[thevillager1988]

Hello most treasured brain-trust. I am doing some research in preparation for having our photos digitized. Have you done such a project? If so, please share your experience.

For example:
. Did you DIY? If so, what hardware do you recommend? Apps for labeling, organizing and filing? Important consideration? Lessons learned?
. Did you use a service? If so, any service you recommend? Important consideration? Lessons learned?

Thanks for your help!

[JD Tremor]

Originally Posted by thevillager1988

Hello most treasured brain-trust. I am doing some research in preparation for having our photos digitized. Have you done such a project? If so, please share your experience.

For example:
. Did you DIY? If so, what hardware do you recommend? Apps for labeling, organizing and filing? Important consideration? Lessons learned?
. Did you use a service? If so, any service you recommend? Important consideration? Lessons learned?

Thanks for your help!

Just beginning this project. FIRST, organize your photos into lots that relate to each other, the software will name them and put them in like folders.

Second, I did a bunch of research and opted for an Epson FF-680W, it does a really nice job and the FastPhoto software you use with it seems to work well too.

I did some preliminary testing, then found.... yes, organizing them first is likely the key to making it go well, otherwise you will have photos all over the place. The software will also allow you to scan then save an original and a corrected/optimized photo with a similar name. Then you can choose which to keep (or keep both).

The scanner works quickly, although the more you bump up the resolution, it naturally slows down a bit. But it has a hopper that I think holds about 30 pics and makes quick work of them.

That's all I know so far.

Good luck - again, organize/sort your photos first.

[CarlR33]

We did our parents 35mm slides (no photos) DIY but then no one seemed interested in them after looking at them the first time. The parents took photos of about everything and some we had no idea what or where they were taken. I guess you need to ask yourself who will use the digitized version once you convert them? You maybe surprised to find out that no one in the family really is interested. At least that was our experience.