Have you had your photos scanned with ScanMyPhotos.com? Now is the perfect time to go through your scans for those special photos that need a little TLC. Upload your digital file for restoration, no need to send in the photos.
Now you can give the gift of photo memory preservation to those you love. The recipient receives an email from you with the gift code and message from you.
Available gift certificate amounts: $50, $100, $200 and $250
For 28 years, the team at ScanMyPhotos.com has preserved tens of millions of happy memories, milestones, and special events for our customers both in the US and around the world.
Ever dream of traveling the country to experience each region’s unique lifestyle and cuisine, take in the grandeur of the national parks, and soak up everything our major cities have to offer?
Well, one of our customers, Seth Johnson, did just that with his wife – and that trip was the reason they got their photos scanned. While most people might get their photos scanned after a major trip, they had their photos scanned beforehand. When he explained why, it made perfect sense:
“My wife and I got married in our mid-30s, and we both had a large number of photos. Two years after we got married, we decided to move out of our house and into an airstream trailer and travel around the country. We didn’t have room to take much with us, but we knew if we had our photos scanned we could take them. So we did! They were sitting on a hard drive, and we’d plug the hard drive into Apple TV and watch our photos.”
We’ve talked before about digital clutter, but it’s a never-ending issue that will only continue to grow with time. As it is, we all have the old laptops or computers that are basically “albums” of digital photos we haven’t seen in years—it’s such a shame! Our digital photos should be ready at our fingertips to use for the next #tbt or Facebook post opportunity.
So if you’re ready to tidy up your digital clutter, let’s start with what we know the best: digital photos and pictures.
The following steps will take you through how to organize, catalog, and maintain your digital images. It may take a bit of effort at first, but once you put a system into place, the upkeep will be a breeze.
The most popular method for storing old photos is one of the most damaging. That’s right, stuffing a box with photos, negatives, and/or slides and packing it away in the basement is like turning your memories into a ticking time bomb.
If you want to keep your photos safe from disaster and away from the ravages of time, then it’s time to properly store them. The following tips will help you preserve old photos so that they will be around for many years to come.
It’s highly recommended to use cotton gloves when handling photos. There are unseen oils and dirt on our hands that could do some serious damage to prints over time. If you can’t use gloves, then delicately handle the photos at the edges when moving them around.
You should also keep your preservation project in an area that’s neat and clean, and away from damaging lights, extreme temperatures or humidity, smoke, foods or liquids. Imagine you’re an archivist handling ancient and precious materials—photos require that same kind of delicacy. While you may not see the damage right away, improper handling can wreak havoc on your photos over time.
Scan printed photos once, and you have digital copies that can be easily reproduced and shared at any time. But what about all of those printed photos you still have?
You might as well store and display them in a way that will preserve them – after all, they are the originals and you can still enjoy them while they are in good shape.
I did a little research to find the best ways to store and display printed photos, and here’s what I found (thank you National Archives!):
Use a mat when framing photos
Ever have a framed photo stick to the glass? This a very common occurrence, and it happens when the humidity gets into the frame. Unfortunately, it’s not always fixable (though a photo conservationist might be able to help). When you frame photos, use an archival quality photo-safe mat, which will add space between the glass and the photo.
Choose a cool, dry place for storage
Store your photos in the coolest and driest spot in your home, as dampness causes photos to stick together (and promotes mold growth on them – yuck!). It goes without saying that your finished basement is out unless it is dehumidified. Instead, choose a closet where an upper-level temperature stays pretty constant and cool throughout the year.
The “Elite Concierge Expert” ScanMyPhotos service provides new, added benefits as you tap into our team of personalized assistants. This customer-centric service is a blueprint, built on our 28-years of experience to deliver an enhanced, superior service as we help you digitize your nostalgic photo memories.
We understand that there is a definitive difference between a fine dining experience and waiting in line at a fast food restaurant; that is why we have dedicated experts ready to be assigned to your order.
