos for The Motor Home Owner
by Pete Fontaine
It doesn't matter whether you've got a million dollar motor coach or a tiny weekender you can still take a complete set of you photographs anywhere you go. There is never enough room in a motor home for photo albums or boxes of photographs, and you probably wouldn't want to expose your photos to the additional risks associated with traveling anyway, but you don't have to go without.
Wouldn't it be great to take a complete set of all of your photos with you, neatly stored away on a DVD or two? Digitizing your ordinary photos is the way to make this possible. Whether you decide to purchase an inexpensive photo scanner and do it yourself or send your photos to a low cost scanning service. You can find excellent scanning services for as little as a nickel per scan.
Aside from making your photos portable, photo scanning stops them from everyday deterioration and aging. Making several complete copies of your images and storing them in different places insures that they are never lost or destroyed by natural causes. And scanning makes it easy to share complete copies with each family member.
One great way to view your photos once you have them scanned is to create a slideshow that you can watch on TV. This is the perfect project for those evenings "on the trail". Slideshow software makes it easy to add captions to your photographs and also include your favorite music. If you're not feeling that creative, you can easily find companies that will build a slideshow just the way you want it.
You might consider displaying your photos on a digital picture frame. Recently digital frames have come down a lot in price. There are some rather nice picture frames for $100 or so that will allow you to display your photos as a slideshow, and even play music. And memory cards are so inexpensive that you can store your entire photo collection on them for a few dollars. If you are traveling to visit family or going to meet new friends having your photos on a digital picture frame will be a treat.
You don't need another half done project lying around the house, so strongly consider using one of the professional photo scanning services you can find online to scan your photos. Scanning more than a few photos can bore you to tears. "Photo Scanning Tips" by this author may be helpful if you need to know more about scanning resolutions and additional services offered by photo scanners. Shop wisely, and don't pay too much. You can find excellent photo scanning for as little as a nickel per photo.
Having your photographs scanned is just another feather in your cap. Not only do you have that little extra piece of home permanently with you, but you have the satisfaction of knowing that the historic record of your family's images are permanently protected from aging, decay, and disaster. Another advantage is that you'll be able to easily add the digital photos you are taking now to you photo collection and not have them in two different formats. Digitizing your photos makes them easy to store and reproduce. Viewing them on a TV or a digital picture frame can be fantastic. Happy Trails!
Are you considering photo scanning for your recreational vehicle or to permanently protect your family's precious memories from damage and deterioration? Pete Fontaine talks more about scanning photos at his website www.nickelscan.com
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Photo Scanning for Digital Scrapbooking
by Pete Fontaine
Digital Scrapbooking is the hugely popular art of turning your precious photographic memories into beautiful personalized creations. And the good news is that the net is loaded with free and inexpensive tutorials, creation software, and community. You will never be at a loss for creative ideas, new and innovative tools, layouts, and templates.
You don't have to restrict yourself to the photos you took with that new digital camera either. Find yourself an inexpensive photo scanning service and make all of your photographs available for digital scrapbooking. There are scanning services that will scan your photos for as little as 5 cents each.
Scanning photos for your scrapping hobby has the added advantage of preserving them from deterioration due to moisture, mold, or age. Saving your photos to a DVD also allows you to store a copy in two or more places permanently shielding them from loss or damage. Scanning services make it possible to give a complete set of all your pictures to family members.
Once you've gotten your photos scanned for scrapping you can use them to build photobooks online and upload them to a free photo sharing site to share with your friends. Online businesses that sell photo novelties like cards, calendars, and T-shirts are easy to find and use. With a few services you can even build a slideshow with music that you can view on a TV or on a digital picture frame.
Make sure your photo scanning service will scan at 300 dpi. No more, no less. 300 DPI is the best choice for almost all photo scanning purposes, so don't pay for more. Also make sure that your photos are saved as a high quality jpeg. You will be using jpeg files in your scrapbooking efforts, and though high quality jpegs have bigger files, you can always use your photo editing software to reduce the file size for a copy of the original.
If your scanning service offers automatic photo enhancement in the deal make sure to take advantage of it because a good photo enhancement program will do a nice job of improving most of your photos. But don't overpay. The most important thing is to make sure enhancements are done from a copy of the master scans. Always use a copy of your master scans to edit or enhance. Remember that rotating or manipulating the scan file will eventually reduce the quality of the photo.
The web is loaded with digital scrapbooking accessories, communities, and educational materials. You can find e-books and embellishments of every kind. Put these tools together with scans from an economical photo scanning service and you're on your way!
