It can be a daunting task to face that mountain of memories, but we can help.

You can probably imagine that we have digitized a lot of film and photos by now. If you don't have the time or desire to organize your project pre-scanning, don't worry. We do recommend all our customers take a look at our Shipping Tips for suggestions on packing your order securely.  With that in mind we offer you these tips, an easy 3 step process: Evaluating, Envisioning, and Organizing.

Take a look through what you have. Have a piece of paper ready to jot down some notes. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What kinds of film and photos do I have that I want to convert to digital? Do you have prints, slides, negatives, movie reels, and VHS tapes?
  
  
• Approximately how much of each kind do I have? You can approximate by counting containers, envelopes, or stacking to similar heights, counting one stack then applying that count to however many stacks you have.
  
  
• Within each film or photo type, do they all look the same, or is there a lot of variety? You certainly don't have to know every film format before you send them in, but making note that you have some film or photos that look different may be a flag that some film might not be standard and may need special handling or cost a little more. Don't worry if you miss any, we will review your package upon arrival and let you know if you do have non-standard film, and what your options are. If you'd like, you can also visit our Film Format Comparison page to see a list of film types we see often so you know what to look for.
  
  
• What is the general time frame that each of my film and photo types from?
  
  
• If they are inherited, who are they from?
  
  
• Who might want copies of each group?
  
  

Now that you know what you have, what do you want to be able to do with it all once its digitized? Having a simple game plan might make it more enjoyable to work with your images once you get them back. With your note taking gear at hand, now ask yourself these questions.

• What is the primary thing you want to do with your images when you get them back? Do you envision your own library of digital images that is easy to reference for a specific photo when you need it? Are you mostly interested in watching them on your TV (see Slideshow Movie Services? Would you like to create a photo gallery of enlargements? All of these things are possible with digital, and having an idea of your goals can influence the choices you make when ordering scanning services. In fact, one of the first questions our customer service reps will ask you when you call is usually  "What do you want to do with your images once they are scanned?". This is so we can help you receive a product that has what you need for your vision.
  
  
• Do you have the equipment you need to make your digital vision a reality? For example: If you are ordering 4000dpi TIFF files from your slides so that you can perform your own digital restoration on each image, do you have the harddrive space, RAM, and the software to deal with large image files? Don't let this step scare you too much, you don't need to know what all that terminology means yet. We just want you to keep what you have and what you are willing to buy in mind to meet your digital goals. You can always contact us for recommendations and help with this.
  
  

If you've done Steps 1 and 2, Step 3 should be a breeze. Again, it is completely up to you if you want to put in the time before your project is scanned to organize, it is not a requirement. The steps outlined below are based on our internal processes for organizing and naming. We have certain limitations on what we can name your file because of our automated burning and printing processes. If you have special naming requests that do not follow the guidelines below, please contact us and we can work with you.

Categorizing and Labeling

• Separate by film/photo type
  
  
• Separate within each film type chronologically or by short subject. Each one of these groups will become a folder on your disc. Please keep groupings at 40 or more pieces per group. If your order has groups that are consistently less than 40 we may ask to combine them or charge $1 per folder handling fee. This is so we can volume scan as much as possible, keeping our prices low.
  
  
• Label your groupings (we would recommend using post-its) with the month and year, year range, and/or short subject. We have developed a specific naming convention we follow in order to ensure that all your images stay in order. A computer will read your files numerically, then alphabetically. Also, all group names have a 30 character max, and file names have a 10 character max. Please follow the guidelines below when labeling your project (or just be aware that we will be following those guidelines).
  
  
  • ~ if naming by month and year, it will be in the YYYY MM format. For Example: A folder for January 1975 would look like this: 1975_01. The first image file within that folder would look like this: 1975_01_001.tif(or .jpg)
  • ~ if naming by year range, it will be in the YYYY YY format. For Example: A folder for 1965 through 1975 would look like this: 1965_75. The first image file within that folder would look like this: 1965_75_001.tif(or .jpg)
    
    
    
  • ~ if naming by date and subject we will include as much of your subject name as possible before we reach our character limit. For Example: A folder for a Ski Trip in Colorado in January 1975 might look like this: 1975_01_Ski_Trip_Colorado. The first image file within that folder might look like this: 1975_01_CO_001.tif(or .jpg)
    
    
  • ~ if naming only by subject, you will need to include a number in front of the subject in the order you would like your subject to appear. If there is no particular order, the folders will fall alphabetically. For Example: If you have a folder for Annie and one for Sally, and you want Sally's folder to come before Annie's the folders must have a number in front. The folders might look like this:01_Sally and 02_Annie. The first image file within the 01_Sally that folder might look like this: 01_Sally_001.tif(or .jpg)
  
  
  

Preparing your order(s)

Would it work better for you to send everything at once or would it be more manageable to break the scanning up into separate orders by film type or date range? This decision will have to do with a variety of factors like event deadlines, budget, volume discounts, who wants copies of what, and how much time you intend to spend managing your image files after they are scanned. You will also want to keep in mind any events or special occasions that you might need specific images for. Check our turn around time on the bottom left of the website to get an idea how much time to give yourself.

If you have gone through the steps, you have empowered yourself with a plan of action and you have a good idea of how your images will be organized on your Data Disks, Slideshow Movie DVDs and Thumbnail Albums. Now, if you'd like, you can visit our Shipping Tips page for our recommendations of packaging and shipping your order. Or, if your ready you can proceed to our online Order form. There you can place one or more orders, print your order details and reference number, and even order shipping through our partnership with FedEx.

As always, please don't hesitate to call or email with any questions.