Do It Yourself
Some customers ask us the question, how different is our service from scanning the photos themselves. This section is to explain the difficulties in doing it by oneself. This section is also helpful for those who want to do it by themselves but don't know where to start.
While we don't claim what we are doing is rocket science and only we know how to do it, we believe a common person is better off getting his collection digitized through a professional service than doing it himself which involves going through a learning curve. There are four main barriers associated with doing it oneself - (1) Technology (2) Time (3) Quality (4) Money.
1. Technology
At ScanCorner, we use EPSON V700 and Nikon CoolScan 5000 ED to digitize photos. These are very high end expensive scanners. Both these scanners are suitable for scanning all kinds of photo formats where as a normal desk jet scanner can only scan printed photos. Both the scanners have Digital ICE technology from Kodak which is used in removing scratches from photos while scanning. Both these scanners have multitude of options to choose from depending on the media and quality.
We use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and CS2 extensively to do post processing of images. This includes scratch removal, brightness adjustment, photo restoration and so on. We also use other softwares to generate thumbnails and to create online photo gallery.
2. Time
For a starter, it takes around 8 minutes to scan and do post processing for one photo for a person acquainted with the softwares and technology mentioned above.
Time taken to scan a photo:4 mins
Time taken to do post processing:3 mins
Total time taken:8 MINS
If we include sorting, catalouging, creating thumb nails it adds up to 10 mins per photo. A person can scan only 6 photos per hour. So it takes a work day (of 8 hours) to scan a photo album containing 50 photos.
3. Money
Required Hardware:INR 1, 30,000
Software:INR 7,000
Total cost:INR 1,37,000
4. Quality
Each photo is different and requires different kind of treatment. So, no software beats a trained eye and skillful hand. At ScanCorner, we employ highly trained image technicians to process each and every image. It requires 2-3 month training in various softwares to reach that level.
So taking into consideration all these, it is always better to outsource the photo digitization job to a profsesional digitization company.
Personalized DVD
How about getting a DVD with one of your favorite pictures as a label?
At ScanCorner we give you a personalized DVD. It has one of your photos as a label. You can gift it to your friends/family.