Scanning photos for digital scrapbooking has the added benefit of permanently protecting them from destruction and deterioration. Photo Scanning makes it easy and inexpensive to share a complete copy of your family's photographic history with everyone in the family. Find out more about photo scanning at Pete's website www.nickelscan.com
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4/14/09 Press Release:NickelScan Teams with Rocketlife http://www.prlog.org/10217264-nickelscan-teams-with-photo-publisher-rocketlife.html We would like to welcome you to the world of photo scanning and encourage everyone to use our photo scanning service to protect and preserve your precious memories. If you live in or around one of these great cities or towns we would love to scan your photos. New York, NY Los Angeles, CA Chicago, Il Houston, TX Philledelphia, PA Phoenix, AZ San Diego, CA San Antonio, TX Dallas, TX Detroit, MI San Hose, CA Indianapolis, IN San Francisco, CA Jacksonville, FL Columbus, OH Austin, TX Memphis, TN Baltimore, MD Milwaukee, WI Boston, MA Charlotte, NC El Paso, TX Washington, DC Nashville Davidson, TN Seattle, WA Fort Worth, TX Denver, Co Portland, OR Oklahoma, OK Las Vegas, NV Tucson, AZ New Orleans, LA LOng Beach, CA Cleveland, OH Albuquerque, NM Fresno, CA Kansas, MO Sacramento, CA Virginia Beach, VA Mesa, AZ Atlanta, GA Oakland, CA Omaha, NE Tulsa, OK Honolulu, HI Minneapolis, MN Miami, FL Colarado Springs, CO Wichita, KS Arlington, TX Santa Ana, CA St. Louis, MO Anaheim, Ca Pittsburgh, PA Cincinnati, OH Tampa, FL Toledo, OH Raliegh, NC Buffalo, NY Aurora, CO ST. Paul, MN Corpus Christi, TX Newark, NJ Riverside, CA Ancorage, AK Lexington-Fayette, KY St. Petersberg, Fl Jersey, NJ Birmingham, AL Norfolk, VA Plano, TX Lincoln, NE Glendale, AZ Greensboro, NC Hialeah, FL Baton Rouge, LA Garland, TX Rochester, NY Scottsdale, AZ Madison, WI Akron, OH Fort Wayne, IN Fremont, CA Chesapeak, VA Henderson, NV Lubbock, TX Modesto, CA Chandler, AZ Montgomery, AL Glendale, CA Shreveport, LA Desmoines, IA Augusta-Richmond, GA Tacoma, WA Richmond, VA Yonkers, NY Grand Rapids, MI Spokane, Wa Irving, TX Durham, NC Mobile, AL Chula Vista, CA Huntington Beach, CA Orlando, Fl San Bernadino, CA Laredo, TX Reno, NV Arlington, VA Boise, ID Winston-Salem, NC Columbus, GA Little Rock, AR Salt Lake, UT Jackson, MI Newport News, VA Oxnard, CA Amarillo, TX Providence, RI Wocester, MA Knoxville, TN Garden Grove, CA Oceanside, CA Ontario, CA Dayton, OH Huntsville, Al Santa Clara, CA Tempe, AZ Overland Park, KS Fort Lauderdale, FL Aurora, IL Chatanooga, TN Tallahassee, FL Pomona, Ca Santa Rosa, CA Springfield, MA Rockford, Il Springfield, Mo Moreno Valley, CA Paterson, NJ Brownville, TX Vancouver, WA Salinas, CA Kansas, KS Pembroke Pines, FL Hampton, VA Syracuse, NY Pasadena, TX Lakewood, CO Rancho Cucamonga, CA Fontana, CA Hollywood, FL Hayword,CA Torrance, CA Salem, OR Eugene,OR Brigeport, CT Pasadena, CA Corona, CA WArren, MI Escondito, CA North Las Vegas, NV Naperville, IL Grand Prarie, TX Gilbert Town, AZ Orange, CA Alexandria, VA Sioux Falls, SD Sunnyvale, CA Fullerton, CA Mesquite, TX Savannah, GA Sterling Heights, MI Coral Springs, FL Concord, CA Fort Collins, CO Lancaster, CA Hartford, CT Palmdale, CA Fayetteville, NC New Haven, CT Elizabeth, NJ Peoria, AZ Thousand Oaks, CA Cedar Rapids, IA Topeka, KS Flint, MI El MOnte, CA Stamford, CT Vallejo, Ca Evansville, IN Lansing, MI Joliet, IL Columbia, SC Simi Valley, CA Waco, TX Abilene, TX |
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