Scan multiple photos at once!?!

dynasty06 · Mar 13, 2008

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

JerryPH · Mar 13, 2008

I just went out and bought a flatbed scanner. Yes I did several at a time and scanned/saved to a TIFF format. I was in the $250 range.

It was completely manual and lots of time/work involved. I do not know if there are better/faster way (there likely are), but I did not know any better.

I understand about you not wanting others to have posession of your irreplaceables.

Perhaps some research on scanners is your next step?

dynasty06 · Mar 13, 2008

I looked... however i probably have like a thousand or more.

With a flatbed scanner... and 3 pictures per scan... that is 333 scans! plus then editing to cut them apart.

That will take literally hours.

I want one that can feed pictures automatically like 25 at a time.

I know there are a couple options out there... but has anyone used any of the succesfully?

usayit · Mar 13, 2008

If you have thousands of photos, do yourself a favor and take it to a lab and pay them to do it for you.

No way, I would have the patience to scan that many.

dynasty06 · Mar 13, 2008

How do i find a photolab.

My problem is i dont really want some kid working for minimum wage to sit there and look through all the pictures.

is there any place that can just automate the process nice and simple.

gendarmee · Mar 13, 2008

I am in a similar situation.
Problem is that pro scan would cost me 1$ a scan.
I have around 1500 B&W photos in the line, and quality is deteriorating every year, could probably scan 2-3 at a time at 600dpi.
But the sheer number of pictures makes me procrastinate, for years now.

dynasty06 · Mar 13, 2008

So what do we do!!! It really is a terrible situation! Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Ive read that SOME people have had success with those printers with the auto photo feeder. Like the epson perfection.

I dont mind if it takes like a few weeks... as long as i can scan like 25pictures at once and dont need to reedit them on the computer after.

JIP · Mar 13, 2008

The first question I would have is why in the worl would you want to get rid of your photo albums?. Also, do you have negatives if you do that might be a better avenue the res. might be higher and it might also go faster.

molsen · Mar 13, 2008

just get a flatbed and do some every day. you don't have to do them all in one sitting.

plus, as mentioned above, you can scan negatives...which would be faster

dynasty06 · Mar 14, 2008

i want to get my pictures into digital form so that if there is ever a fire or a flood or anything of that sort... i will not lose them.

I have an elaborate offsite backup procedures setup with my firm so my data management is great.

Last spring we had an electrical fire in my new house... and thank god we caught it in time. if we had come home 30 minutes later... generations of family pictures would have vanished. Priceless memories and links to my family that i want my children and my children's children to see one day. I only have 1 picture of my great grand parents and nothing else from that long ago and its sad. I wish i could see my family that far back. I dont want to deprive future generations of that pleasure.

So in my opinion... the only reliable way to insure that all my pictures will survive the ages is to transform them into digital form and just keep redundant copies offiste in a secure data vault.

And i cannot imagine transforming the piles of pictures i have 3 at a time on a flatbed and then cropping them into individual files. that would take years. I would rather pay $500 for a machine that will speed the process. Time is money.

There HAS to be an inexpensive printer out ther that has a high success rate. My question is has anyone ever purchased one of those automatic photo feeder printers... and if so... which one... and have u had success with it?

Happy Hour · Mar 14, 2008

I have been pondering this question for a couple of years now. Finally I broke down and did it manually. I've been scanning pics for 4-5 months now a few hundred a week when I get time. I can't believe nobody has caught up with the times and gone all digital with auto feed scanners.I have a all in one with a auto feed on the top and it was great for about a hundred pictures then I noticed that every one had a line across it. It also ate 1 pic, after that I gave up on the auto feed. I would love to find a easier way to scan!

Overkill-F1 · Mar 14, 2008

The Canon MP970 printer\scanner can scan many photos at the same time and can be setup to save them as individual files.
...Terry

dynasty06 · Mar 14, 2008

i looked at the specs and dont see anything about automatic feeding of photographs.

Do u have this one?

Do have u scanned photographs with it by automatic feeding?

If so how many can you feed into it at once?

Do you like it? Have you had any issues?

Overkill-F1 · Mar 15, 2008

The Canon MP970 doesn't have automatic feed. You can scan mutiple photos on the glass at the same time and it can automatically detect the edges of each photo and save the images as individual files. Sorry for any confusion.
...Terry