Scan multiple photos at once!?!

[bhop]

I have an Epson 4490. All my film shots on my flickr link were scanned from it. It can scan up to 10 shots at a time in auto mode. (2 strips of 5 frames). It can scan 2 medium format frames at a time, or 4 slides at a time.

 

[flycatcher]

I found a place called The Digital Convert that scans both album pages and individual prints with excellent pricing. they're in Chicago, so at least the folks out there should give 'em a try.

http://www.thedigitalconvert.com

Photos: 15-19 cents depending on quantity
Album Pages: standard is only 45 cents; 60 cents for flatbed (better at preventing reflections)

...and you can toss in some documents, family recipes, addressbooks etc

The great thing is you don't have to take your pictures out of the albums. I don't see why anyone would want to destroy their albums in the process of getting them scanned. Sure, you definitely won't have any reflections that way, but for me the point is to preserve and share. And this is the least expensive way to have it done. If you have 4 or 5 pics on a page, you're not paying per pic, but per page.

They even have this cool, customized TV slideshow option that zooms in on each photo on the album page. so even if you didn't scan individually, you can still see a nice slideshow. you can see it below after you download a small plugin.

http://www.thedigitalconvert.com/slideshows.html

 

[flycatcher]

the way i figure, you can either pay $100-200 for a standard flatbed scanner and even then spend countless boring hours scanning away.

...or you can spend 100 bucks to some service and get like 500 pics already scanned with no effort on your part. if you've got just one album with 40 double-sided pages, you got to realize that's 80 full size scans. that's a heck of a lot of time to be spending scanning on a cheap flatbed. $30 or so and the whole thing can be scanned, burned to disc, and uploaded to the web for you.

i don't know. my feeling is that flatbeds were meant for casual use. you know, the occasional document your daughter needs in college. or maybe you're making a holiday card. but hundreds or thousands of pics? who has the time for that on a flatbed? the only high-speed scanners worth getting that won't ruin your pics are too expensive, and how does that help for album pages?

 

[usayit]

Buying a scanner is like buying a camera.... cheap scanner.. cheap quality of scans. IMO, there are just a handful of good scanners out there (Nikon, Epson - I like V700, etc.) and all of them cost significantly more than $100-200.

Also... this is a finite project. Once the OP is done the scanner is going to collect dust. Find the cost of a decent scanner. Find the cost of good scanning service locally. Figure in your time and the number of photos you need to scan. Based on the final cost of scanner+time you should know if you should submit at a lab or DIY.

If you see yourself shooting film or doing more projects that involve a scanner, then they are worthwhile investment.

 

[Digital Solutions]

Hi All - I'm new to the sight and was referred by a photographer friend. I own a high-speed, high-resolution batch scanner made by Kodak (I paid just under $1,800.00 for it.) It is the Kodak s1220. I have my own home-based business and scanning is one of the services I provide. After reading many of the posts, I thought I would share what I know.
> many scanning places ship your photos to India and other places to get their service done, I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want my photos going across the world and (hopefully) back!
> I share the opinion of many of you, traditional flat bed scanners that many of us have with our printers are best used casually, they are very time consuming to use!
> As far as album pages, it's time to get your precious photos OUT of old albums that are ruining them!!! I have a solution for that too
> The scanner that I own can do the following:
* Scan photos from wallet size to 8x10
* Scan documents as well
* Scan front, or back, or both at the same time
* Scan 30 (4x6 size) photos per minute at 300 dpi (about 1000 per hour)
* It has a 'photo sharpening' element that will automatically sharpen every picture when order is complete
* Can rotate images 90, 180 or 270 degrees
* Provides a choice of resolution: 300, 600 or 1200 dpi
* Stores JPEG compressed images as .jpg files for printing, emailing or uploading to a photo management system
* Stores all your photos and documents onto a CD for you

You can read about the Kodak s1220 on Kodak's site if you want more detailed info.

I have digital (and traditional picture) solutions for everyone. I'm in the business of helping people build lasting legacies of heritage for their families. I have joined a movement with a mission to help families discover, preserve, celebrate and pass on, their heritage. I help people discover the rich heritage that is locked inside their endless boxes of photos on hard drives and camera memory cards. Don't let your heritage fade out, make sure it is preserved for your family and future generations (remember, you may be someone's great-great-grandparent someday - they will want to know you!)

Contact me through a post or email:

Karen (Williams) Adams
Southern California
www.StoryBookMaking.Net
email: karen@storybookmaking.Net

 

[Digital Solutions]

Hey,

I have decided to tackle a project which I have been meaning to do forever. I want to scan hundreds of photos and get rid of all my photo albums.

After searching the web I am surprised about the lack of products to do this! The only scanner that has an automatic photo feed I have found with decent reviews is the Epson Perfection 2480 and the Auto Feeder attachment.

That product was made in 2004 and is now discontinued.

I do not want to send my pictures to one of those services. Personally I do not want my pictures in the hands of some strangers who will edit and see each one. I would love to just do it myself at home over several nights.

Some of you people MUST have done this. Has anyone figured out how to reliably and efficiently scan hundreds of old photos?

Thanks

Hi Dynasty06 - See my post #35 below your 'scanning multiple photos at once' post . . . hope I can help

Karen

 

[bstevens]

I tried purchasing an Epson 4490 to scan stacks of photos. It jammed up on about the 10th photo. So out of frustration I started looking for low-cost scanning services, but ones that would NOT ship my photos to India. I found this service, ScanPhotosToDigital. Their best package for photos is about $0.15 per photo. Although I haven't used them for negatives or slides, they scan those as well. I signed up for their email list and they have really good monthly specials, like 2 for 1 and free gift cards, etc. What I like about them is their quick turnaround - 3 days for photos - and they guarantee their work. Hope that helps!

Bryan

 

[Digitalnovice]

I am glad i came across this thread as i have been scanning some really old family fotos but they are still in the albums as they too delicate to try and remove.But this is a long timetaking task.I am using the brother all in one printer/scanner.I agree with RacePhoto editing them is also time consuming.The problem i have is that when you view them after scanning them to the PC they are really small,can anyone tell me the best way to get them some decent size.many thanks for feedback.

 

[JonnyL]

I too was very worried about sending my photos out to get scanned by someone else, but after a week of wasted evenings scanning about 1% of my photos on a flatbed, I found a pretty nice little company in Los Angeles that scanned all 2,000 of my photos in a two days! I think they're a pretty small operation...at least they made it feel that way. I was very comfortable with the whole process and the scans came back great. The Scan Studio