Photo Scanning Service

Preserving Memories: The Ultimate Guide to Photo Scanning for a Digital Age

In this digital age, our most cherished memories are often stored away in old photo albums gathering dust. But fear not, because preserving those precious moments has never been easier.

Welcome to "Preserving Memories: The Ultimate Guide to Photo Scanning for a Digital Age."

In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through the process of transforming your physical photo collection into high-quality digital copies that can be easily shared, stored, and enjoyed for generations to come. Whether you're a nostalgic individual yearning to preserve your family history or a professional photographer looking to digitise your portfolio, Our expert tips and techniques will ensure your images look their best. Discover the latest photo scanning technologies and learn how to choose the right scanning service for your needs. We'll also explain the key advantages to digitising, organising, and restoring your photos to their former glory. Plus, we'll provide insightful advice on archiving your digital collection and safeguarding your memories against unforeseen disasters. Unlock the true potential of your photographs and join us in this enlightening journey of preserving memories in the digital age.

What is photo scanning?

Photo scanning is the process of converting physical photographs into digital images, allowing for the preservation and enhancement of these cherished memories. By utilising specialised scanning equipment, we can transform your analog photo collections into high-quality digital files that can be easily stored, shared, and manipulated.

The process of photo scanning involves carefully placing the physical photograph onto a flatbed scanner or using a our specialised photo scanner to capture a digital representation of the image. These scanners use advanced optics and sensors to capture the details, colours, and textures of the original photograph, ensuring that the digital version faithfully represents the original.

The resulting digital files can then be stored on various media, such as computer hard drives, external storage devices, or cloud-based platforms, ensuring that these memories are safeguarded against the ravages of time and the physical deterioration of the original photographs. Additionally, these digital files can be easily shared with family and friends, allowing for the widespread dissemination of our most cherished memories.

Order Form & Price List

Quote Request Form

We accept photos in all formats for scanning

Sharing scanned photos with family

How does photo scanning work?

You Send

1.   Choose your photographs and get in touch for a digital scanning quote. Once you're ready, download and complete our order dispatch form and include it with your order.

2.   Check each photo and remove any debris such as tape or Blu Tack, and then arrange photos into bundles of the same size. Utilising these simple photo scanning tips aids the scanning process and allows us to get your photos scanned and sent quickly.

3.   We can scan mounted photos, but this does take longer as it requires a special flatbed scanner. For this reason, a small premium is charged for this type of scanning.

4.   You can send your photos to us via post, we recommend using a tracked service such as Royal Mail Special Delivery or Hermes to ensure that they reach us safely.

We Scan

1.   Our experienced operators check the quality of each and every photograph as they scan them, performing individual quality control checks throughout the scanning process. If a photograph is not deemed to have passed these checks, we rescan it until it does.

2.   We save each image cropped and rotated in a digital format, usually jpeg in either 300 or 600dpi. Upon completion, we will deliver the digitised images to you on a DVD, memory stick, or as a download from a secure FTP site or cloud platform.

Advantages of digital photo scanning

In the digital age, the advantages of photo scanning extend far beyond mere preservation. By converting our physical photographs into digital formats, we unlock a world of possibilities that enhance the way we interact with and enjoy our memories.

One of the primary benefits of digital photo scanning is the ability to restore and enhance our images. With the help of specialised software and image editing tools, we can breathe new life into faded, damaged, or discolored photographs, removing blemishes, correcting exposure, and even colorising black-and-white images. This not only preserves the original image but also allows us to breathe new life into our cherished memories.

Moreover, digital photo scanning enables seamless sharing and distribution of our memories. With the click of a button, we can share our family photos, holiday memories, and special occasions with loved ones across the globe, fostering deeper connections and strengthening the bonds that tie us together. The ability to easily upload and share our digital photographs on social media platforms and online storage services further amplifies the reach and accessibility of our cherished memories.

Storing and backing up your digitised photos

Preserving your cherished memories in the digital age requires more than just scanning your physical photographs. Proper storage and backup strategies are essential to ensure the long-term safeguarding of your digital photo collection.

Begin by carefully selecting the appropriate file formats for your scanned photographs. JPEG and TIFF are two of the most common and widely supported image file formats, offering a balance of image quality and file size. Avoid using proprietary or less-common formats, as they may become increasingly difficult to access and view over time.