You are assigned to an Elite Concierge Experts who also oversees a dedicated team of photo technicians just for you
Receive a new, added level of comprehensive and expanded personalization for your photo scanning order
More efficient access and an easier way to connect with us throughout the entire process — from your first touch to your completed scanning project being returned to you.
You are our highest priority, as we seamlessly oversee your order, from start to finish
We remove the complexity of all your “how-to” and other questions as our highest priority to optimize your experience with ScanMyPhotos
Added access to directly communicate with your own personal assistant with expedited attention who will already be familiar with your order
This Elite Concierge Service from ScanMyPhotos is just $12.95 extra per order.
To order and include a dedicated concierge expert click “Add to Cart” as you are placing your order, and we handle the rest.
It is instant, automatic and nothing else is needed.
Whenever you need to reach them, just call, email or use our online help desk and you are directly connected after adding this to your order.
These are the top add-on features to enhance your legacy photo scanning project.
[UPDATE: Due to the Covid-19 national emergency, the expected completion time schedule may take longer]
600 Professional DPI Scans. Why Should I Add 600 DPI Scanning?
The quick answer is that higher resolutions lead to better scans for reproducing your images. 600 DPI scans produce much larger files but help ensure every detail in your print is recorded in digital form. If you want to be sure as much detail as possible is captured during scanning, add 600 DPI scanning.
600 DPI Scans Allow for Double the Enlargement
Part of the benefit of scanning your old photos, in addition to the added security of backing them up in a digital format, is the ability to create new prints, enlargements and photo products such as photo books. The quality and size of the prints you will be able to reproduce will depend upon both the quality of the original photo and the resolution the photo is scanned at. Scanning at a higher DPI will give you more options for reprints and copies to be passed down to future generations. 17 cents each per scan.
300 DPI Archival Scanning is 8 cents per scan.
Express Scanning — The Express Scanning treats you to special privileges and custom services throughout the scanning process so your order is professionally scanned as fast as same day. Otherwise, your order will be processed and shipped out when completed, typically within 4 to 8 weeks of receipt. (One business day completion availability based on the size of the order, additional options ordered and time received.) Extra 5 cents per scan
Scan in Order — If you need your photos to be scanned in a specific order, you must order the “Scan in Order” service. Ordering the “Scanning in Order” service will let the scanning technician know that you need to have your photographs scanned in the order you have specified. NOTE: We will attempt our best to keep your photos in the same order for return shipping but this is not guaranteed. This service is only for scanning your photos in the specified order. Extra 7 cents per scan
Photo Soap — Most people won’t get the most out of their digital images due to the amount of time needed to correct thousands of photos and their lack of experience color correcting digital images, not to mention not wanting to buy the expensive programs that are designed for it. Now, in conjunction with our high-speed scanning service, we offer to do the work for you and bring out your image’s true nature using a computerized image correction process. Old photos will be brought back to life. New photos will look better than you thought they could. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (Does not remove dirt or scratches from photos). Extra 7 cents per scan
Image Rotation — Our high-speed scanners make sure your photos get back to you faster than ever before but are limited to scanning all images horizontally. Add this service and we will go back through your photos after scanning and rotate them to the correct orientation. Since we have to view your scans photo-by-photo after completion, this charge is applied to all scans, not just rotated images. Extra 7 cents per scan.
Dual Side (top and bottom of every picture) Scanning — Scan both the front and back side of every photo scanned, even if no writing is on the bottom side. The front and back will be scanned one after another creating a saved file pattern of the front, back, front, back, etc. If you have 1,000 pictures, you will receive 2,000 jpeg files. Extra 9 cents per scan.
Upload Service — Want your images downloaded to your computer? Add this option and you can download all the photos we scan directly to your computer. $19.95 per each 2GB
Thumb Drive — Want your photos saved to a thumb drive in addition to a DVD? Add this option and receive your photos on an 8GB USB thumb drive in addition to our standard DVD. $15.95 per 3,000 photos
Extra DVD’s*** SPECIAL PRICING ***
1 additional DVD for $19.95
2-3 additional DVDs for $12.95 each (35% off)
4-6 additional DVDs for $9.95 each (50% off)
7+ additional DVDs for $8.55 each (57% off) Volume Discounts Are Available!
