Optimally,
images should be in a form where they can be enjoyed, which is why an
album of some sort (scrapbook, photo book, pocket-page album) is a
recommended destination. Albums are easy to pull off the shelf and
enjoy.
- Slides, unfortunately, require the proper equipment for viewing. If you have the slides but no way to project them, it’s time to consider converting them to digital as a back-up. Then, you can print out the images for a scrapbook or pocket-page album, create a photo book with the images, or put them on a DVD and view them on your TV.
If
you don’t have a slide projector, or your projector lamp is burnt out,
we can loan you a slide viewer. Viewing your slides really helps you to
sort what slides you want to convert and what slides can be discarded.
Whether
you use a projector or a viewer, make an appointment with a loved one
and review each slide until you’ve gotten through your pile. Time has a
funny way of changing things; some old images will no longer hold value
for you. If that's the case, you might want to give the slide to
someone who might value it or otherwise toss it in the trash. On the
other hand, some images will be more important today than when they
were taken; these are the images worth having scanned and converted to
digital files.
Scanning
slides is best left to a professional. The tiny images require special
care, cleaning, lighting and resolution. You will also soon discover
when scanning slides, it will take you about 3 minutes per slide to get a
good quality image. Multiple that by 80 slides per tray equals 4 hours
for 1 tray.
We
do offer a slide scanning service at the reasonable price of 30 cents
per slide. If you have a large amount of slides, we also offer a large
volume discount. Not only can we save you time, it will also save you
the trouble of buying scanning equipment, learning how to use it, and
possibly destroying your slides in the process.
Once
you’ve backed up your meaningful slides, store them like photographs:
in a dark, cool, low-humidity place in your home separate from the
digital files and the prints or albums.