Next, consider implementing a robust backup strategy to protect your digital photo collection. This may involve storing your files on multiple external hard drives, cloud-based storage services, or a combination of both. By creating redundant backups, you can safeguard your memories against hardware failures, natural disasters, or other unforeseen events that could potentially compromise your digital archives.

Finding the best photo scanning service available online

There are many photo scanning services available online, but how do you find the best one?

Here at ProScan we pride ourselves on the following areas in which we believe we excel and separate the best photo scanning services from the rest:

Professional expertise

Our specialist operators know how to use the latest technologies to meet your specific requirements. Not all scanners are suitable for all jobs, and some images require special attention to unlock the finest of details.

ProScan has been working with photo scanning software since 2006, and our skilled operators ensure that expert attention is paid to each and every image.

Image quality

All images are calculated in dots per inch, or dpi. This influences the clarity, resolution, and overall quality of the image, meaning that the higher the dpi, the more professional your scanned photograph looks.

We scan images in 300dpi as standard and are able to scan up to 600dpi if you require a higher level of detail, or the ability to enlarge images for print.

Ease and speed

A reputable scanning company will be able to scan a large number of images to a high quality in a short space of time.

At ProScan, we are able to turn around a photo scanning job in as little as 2 days, on state-of-the-art equipment that gets the very best out of each and every scan.

We take great care in ensuring accurate scanning results

All images are carefully checked during our quality control process

More information about our photo scanning service

As physical representations of your happiest memories, your photos are undoubtedly precious to you. It is likely that you will have some questions you need answered before you order.

Here are some of the more frequently asked questions and answers. If your query is not covered here, feel free to call us on 023 8063 0050, or fill in our contact form here .

How do I pay for my order?

Once your original photos have been scanned and we know the exact cost, we will email you the total cost and information on how you can make a payment. You can make payment by bank transfer or using a credit or debit card.

On receipt of your payment, we use a tracked courier service to send your originals back to you, alongside the CD, DVD or memory stick containing your images.

If you have chosen to download your images instead, then you will be able to do this via a secure FTP, or alternatively we also offer a paid for cloud storage service.

We are based in Southampton, so if you are local you are also welcome to come and pick up your originals and make payment at the same time.

When I order photo scanning online with Proscan how long will it take for delivery?

Whilst we make every effort to turn around jobs in as short a time as possible, this depends on the size of the order and any extra work that needs to be done.

Busier times, such as Christmas, can mean that turnaround times are a little longer. However, we aim to have your images scanned within 1 week of receipt but it is often much quicker.

Is ProScan Document Imaging accredited?

As a brand of Document Options Ltd Proscan has been certified to ISO9001:2015 standard for quality management systems and ISO 27001:2013 for Information Security Management.

Why should I choose ProScan over other photo scanning companies?

All ProScan Document Imaging does is scan, reproduce and print. That is our specialism, what we are passionate about, and what we are focused on. Whilst some big brands do offer photo scanning as one of their service, we are a dedicated photo scanning business who offer first class image reproduction on a professional scale.

Many bigger companies outsource their scanning services to a third-party contractor, meaning that they have little control over the process and final quality.

We understand that some people prefer to work with names they recognise and trust, but we never pass your images on to anyone else and believe that the pride we take in our work is reflected in the quality.

Whilst you may think “I need to find photo scanning near me ”, we think our photo scanning reviews speak for themselves!

Photo scanning cost

Our photo scanning prices are among the most competitive in the UK. The cost of your order will depend on a number of factors, including:

How many photographs you need scanning
What resolution you want your digitised images to be scanned at
Whether you need the job turned around more quickly than our stated turnaround time

For an indicative quote, please complete the form below and tell us how many photographs you want us to scan.

If you’re happy with the quote we provide, send a copy of it with your photographs, slides, and negatives to our Southampton HQ.

Photo scanning services near me

Proscan Document Imaging serves customers and business clients across the UK with photo scanning services, ensuring comprehensive coverage from our offices in Southampton and Crawley. These strategic locations allow us to efficiently reach and cater to a wide geographical area, providing easy access to our services for a diverse client base. By focusing on both urban centers and surrounding regions, we ensure that our high-quality scanning solutions are available to a broad audience, effectively meeting the needs of individuals and businesses alike throughout the UK.

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