4 Common Photo Scanning Problems and How to Prevent Them

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who still have boxes of print photos in your attic or basement, then chances are you’ll be looking for ways to preserve them in the near future. But before you get started, let’s take a minute to make sure you don’t encounter any photo scanning problems at the outset.

Since this is our specialty, we pulled together a list of the most common photo scanning problems we hear about from our customers. This list will help you prevent encountering any issues along the way.

Trying To Do It All Yourself

Yes, there are technologies and apps that allow users to DIY the scanning process—but if you value your time or want to preserve the quality of your images, this is not an option we recommend. We even put this recommendation to the test in our recent article, Are Photo Scanning Apps Worth the Headache?

 

 


Are Photo Scanning Apps Worth the Headache? New photo scanning apps put the power of preservation into consumers’ hands, but at what cost? We decided to test out these new apps and made this startling discovery.

Do yourself a favor, and win back that time, energy, and effort by sending those thousands of print photos to a photo scanning service. We have the means to do it quickly, easily, and affordably—without sacrificing quality.

Letting Go

This is hands down, the challenge we hear about the most. When it comes to outsourcing physical photo scanning, many people hesitate to box up those pictures and send them to us here at ScanMyPhotos. The fear of losing these precious memories in the mail can prevent the photos from getting preserved in the first place—which leaves the project to the next generation (who won’t recognize anyone in the photos) or the pictures may be thrown away or lost forever.

The good news is that we hear (countless times) from our customers about how safe they felt with their photos in our care. We provide updates throughout the whole scanning process to ensure you’re not left in the dark at any point in time.

“My photos were all in the same shape and order as I sent them. ScanMyPhotos employees would always return my calls when I had a question.”

 

“Their service was very fast and I got continual updates (so I never had to worry about the status of my photos). Great customer service and fabulous product. I would highly recommend.”

 

“Liked very much that they emailed me to say they received my photos, and emailed me again that they were processing it, then emailed me to tell me they just shipped the package. And it arrived two days later; perfect!”

The Removal Process

Glass frames, sticky-backed albums, tapped collages, and scrapbooks are deadly photo scanning problems to encounter. Trying to remove an original—and often only—a copy of a photo that’s stuck is a nerve-wracking process.

Remember to go slow and use the correct methods for removal. We have a few articles that may help you in these situations:

  • How do you remove a photo stuck to glass? Here are some ideas
  • Removing Photos from Sticky Photo Albums
  • Photograph Preservation 101: How to Get Glue off of Photos

Finding The Time

Boy, this one is tough! Finding the time to sort through all those photos, label them, and organize them properly can be exceedingly difficult. But, in hindsight, many of our customers all say how much they enjoyed the project looking back. It can actually be a lot of fun diving into old memories and figuring out where each picture was and who is in it. These same customers all agree that the best way to find the time is to dedicate an area to the project and chip away at it when you can. Before you know it, your photos will be all organized, boxed up, and ready to ship!

Are you ready to get started with your next photo scanning project? Contact us today and we’ll make sure you start off on the right foot!