How to order

When do I pay ?

Payments are only made after the items have been scanned. This ensures that you are only paying for what we have actually scanned. Your order will be updated to reflect the actual number of items scanned.

When your order is completed, our booking system will email you requesting payment. Once payment is made we then dispatch your original items and the digital images back to you.

We use Square Invoicing as our payment provider, which allows you to pay using any credit / debit cards. Direct bank transfers are also available as are telephone payments. 

Sending the items to us

Carefully pack everything into a padded envelope or suitable box, making sure any voids are filled with suitable packing material to avoid the items moving around during transit. Loose lidded containers may open during transit spilling their contents in the box or bag, always try to ensure everything is secure and won't move around during transit.

Slides can be packaged loose or in their current containers, carousels or boxes, it doesn't matter to us. If you have a large number of slide carousels it might be easier and cheaper to remove the slides from the carousel for shipping. Simply take them out in the order you want them scanned and secure them together with a double wrapped elastic band to maintain the order while shipping. Any name or event you wish us to group the slides with can be attached the bundle.

Large or heavy orders should be sent in double walled cardboard boxes, plastic storage boxes tend to crack and break during transit, potentially spilling the contents.

Include your order number, (or full contact details if you haven't placed an online order) in the package. A handy Adobe PDF address label can also be found and printed from the contact page.  Attach the shipping label and also your return address in case of any problems.

If your order qualifies for free collection, or you have selected a courier collection service, simply let us know when and from where the package can be collected along with a rough estimate of the dimensions and weight of the box. Once the courier is booked we will send you a prepaid label to attach to the box.

If you are sending items by Royal Mail, we recommend using their Special Delivery service.

What happens next ?

Once we receive your order we let you know it has safely arrived, normally by email. Your order is then checked and placed into the scanning queue.

Once your order is completed we check the number of items scanned against the quantity ordered, adjusting the quantities of your order where necessary.

Any inspection service you ordered is also carried out at this time.

We then notify you of the order completion and request payment. 

How long does it take ?

Timescales are dependent on the quantity of items in your order and how busy we are when your order arrives. Normally it takes around 10 working days, though we offer a next day service if you are in a rush.

What you get back

The original items are returned on the media you requested. If you selected the Internet Cloud option, you can download them instantly to your device.

Once you receive your items, either via Royal Mail or a courier service all you have to do is insert the media into your PC / Mac or TV to see the images.

Most digital TV's allow you to connect a USB memory stick and view the images directly from there.

What do we scan ?
 

Photographs / Prints

We scan all sizes of photographs, colour or black and white, providing they are at least 2" in size. Albums and mounted photographs are scanned using our large flatbed scanning service. All scans are made at 600dpi, meaning you get a larger clearer image that will look great on your mobile device, PC screen or TV, they can also be reprinted at least twice the size as the original.

Slides

All sizes of mounted slides are scanned, anything from regular 35mm projector slides up to 60mm medium format slides. Half frame slides, 126 slides, 110 slides and 127 "Super slides" are also scanned. All 40mm frames are scanned at 4000dpi which will give a very large image suitable for all uses. 60mm frames are scanned at 2650dpi due to their larger original size, this helps to maintain a reasonable final file size.
 

Film negatives / Transparencies

Over the years a wide variety of film negative sizes have been produced, from small 110 instamatic negatives up to 4 x 5" Large Format film. Colour, monochromatic (black and white) and transparency film are commonplace. The most common is the easily recognisable twin sprocketed 35mm film, but we can also scan 110 / 126 instamatic, varying medium format film sizes from 6 x 4.5cm up to 6 x 12cm and 4 x 5" Large format film, though we don't process any form of cine or VHS film.

Why convert your images to digital? 

Having your film negatives, slides or photos scanned and converted to digital images not only preserves them before they deteriorate, but it allows you to view and share them using todays digital equipment, such as computers, TV's, Digital photo frames and mobile devices. You can upload them onto Social Networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Whatsapp or Instagram or share them with anyone you wish using our Easy Share system. The images can also be used for presentational use with high resolution projection systems and they are also suitable for publishing, either as a personal photograph album or for commercial use.

Having your images scanned to digital allows you to distribute copies of the images to friends and family and can make a wonderful birthday, anniversary or Christmas gifts for a family member or friend.

The scanning process

All films are cleaned prior to scanning, then we use an Infrared system whilst scanning colour films to remove the majority of the remaining dust and scratches resulting in a clearer image. Infrared is not available on black and white film scans. All items are scanned using high quality scanners at 4000dpi for 35mm based films / slides, 2650dpi for medium format films and 600dpi for photographs. We use scanners that are designed solely for scanning the type of film or photograph not a general purpose flatbed scanner. We then automatically adjust the colours, brightness and contrast levels in Adobe Photoshop®.
 

What you get back

Images are all scanned and processed as 16bit tiff files, then converted to standard JPG files for return. You are free to use the images for any purpose. Professional users can also select to have the images returned in the original tiff format.

All images are available to view or download online for 30 days and can also be returned on either a disc, USB memory stick or SD card.

After we return your images to you we keep a copy of them on our secure servers for up to 2 years. So should you lose your disc or USB drive we can replace it for you without having to rescan your images.
 

Common Questions

How long does it take?

We normally try to complete each order within 5 - 10 working days, if you are in a hurry you can select our Next day service.
 

Do you return the originals?

Yes, all original images are returned unless you specifically request us not to return them.

Do I need to register and place on order online?

No, you can simply send everything to us without registering.
 

Some of the images are faded, can you fix them?

Yes, all scans include Photoshop colour restoration, though extremely faded or colour cast images may require extra processing should you wish to restore them fully.

Do you lock the images or can I do what I want with them?

They are standard digital JPG or Tiff files which you can view and edit as you would any digital image. We place no restriction on editing, copying or sharing of the images, they are yours to use however you wish.