How to convert pics from print to digital?

[wanhjb]

I've got some pictures which I want to convert from print to digital. Some from more than 20 years ago (not mine of course) and they are mostly matt. In some of the pictures, the colour is alreadly fading and I do not have copies of the negatives left. Can these pictures be converted to digital? Eg. raw or jpeg And stored in a CD rom or thumbdrive? And how? Should I just scan it using my scanner at home or send it to a photo shop. If I send it to the shop how much would it cost? And which shops offer the best price. (I live in Bt Timah) Also, could the shops "restore" some of the faded colours of the photographs to make it look nicer? I have about 300-400 pictures to convert.

Help me!!! Please???

Thank You in advance

 

[westwest1]

I did it once for just one photo... cost me more then $10...

 

[slaam]

hmmm expensive for 300-400 photos. jus scan them on a flatbed scanner at the highest possible resolution and correct the color bias by use of saturation and color balance tools. I did it before for childhood photos. only thing is you wont be able to print it at much larger sizes than u scanned it in.

 

[user111]

send to a lab and scan

i had scanned 50 negatives for $300+/ . use that as a price gauge

 

[J-Chan]

send to a lab and scan

i had scanned 50 negatives for $300+/ . use that as a price gauge

woah... with that $$ can probably buy a scanner yourself..

 

[igpenguin]

woah... with that $$ can probably buy a scanner yourself..

that's true, though in batch the scanning will take up a fair bit of your time, unless there's a good way to automate it.

 

[wanhjb]

Westwest and user, wow, if its so expensive don't I have to fork out thousands?

J-chan and igpenguin, do you know of some good scanners that can print the pictures well? I have a scanner/printer at home but I am unsure if it can do the job. I use mainly for photocopying only. P.S Cheap oso

Slamm, you know how to make it look nicer? Can you teach me? Do I increase the saturation and hue? I want to make the pictures look "newer" and not so "faded" thats all.

Anyone knows if scanning the pictures using a home scanner will affect the quality of the pictures. The photos are not mine, and I can't imagine my aunt carrying hammer to knock my head if the pictures were spoilt in the proccess.

 

[westwest1]

Westwest and user, wow, if its so expensive don't I have to fork out thousands?

J-chan and igpenguin, do you know of some good scanners that can print the pictures well? I have a scanner/printer at home but I am unsure if it can do the job. I use mainly for photocopying only. P.S Cheap oso

Slamm, you know how to make it look nicer? Can you teach me? Do I increase the saturation and hue? I want to make the pictures look "newer" and not so "faded" thats all.

Anyone knows if scanning the pictures using a home scanner will affect the quality of the pictures. The photos are not mine, and I can't imagine my aunt carrying hammer to knock my head if the pictures were spoilt in the proccess.

Yes... I have done that before and paid for it... well... anything done by lab is expensive...

Maybe I suggest that you get a Flat bed scanner to do the scanning...

Need PS lesson just ask around here...there sure be people to help you...

 

[user111]

woah... with that $$ can probably buy a scanner yourself..

was lazy. lol

risk of damaging the originals aside, it boils down to whether u prefer to spend time and effort vs just sit back, wait and collect at the due date.

 

[wanhjb]

I don't mind the time spent, just that I wanna know if it would damage or lower the picture quality, putting it through the scanners. BTW, is it possible for the moderaters to move the thread to the "printers and scanners" section, I don't know how to move it.

 

[ortega]

any kind of conversion would "lower" the quality of the original
a flatbed scanned would not damage the originals

have fun!

 

[wanhjb]

Thanks Ortega, I sure will have fun scanning the pictures, I've decided I'll scan them this coming weekend. Till then, I'll see how the pictures turn out.:thumbsup:

 

[westwest1]

enjoy....

 

[jopel]

use your digi cam to shoot