General Questions |
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- Why should my photos or mounted-slides
be converted to a digital format?
- Why can't I scan my photos to a CD myself?
- Do you scan any type of photos?
- Can I order copies of my digital images?
- Will I be able to see my photos on my
DVD?
- Can you print more copies of my photos
for my family?
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"Fill out an online order
Form" Questions |
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- What resolution should I choose?
- Can I make a change in my order after
it has been submited?
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"Mail us your pictures" Questions |
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- How should I prepare and package
my photos, negatives or slides?
- How should I mail my photos, negatives
or slides?
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"We digitize your photos" Questions |
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- How long will it take to scan my photos?
- What format will you scan my photos
to?
- What's the difference of scanning my
photos to a CD or a DVD?
- Some of my photos are faded and damaged.
What can be done about it?
- In what order will you arrange my photos
on the disk?
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"We ship you back the complete order" Questions |
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- Will you return my photos?
- What payment methods do you accept?
- Can you post my photos to the web?
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"DVD Slideshow Movie" Questions |
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- Can I play the DVD Slideshow Movie in
any DVD player?
- What is the difference of a DVD Slideshow
Movie and a "plain" JPEG DVD?
- What Country/Video format is used?
- Does the movie include a musical background?
- Can I order copies of my DVD movie?
- Is it possible to customize my DVD movie?
- What is the difference of a DVD Slideshow Full Featured and a DVD Slideshow Basic?
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General Questions |
- Why
should my photos be converted to a digital format?
There are plenty of reasons!.
- Why
can't I scan my photos to a CD myself?
Actually you can, but it is a very time consuming task, especially when a
large amount of pictures is involved. Consumer market scanners are somewhat
slow, so "raw scanning" 100 photos could take more than 3 hours,
plus the time and effort it takes to rotate, crop, correct, enhance, and
save the files. Besides, quality scanning of slides and negatives requires
special equipment and technology which is not available to most consumers.
- Do
you scan any type of photos?
We can scan any size of printed photos up to 8.5" x 12". We will
not scan photos depicting pornography, child abuse, or animal cruelty. Nudity
is acceptable as long as it's considered artistic and not pornographic. Our
judgement in this matter is final.
- Can
I order copies of my digital images?
We keep a copy of your order on file
for 30 days. You can order additional copies
of your digitized images from us during that
period. After that, you can send us the original
disk and we will make additional copies for a
resonable fee, or you can make copies of your
disk yourself. If you opted in for a free personal
web album, you can always download your images
from the web, but these images may have a lower
resolution than the original files.
- Will
I be able to see my photos on my DVD?
Yes, most new DVD players are JPEG-compatible, so that you will be able to
see photo slide shows. You can also view a DVD Slideshow Movie of
your photos in any DVD.
- Can
you print more copies of my photos for my family?
Yes. We use a third party printing service which will be available for you
once your photos are posted to your personal web album. You can choose which
photos to print, quantities, and type of photographic paper. You can choose
to print your photos on a variety of articles as well, like shirts, coffee
mugs and key holders. They will mail the prints directly to you.
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"Fill out an online order form" Questions |
- What
resolution should I choose?
That depends on what you intend to do with your pictures. For photo prints,
150 dpi is enough for posting to the Web, viewing on your computer screen,
or printing at fair quality. If you want to print with good quality at original
size, then 300 dpi is your choice. If you want to enlarge and print, or zoom
in on an object, then you should choose 600 dpi. Remember, the larger the resolution,
the bigger your files will be, and the slower it will be for computers to process
them or to travel over the internet. The same principles apply to slides and
negatives. Learn more about resolution
and dpi.
- Can I make a change
in my Order after it has been submited?
Yes, provided we have not processed your order. You can give us a call toll
free, but any changes are considered firm only after you indicate them in writing
by email, using this contact form. Cancelled orders
are charged only for shipping expenses.
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"Mail us your pictures" Questions |
- How
should I package my photos, negatives or slides?
Photo prints should be carefully packed in envelopes. Photo negatives should
be placed in envelopes, protective sleeves, or archival sheets. Film strips should
not have more than 6 frames per strip. Slides should be stacked in piles of up
to 50 slides, wrapped in plastic and tightly tied with rubber bands. DO NOT SEND
SLIDES IN CAROUSELS, TRAYS, OR MAGAZINES, since we will not accept them. In general,
no loose materiales should be mailed, and all material should be wrapped in plastic
or put in a plastic bag. You may include a piece of paper containing clearly
printed instructions regarding your material, such as special requirements, or
retouching services. If you want your photos, negatives or slides to be scanned
in a particular order, please have them arranged and properly numbered on the
back or on a label prior to mailing. Do not forget to print your Return Address in the envelope, box or parcel you use to mail your materials. Learn more about the order
arrangement for your photos, or learn more about how to package your materials.
- How should I mail
my photos, slides, or negatives?
We strongly advise to mail all material using USPS
Priority Mail, USPS Express Mail, or other courier
services like FedEx or UPS. We also encourage the
use boxes or envelopes provided by your prefered
courier, as they will prevent bending of photos and
negatives. Do not forget to print your Return Address in the envelope, box or parcel you use to mail your materials. Learn more about how to ship your materials.
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"We digitize your photos" Questions |
- How
long will it take to scan my photos?
