Negative Scanning..

[scrapperjade]

Have any of you had old negatives scanned? I just saw that Persnickety Prints offers negative scanning, and I've been wanting to do my wedding photos since we got married (8 years). I got a quote from a reputable place near me, but it was going to cost around $300 to do it, and I just can't afford it.

Persnickety offers a "Shoebox Deal",as many negatives as you can fit into a shoebox, a minimum of 100, for $39.99 (!!!). I'm just a wee bit terrified of sending my negatives in the mail, just in case it gets lost. No amount of insurance will pay for them, since they are irreplaceable.

Anyway, I was just wondering if you'd ever had negatives scanned, and if so, where? And were you happy with the quality??

 

[mummytothree]

I bought a nice HP scanner a few years ago that does negative and never used it. Well just lately I've started scanning in all my negatives and I could just kick my self for not doing it sooner!! It is a bit time consuming (I can only do about 5 negatives at a time) but it is so easy!!!! And they are turning out really well...well as well as can be expected from my crappy film camera!!!

I can't wait to get started on my wedding photos!!! :thumbup: They are in really nice shape and I'm betting they scan in just as well at the print copies I have of them!!

I paid about $100 bucks for my scanner at Staples!! There is no way in heck I'd send my negatives off....maybe copies of the photos to have scanned in but never the negatives!!! :thumbdown:

 

[Sherri Tierney]

DH bought me a nice scanner that will also scan negatives. I haven't scanned any negatives on it in years but I did do my wedding pictures when we got it. I was pretty happy with how they turned out.

 

[Sharon Kay]

I would spend the money on a scanner that does multiple negatives at one time ... be sure to read reviews on the scanners. It seems that the ones that are just for negatives (stand alones) sometimes don't get very good reviews. I like my Epson scanner ... I can do multiple sized negatives, slides, and regular scanning as well.

Is it worth it to have someone else do it if they lose the negatives??

 

[scrapperjade]

I would spend the money on a scanner that does multiple negatives at one time ... be sure to read reviews on the scanners. It seems that the ones that are just for negatives (stand alones) sometimes don't get very good reviews. I like my Epson scanner ... I can do multiple sized negatives, slides, and regular scanning as well.

Is it worth it to have someone else do it if they lose the negatives??

I hear you on the stand-alone negative scanners. I got one and it was AWFUL. My photos scanned in BLUE, and no amount of photoshopping could make them look right, lol. I ended up returning it.

I guess I will look into buying a scanner... blah! I was hoping to save myself the work, haha!! What kind do you use? Do the pictures look clear & proper colors?

 

[mummytothree]

I have the HP Scanjet G4000 series...I bought it probably 5 years ago. Here is the current model the G4010.

This photo was taken almost 14 years ago...it's my oldest DD (she was born in May 1998...this is probably June/July 1998). It was taken with either a cheap 35mm or maybe even a disposable camera!!! All I've done is scan it in at 300dpi, then resized it fro web to show you....no other editing has been done!!! I think it looks pretty darn good....as good as the "physical copy" I have of it!!! :thumbup:

These are also scanned photos...from around the same time...now I did do a bit of editing on them because they are blurry and out of focus...but these actually look better then my "physical copies"!!!

And these are from Summer of 1999. Again they have been edited but they were bad shots to begin with...it had nothing to do with the scanning!!

 

[lemoncupcake]

GoPhoto.com

That's where I had my photos and negatives scanned after looking at a few different services. I was also worried about sending off stuff originally, but they ship UPS and scan in California (as opposed to India, which ScanCafe does, which is why I didn't choose them), so I figured things would be fine, and they were! They turned out great actually. So, I'm happy.

I'm on the mailing list and get coupon codes occasionally, so if you're price-conscious that's a good way to save some money. I don't have one right now or I'd post it.

Their scanning how to (i.e. how to get stuff to them - it's super duper easy.) explains more.

Good luck! There might be someone local as well, but this company seemed the easiest to me.