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The benefits of digitization |
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Why should I digitize my pictures? |
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Share your pictures with your entire family, don't keep them hidden away. Stop
them from further deterioration, damage, and discoloration. Create permanent
documentation of your family history. See them enlarged and enhanced as never
before. Watch them on your TV's DVD player or your computer. Create a
priceless gift for your children or parents. |
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The benefits of using Albums Forever |
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Our quality and range of service is unequalled. Our standard pricing includes
services usually charged as extras. Available features include image
enhancements; tagging; pickup/delivery; DVD with music; online hosting;
archiving. |
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Do you offer a trial to evaluate your service? |
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Yes, you can send us up to ten pictures of any type and we'll scan them so that
you can assess the quality of our work. |
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OK, I'm ready to go. What do I have to do? |
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Will this take a lot of my time? |
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Not at all. Scanning can be as simple as putting your pictures in boxes, or if
you prefer, there are a few extra things you can do. It's all up to you.
Video production just requires a little guidance in terms of what you're going
for. |
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Do I need to label every picture? |
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No need to label any of them unless you want to. We'll extract whatever info is
available from captions and picture notes. However, providing extra info will
enhance your collection with lasting documentation. |
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Do I need to sort them in any particular order? |
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No need to sort them at all. If you do, however, be sure to let us know so that
we can scan and label them in that same order. |
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Should I put them into groups by subject or time period? |
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Not required, but it tends to make your collection a little better organized.
It's just a matter of what you feel like doing. |
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Do they need to be packaged in any particular way? |
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No, we'll take them "as is". |
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Do I need to try to fix damaged, bent, ripped, or stained pictures? |
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No, we can scan pictures, slides or negatives in almost any condition. We'll
let you know if we receive any that are too far gone to scan. |
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What should I do if a favorite picture is severely damaged? |
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Let us take a look at it. It may be usable, or it may require our optional
restoration service. |
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What formats and sizes will you accept? |
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We'll scan anything up to 8.5"x11". We can usually do larger sizes as well, but
need to assess each image individually. |
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What will you do with unusable or duplicate images? |
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If we see an image that has no visual value, such as extremely blurred or
stained or ripped, we'll set it aside. |
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Do I need to know anything about computers to get this done? |
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Strictly speaking, no. To create your digital collection you simply need to give
us the pictures. Of course if you want to view them on a computer, you'll need
some basic knowledge. If you're having them scanned for other family members to
enjoy, or plan to put them on DVD as a video, you don't even need a computer. |
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Can I include pictures from the collections of other family members? |
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Yes, the more the merrier. Wouldn't it be great to have all of your family
memories consolidated in one place, where everybody can have their own copy? |
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Will you really pick them up and drop them off, so I don't have to risk them to
shipping loss or damage? |
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Yes, within reason. Let us know your location within the NYC metro area and
we'll let you know the cost, if any. |
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The Process of Digitization |
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Will my pictures be safe? |
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Absolutely. We handle them as if they were our own, and they never are out of
our possession. |
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Do you outsource any of this work? |
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No, we do it all ourselves. Some large discount scanning services actually ship
your pictures to India or to scanning facilities around the country. We are a
"scanning boutique", not a factory. |
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What equipment do you use? |
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We use a Nikon 8000 negative and slide scanner, and an Epson print scanner. The
resulting images are amazing. |
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What digital file format will you create? |
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Unless otherwise requested, we will create jpeg files, which provide the best
balance of size and image quality. |
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What resolution will the images be? |
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It's up to you. We recommend scanning prints at a ppi of at least 600 ppi
to be sure there's enough resolution for cropping and enlargement. This assures
quality enlargements and cropping for all photos. Slides and negatives will be
scanned at much higher resolution due to the smaller negative size. |
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Is this an automated process? |
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Not at all. Automated equipment can cause jamming and possible destruction of
your priceless original images. And there is no way to automate the human
creative process involved in image enhancement. |
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How do you enhance the initial scans? |
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We fix color tones, poor exposures, crooked horizons, poor cropping, rips, and
stains (within reason). Each picture is manually reviewed and enhance by an
expert. See
examples of enhanced images. |
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How does your premium enhancement technique differ from standard scanning
services? |
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We take it a step further. When we see pictures that were poorly composed and
can benefit significantly from a little creative cropping, we create an enhanced
image. The idea is to put the focus on the intended subject, not the background
woods or sky or road or wall. The difference can be amazing. Of course
you'll get a copy of the original scan as well. |
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Will you record information from captions, time stamps, and notes found on the
pictures or albums? |
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Yes, for a small extra cost we'll look at each picture to find identifying
information. We'll record it as tags and include it in the filename. |
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What is "tagging" |
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Tagging is the process of attaching information about a photo to the photo
itself. For example, tags for one image might include "1972", "Aunt Emma", and
"Cape Cod". These will be embedded in the image file as EXIF data and included
in the filename. |
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Why is tagging important |
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The notes on the margins or back of a picture are not visible in a digital
image, so unless the image is tagged, there is no way to identify the
individuals except from personal knowledge. Tagging allows this information to
be passed along to all viewers of the picture. |
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The Finished Product |
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What exactly will I receive when you're done? |
Scanning: One data DVD containing the image files and a temporary upload
to Flickr for instant review.
Video: A custom video slideshow with music, playable on your TV's DVD
player. DVD includes a custom label and jewel case. |
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What type of media will the digital images be on? |
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The industry standard is a DVD. If for some reason you prefer other media, we
can accomodate most any request. (The jpeg image files will be on a DVD, but
will not be playable on your DVD player and TV. ) |
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What type of media will the Video Slideshow be on |
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This will be on a DVD that can be played on a normal DVD player and viewed on
your TV. It can also be played on a computer. |
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Will you upload the pictures to an online service? |
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Yes, we will host your images online for one year so you can share them with
your loved ones. At the end of a year you can pay a small fee to renew or move
them to a location of your choosing. |
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Pricing and Payment |
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How much will this cost? |
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The Pricing page provides details for all services
and options. |
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When is payment due? |
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Payment is due prior to receipt of the finished product. |
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What forms of payment do you accept? |
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We accept PayPal, cash or check. |
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