paying to have old photos scanned and put on a disc...?

[joko]

my sister mentioned this as something she me and her could do - she has a child so is limited with what she can do and wanted something to 'be getting on with' while she is in the house to make a few quid...but wants me to help her when i have time too...do you think people would pay a decent fee to have this done?

do you think this would be a worthwhile venture?

its very time consuming, so i imagine many just wouldnt bother doing it themselves...but if you had many albums of original pics with no copies...would you pay?
i would imagine it would be good to have that security in the event of a fire or flood too...

and if so how much should she charge? i assume a set amount per say 10 snaps?

or is there already a lot of options for this out there?
i would have thought some printers etc offer this?.. but id imagine theyd be expensive...?

thanks

[ummmm]

I wouldn't pay someone to do it. I'd find a site like this and ask someone how to do it and get on with it myself.

[mccfluff]

like ummmm, i'd do it myself

[dotty.]

It is something most people with access to a simple printer/scanner and laptop/PC can do for themselves for free. As you say it is time consuming, but putting the pictures onto your computer and then downloading them onto a disc is fine, if the computer crashes they are lost from there, then if you have them on a disc and no cimputer you can't re-print them, so having the originals is more the back up than having a computerised copy,
Maybe she could look at the restoration of older photos rather than the simple copying. this would mean using a software programme to enhance an image that someone sends her online. She could advertise this in Family History publications or on online genealogy sites, as long as she was abloe to master the restoration software,

[ChuckFickens]

Professional places would normally use a scanner with an auto feeder that you just load up a bulk load of photos and let it run.

[hc4361]

People pay for this sort of service, but it takes time, effort and skill to do a good job.
http://www.image-restore.co.uk/

[ChuckFickens]

not cheap though!

http://www.amazon.com...B172171/dp/B0006TVTGE

[NazNomad]

I'd do it myself ...

'Repairing' damaged photos (i.e. Photoshop) is something you 'might' make money at ... but you'd have to be well-versed with Photoshop to produce results that people will pay for.

Also, you'll be working with large file-sizes (working on at least 1200 dpi for the scanned pics) so your computer would need to be up to speed.

[jackthehat]

I have done this with MY own photographs and for family members.
Once scanned, the photographs can be manipulated and then put on a small 'camera card' which is the vital component in a digital photo-frame...

I don't doubt that there may be a demand for your sister to offer this, but I don't think that there would be sufficient market for her to earn much from it.

[scotman]

As with the two posts above I think most people would do simple scanning themselves as scanners are not that expensive these days. You might have better luck if you could offer some sort of 'touch-up' service for old, faded and torn snaps. I have seen this sort of service advertised locally. You would need image editing software for that and need to learn how to use it reasonably well.

[dotty.]

that;'s the kind of service I meant hc, and it has a huge market in the US

[Eve]

Interesting idea but I'd probably do it myself unless I had a huge amount of photos (which I've only amassed since going to a digital camera anyway).

I find it's nice and nostalgic going through scanning them and would worry about giving them over en masse to someone else to scan in case anything happened to them as when they're gone or damaged, that's it. I know they could get damaged with me but it's just a personal thing I guess.

My dad had a load of old ones he wanted scanning so he just got himself a scanner/printer, I helped him get set up and showed him what to do so he could do it himself, means he has the printer there to scan anything else he wants too.

I'd feel it would mainly be older people who would go it it who don't have scanners etc... but then many of them wouldn't have computers to view them on either and would probably prefer seeing them as they were originally taken.

Trying history societies might be an idea although it may be on a very ad hoc basis as they get old photos (and other documents which could be scanned) brought in. Many are brought to meetings though and scanned there and then so they can be taken away by the owner.

I think you'd need to strongly consider either a very carefully worded disclaimer (which would put me off handing my photos over) or getting insurance to cover any loss or damage, the cost of which could outweigh the money made.

[NazNomad]

In true Blue Peter fashion ... here's one I prepared earlier.

http://img33.imagesha...mg33/8199/repair1.jpg

If you can do this, you're in with half a chance, lol.

Seriously, the man-hours involved make it kinda hard to do work for anyone except celebrities and royalty.

[ChuckFickens]

Is that a BSA?

[NazNomad]

Pretty sure it is ... I'd have to check with my Dad, lol

[NazNomad]

BSA A7 ...:-))

[ChuckFickens]

Thought so, my Dad had one for years :)

[ChuckFickens]

Hold up..... you're from Essex too


brother? LOL

[dotty.]

Taking Naz's pic for example, when you restore anything, there is a danger of changing the authenticity of a historical document like a personal photo, if you had no idea what the number plate was on the bike, you would have to pretty much 'best guess', that therefore changes the original image. It's a minefield

[snags]

As others have said, offering a photo retouching service as well as/rather than purely scanning would be the way to go...

http://i151.photobuck...56/snagged_01/101.png

[NazNomad]

True, although I was lucky. When the two halves were lined up, the number couldn't have bee anything else. Good point though.

Chuck, it wasn't my Dad's bike ... phew, nearly had a long lost bro there for a minute, lol