FAQ

All photos must be supplied loose and clean of any adhesive residue/dirt. There is a minimum charge of R500 which allows for scanning up to 250 photos. Files are numbered sequentially; if you wish them to be scanned in a certain order they need to be supplied to us in that order. By all means batch your photos in packets or boxes.

What kind of scans will I get?

Loose photos are bulk scanned at actual physical size as 600dpi JPEGs.
An auto-enhanced copy of each scan.

How will I get my photos to you?

We are based in the Western Cape in Fish Hoek and Simon's Town, if you live in the area we can chat and arrange to pick them up if necessary, though that will primarily be for large numbers of photos. Otherwise you can courier them to us - under no circumstances use the national postal service!

How should I organise my photos for you?

Preferably organise them according to size (group similar sizes together). You will find it useful to mark any packs with a short identifier so you can refer back to them from the scans - because we can include that identifier in the file names. But chat to us about them first - that's the easiest way to do it!
NB We cannot scan bent or damaged prints with our bulk scanner - we will have to scan those on a flatbed scanner, which will cost more but we would advise you before scanning them.

Will my photos be safe?

We take the utmost care handling, storing and scanning your photos. While very few things in life can be 100% guaranteed, we can guarantee that we will treat your photos as we treat our own, which is to say, like gold dust.

What if a photo needs work like removing cracks or other damage?

Work on individual scans by a Photoshop operator can be done at extra cost.

What size of photo and document can be scanned?

Photos/documents scannable sizes: from 9 x 13 cm up to 21 x 91 cm; larger photos/docs will be quoted separately.
Maximum photo size: 216 mm x 863 mm.
Both sides of photos can be scanned to capture any notes on the back - these will count as extra scans.

What if I have too many photos to count?

We know all too well from personal experience that is more than possible. In the event, we ask you to send us a photo/s of your photo stash in order for us to be able to give you an estimate. We would then discuss what we think the total may be and agree a way forward - this would involve a deposit against the order and most likely regular updates to you as we reach specific quantity/cost milestones during the scanning process. (The scanner counts the prints as it goes.)

Should I write on the back of my photos?

Ideally not without speaking with us first. Certain pens can take a long time to dry and may leave marks on the front of the next photo, not to mention damage our scanners. Old notes on the back of photos are usually fine. NB There's no point having notes on the back of your photos unless you wish them scanned as well.

How will you give me my scans?

Your scans will be copied on to a Flash Drive or USB External hard drive supplied by you (or we can supply same at a quoted cost). NB Flash drives are notorious for failing over time so we recommend you use an external hard drive for long term storage.
We recommend that you purchase a second drive so that you can make a duplicate back-up in case of drive failure or loss of the original drive.
We will keep your scans on file for 14 days to give you an opportunity to create your back-up drive.

What size will my scans (digital files) be?

File size indication for a print measuring 10 cm x 15 cm:

1 x 600dpi normal scan = 4MB

1 x 600dpi enhanced copy = 5MB scan

So, 100 photos = 900MB total.

What if my photos are in albums?

These come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of methods used for keeping photos in place. That means we can’t give you a cost without knowing which particular type of album you have. Obviously, albums cannot be fed through our individual photo scanner so the cost will be greater for album scans due to the mount of manual work required.

We recommend that you remove the photos from albums yourself before giving them to us but you must ensure that there is no sticky residue adhering to the back of the photos. It is doubtful that you will need every photo in an album scanned so it makes sense for you to go through an album and take out only those you really want scanned (you can use a pencil to mark which goes where, should you desire to put them back after scanning). In short, chat with us about your requirements and we will be happy to advise the best course of action in your particular case.