Our current turnaround is 5 business days for jobs under 500 and 10 business
days for jobs under 1000. Please contact us for larger quantities, or to inquiry about the possibility of processing a rush order.
- What
format will you scan my photos to?
We usually scan to the compressed JPEG format
with high quality. This format is compatible with practically
every image viewing and editing software application on
earth, and being compressed, takes much less time to be
processed by computers and other devices like DVDs. Upon
request, we can scan to other formats like BMP, PSD, TIFF,
or PNG.
- What's
the difference of scanning my photos to a CD or a DVD?
A DVD can hold up to 4 gigabytes of information, and
a CD holds up to 600 megabytes. That means that a DVD
is capable of storing approximately 615 uncompressed
6" x 4" photo files scanned at 300 dpi, compared to approximately
92 by a CD.
- Some
of my photos are faded and damaged. What can be done
about it?
No problem! All of our scanning services include basic enhancement services
for all pictures. This includes rotation, cropping, and color correction. If
your photos need a more advanced correction, we will be happy to give you a
quote for those services. You may call us toll free or contact
us by email for further information about enhancement services.
- In what order
will you arrange your photos on the disk?
We will scan and save your photos in the same order you send them to us. You
should arrange your photos by theme or event in smaller batches and band them
together. You should also number each photo or mounted slide on the back with
a graphite pencil. Envelopes and plastic bags containing photo batches can
also be numbered or labeled to indicate us the proper scanning order. You can
also include a clearly printed piece o paper with special instructions for
us.
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"We ship you back the
complete order" Questions |
- Will you return
my photos?
Unless you specifically decline so, we will return your original photos, negatives,
and slides along with your digitized images in a CD or DVD, via Fedex 2nd Day or USPS Priority Mail. You will be charged for shipping at our cost.
- What
payment methods do you accept?
Payment can be completed through PAYPAL, the largest and most recognized
online payment agent. You DO NOT need a PAYPAL account in order to complete
payment. You only need any valid VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express
card. Please note thaf your debit/credit card must have a Card
Verification Number on the back, and that American Express Corporate Cards
cannot be used in conjuction with PAYPAL at this time. For more information
on PAYPAL, please click here. We also accept payments over the phone with any major credit card. Please DO
NOT send checks, cash or money orders along with your photos, slides or negatives.
- Can you post my
photos to the web?
Sure! We will post your photos to a private Web Album and provide you with
a Web address, which will be known only by you and the people you share it
with. At your request, we will protect your gallery with a password. Click
here to view a sample Web album. This service is given at no additional
cost to you for a period of 6 months, after which you can request us to renew
this service for additional periods.
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"DVD Slideshow Movie" Questions |
- Can I play the
DVD Slideshow Movie in any DVD player?
Yes. DVD Slideshows movies are created using the
MPEG-2 video format, which is compatible with all DVD players
and DVD-ROM units.
- What
is the difference of a DVD Slideshow Movie and a "plain" JPEG
DVD?
If you save your JPEG image files to a DVD or
even a CD, you can watch an "automatic" slideshow
of your images when you insert the CD or DVD disk in
a JPEG-compatible DVD player. This slideshow does not
feature background music, titles, menus, transitions
between photos, or special effects, as does a DVD Slideshow
Movie. Most recent DVD players are JPEG-compatible, but
you should consult your DVD player manual for this feature
if you intend to view "plain" JPEG slideshows
of your digitized images. Remember, you can view your
JPEG slideshow on you DVD player even if your photos
were stored to a CD.
- What Country/Video
format and what disk type are used to produce a DVD
Slideshow Movie?
By default, the NTSC format is used. This is the TV format used in the United
States and Latin America. The PAL format is available by request for those
residing in Europe or most Asian countries. Disk type used is DVD-R, compatible
with most DVD players in the market.
- Does
the movie include a musical background?
Yes. For Full-Featured DVD Slideshows one looped song is included in the price. You can request the inclusion of more
songs at an additional charge. Because of copyright reasons, you should include
a disk with your preferred song(s) when mailing us your
photos. This song should be in any standard format (mp3,
mpg, wav) or in a regular music CD. Your disk will be
returned along with the rest of materials. Alternatively,
you can request us to buy and download from the Internet
your preferred song. Consult our pricing information.
- Can
I order copies of my DVD movie?
Yes. Each copy costs $15. After we mail you your DVD Slideshow Movie, we do
not keep copies of it, so If you want us to make a copy, you should send in
your original disk.
- Is
it possible to customize my Full-Featured DVD Slideshow Movie?
Yes! After your materials arrive, one of our graphic
artists and technicians will contact you to coordinate
details such as your choice of music genre, titles, etc.
Although some of the production details must be left
to our expert editors' best effort, feel free to consult
and make suggestions to help us customize your Full-Featured DVD Slideshow
to your preferences and needs. Basic DVD Slideshows are not customizable.
- What is the difference of a DVD Slideshow Full-Featured and a DVD Slideshow Basic?
A Full-Featured Slideshow includes a main title slide, unlimited chapter slides, special-effect transitions between slides, and a musical background synchronized to the slideshow. A Basic Slideshow does not include titles, chapters or music. Each slide runs for 5 seconds, with a fade in/fade out transition between slides.
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