Photo Digitizing

Prints, Slides, Negatives & Albums

Preserve and enjoy your cherished memories with Scan5’s expert digitizing services.

Why Digitize Your Photos Now?

Photos, like tapes, are vulnerable to time. Over the years, physical prints can fade, discolor, or suffer damage from light, humidity, or handling. By digitizing them today, you can preserve their quality and ensure your cherished memories are safe for generations to come. Don't risk losing your treasured photos to fire, flood or theft. Digitize them just once and they will safely live in the cloud forever.

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Advanced Scanning Technology

Not all scanning equipment is created equal. Consumer grade scanners provide basic digitizing but fall short when it comes to capturing the quality and detail that your cherished memories deserve.

At Scan5, we use professional-grade equipment and software to ensure your photos are digitized in high resolution, capturing every detail with total accuracy. We review every photo we scan for quality control.

Handling Fragile or Delicate Photos

At Scan5, we understand that some photos are fragile and require special care. Our strict guidelines ensures delicate materials are handled carefully and scanned on a flatbed or copy stand to prevent further damage or decay.

Photo Formats We Digitize:

Prints: Standard or oversized, we scan and preserve every detail at 300 or 600 DPI.

Slides: From 35mm to 126 slides. Dust and scratch correction is included.

Negatives: Color or black-and-white, standard, medium or large format.

Albums: Photos stuck to pages? Not to worry, we can digitize those albums.

Choose the Best Way to Preserve Your Memories

Once your physical items are digitized, you have a few options for how to store them. While all methods are secure, cloud hosting offers the ultimate flexibility and peace of mind.

Cloud Hosting

(30 DAYS FREE!)

Access your memories anytime, anywhere
automatically backed up
protected from loss
easy to share with family
no physical devices required

USB or HDD

If you prefer to keep your files on a physical device, we also offer USB thumb drive or portable hard drive options
store your memories in the palm of your hand
A local option for storing your files and sharing across devices

Customer Testimonials

"Scan5 digitized my family’s photo album collection. It was a massive and daunting project that only took them a couple of weeks. The quality of the pictures is excellent and my parents love texting them to our relatives."
Eliza K.
Chicago, IL
"Our grandparents left us over 20 carousel boxes of 35mm slides from the 70s. I can’t even begin to describe the range of emotions my family felt when viewing these images for the very first time."
William B.
Evanston, IL

Photo Digitizing FAQ:

Prints, Slides, Negatives & Albums

1. What types of photo formats can Scan5 digitize?

We digitize standard and vintage prints, album pages, 35mm slides, 110 slides, 126 slides, 127 slides, half 135 slides, 135 slides, 828 slides, 35mm negatives, medium format negatives, large format negatives, misc. transparencies, 110 film, APS film, 135 film, 126 film, 127 film, 120 film.

2. Why should I digitize my photos now?

Photos degrade over time due to exposure to light, humidity, and general wear and tear. Colors may fade, images can become discolored, and the overall quality deteriorates. Digitizing your photos now ensures they are preserved in high quality for future generations. Don't risk losing your treasured photos to fire or flood.

3. How does Scan5 handle fragile or delicate photos and albums?

We handle all items with care, but for especially fragile or delicate items, such as vintage prints and albums, we use a graphics arts flatbed scanner or a copy stand with a DSLR camera to preserve the item's original condition while producing a high resolution digital image.

4. What are my options for receiving the digitized photos?

You can choose from:

  • Cloud Hosting: Access your photos anytime, anywhere. Cloud storage allows for automatic backups and easy sharing with family and friends.
  • USB or External Hard Drive: For those who prefer local storage, we offer USB and external hard drive options, providing easy access to your files across devices.
5. What file format and resolution do you offer?

Our standard output format for print scanning is .jpeg, scanned at 300 DPI or 600 DPI. For 35mm slides we offer .jpeg or RAW scanned at 4000DPI. For 35mm negatives we scan at 2400 PPI and offer .jpeg or RAW. For professionals or archival projects, we offer DPI as high as 6400, TIFF and RAW files, which are larger but provide superior quality for editing or reprinting.

6. How do I get my photos to Scan5?

You can choose from several convenient options:

  • Drop Off: Bring your items directly to our local office.
  • Pick Up: We’ll arrange a secure courier to pick up your photos from your home or office.
  • Ship via UPS: Use our prepaid UPS shipping and we’ll notify you when your items arrive.
7. How long does the photo digitizing process take?

Most standard photo scanning projects are completed within 1-2 weeks, depending on the size and complexity of your collection. Rush service may be available. Contact us to confirm.

8. How should I organize my photos before giving them to Scan5?

We recommend organizing your photos into labeled or numbered groups and placing them in Ziplock bags or envelopes. We can create digital folders and name them according to your labels or numbers. Photos should be removed from album sleeves if possible. We offer a service to remove the photos for you as well.  Please note, if we receive your photos in a very disorganized state, your project may incur a fee for the labor required to prepare your photos for scanning.

9. What if my photos are stuck to the pages of my albums?

Do not risk damaging your photos by removing them if they are stuck to the pages of your albums. Provide your albums to us as-is and we will carefully digitize each page.

10. What precautions are taken to ensure my photos are handled safely?

We handle all photos with care and use professional-grade equipment to minimize any risk of damage. Photos are cataloged and tracked throughout the process to ensure their safe return.

11. Do you offer bulk pricing for very large photo collections?

Yes, we offer bulk discounts for very large collections. The condition and organization of the photos will factor into the amount of the discount. Please contact us to discuss.

12. Why do damaged or odd shaped photo prints cost more to digitize?

These photos require special handling and manual scanning. This added complexity contributes to the higher cost due to the additional time and labor required.

13. How large can I reprint my digitized photos?

With our 600 DPI scans, you can safely enlarge your photos by one size (e.g., a 4x6 print can be enlarged to 5x7 or 8x10) without noticeable loss of quality. For larger prints, slides or negatives are preferable due to their higher pixel density.

14. Why is cloud storage the best option for storing my digitized photos?

Cloud storage offers the most secure and convenient way to access your digitized photos from any device, anywhere. It ensures your memories are automatically backed up and easily shareable with family and friends, eliminating the risk of loss due to damaged physical drives.

Your Privacy Matters

Your memories are personal, and we treat them with care. We guarantee your items will be handled securely and privately, and never shared with third parties.

Ready to Preserve Your Memories?

Now that you know the importance of preserving your photos, it’s time to take the next step. Let us handle your digitizing with the care and expertise your memories deserve. Here’s how to get started:

Learn about the full process, from providing your items to receiving your digital files.

Explore our transparent pricing options for photos, albums, slides, and more.

Have a large collection or specific project in mind? Get a personalized quote today.

Digitize once, enjoy forever.