Photo Index Book & Image RotationPages are double-sided and bound in a hardcover book with 25 images per page in 8½” x 11″ size. Image rotation is included with an order of the Photo Index Book (only if purchased at the time of scanning). Extra 12 cents per scan.
Return Signature Confirmation — Get all the benefits of Delivery Confirmation and more. Signature Confirmation gives you an added level of security by requiring a signature from the person who accepts your package. This requires you to sign for your return shipment of completed scan jobs. Extra $7.95 per returned box.
Concierge Services: expert to seamlessly oversee your order, from start to finish — The “Elite Concierge Expert” ScanMyPhotos service provides new, added benefits as you tap into our team of personalized assistants. This customer-centric service is a blueprint, built on our 28-years of experience to deliver an enhanced, superior service as we help you digitize your nostalgic photo memories. We understand that there is a definitive difference between a fine dining experience and waiting in line at a fast food restaurant; that is why we have dedicated experts ready to be assigned to your order.
Extra $12.95 per order
Note. Prices may change without notice. But you are locked into these rates at the time your order is placed.
As DNA testing kits become more affordable, the number of unbelievable family history stories surrounding these tests is increasing.
This recent piece written by The New York Times, covers a story on a Bob Hutchinson who used a DNA test to finally get some answers into the family history his mother kept a secret throughout his life. The test uncovered that he was one-eighth sub-Saharan African—a fact his mother never shared with him. From there he uncovered cousins he didn’t know he had and was able to establish a connection with this new found family.
There are countless other stories too—like Alice Collins Plebuch whose DNA test revealed a 100-year-old mystery (instead of the confirmation on her assumed Irish heritage) or Twitter user @MsClark_ who tweeted about the incredible search that led her to the discovery of her real father.
But as remarkable as these stories are, we couldn’t help but notice that something is missing in all them: a lack of background information. Yes, DNA testing is a great way to get some answers into your family history but unless there’s information that sheds light on that history, the only thing you’re left with is the results of the test. This often leaves you with more questions than answers.
The importance of photos in family history
While there are several ways to uncover more about your roots, we cannot emphasize enough how important photos are to any genealogy project. This should be one of the first steps you take before jumping into the complicated root system that is your past. Why? Because every photo holds another piece of the puzzle. If an individual picture is worth 1,000 words, imagine how many stories you can discover through old print photos from your family’s past.
Putting photos in one of those sticky-backed albums or scrapbooks may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but unless you made copies, preserving those photos might be tough.
Your first step will be to pull those photos off the pages without ripping or damaging the prints. Your second step will be to send those photos to us so we can scan them and make digital copies for you to keep for years to come.
Before reading this report. An update. ScanMyPhotos.com professionally digitizes all your photos this fast.
While we have scanned six hundred million images, it is news stories like these that made us so popular, but no order is more precious or important than yours. We are here to help. For loads of photo tips, news updates, and crazy-discounted deals, sign up to receive free updates.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves—getting that glue off in the first step will be tricky. If you try using force or ripping the photos off the pages, you run the risk ruining the photos forever. Fortunately, we can help.
We’ve talked before 
The most popular method for storing old photos is one of the most damaging. That’s right, stuffing a box with photos, negatives, and/or slides and packing it away in the basement is like turning your memories into a ticking time bomb.
I did a little research to find the best ways to store and display printed photos, and here’s what I found (thank you National Archives!):
Concierge expert to seamlessly oversee your order, from start to finish
Sign Up for Your Own 
As DNA testing kits become more affordable, the number of unbelievable family history stories surrounding these tests is increasing.
Putting photos in one of those sticky-backed albums or scrapbooks may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but unless you made copies, preserving those photos might be tough.
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