There are two types of photos that customers can send to Memory Fortress: loose prints and pictures in curated albums. One of the most frequently asked questions by customers is whether they can ship their photo albums directly to our offices for scanning. The simple answer is yes, you can ship photo albums to be digitized to our offices. Our photo and slide scanning service is happy to remove and replace each photo that we scan.
However, there are a few things to consider as you collect all of your old memories to start your digitization project. Here’s what you need to know about sending us photo albums to be digitized.
How Memory Fortress Digitizes Photos in Albums
Our team receives photo albums to be scanned and digitized on a weekly basis. We have a dedicated system in place to ensure every photo is accounted for, scanned, saved, and returned to you. This is important for scanning any photo album but is critical when preserving precious memories like wedding albums and baby books. Here’s how our process works.
- Our team receives your shipment of memories and immediately weighs the box. This is how we make sure your entire package is returned to you (down to the last ounce).
- Your memories will be placed at a dedicated workstation and will not move from that spot until they are ready to be returned to you.
- One of our team members will digitize your photos by removing them from the album. They will gently remove the photo from the album, scan it, and return it to its original place.
- Once the digitization project is complete, a supervisor will review and approve the scans for quality control.
- Your memories will be boxed up, weighed again to ensure you packed everything, and returned to you.
Our team handles every single photo individually. We are used to removing pictures that are glued tight to albums and can replace them in a way where they don’t fall out. This human element ensures that your albums are protected throughout the digitization process.
Pros of Sending Photo Albums to be Digitized
There are several reasons to send photo albums to be digitized directly to Memory Fortress. Here are a few benefits of this option instead of gathering your photo prints in loose-leaf form.
- Save time. If your photos are curated in albums, you can make them up and ship them to our team within an hour. Don’t spend more time on this project than you have to.
- Receive organized folders. Our team cannot individually label photos. However, if you place photos in groups, we can organize them in different folders. By sending photo albums to be scanned and digitized directly, you can ensure that your images are curated in the best way possible.
- Don’t stress about handling pictures yourself. If you are worried about removing delicate pictures from albums and packing them up, let our team take over instead. We have a trusted staff of trained professionals who know how to handle delicate media.
Albums are often easy to pack up because the books can stack on top of each other. If you live in the Atlanta area, you can also drop your memories off in person at our Duluth office. Just let us know beforehand so we are sure someone is there to greet you.
Cons of Sending Photo Albums to be Digitized
While there are plenty of benefits of sending photo albums to be scanned and digitized, there are a few good reasons to pull your photos out of these albums and send them as loose prints instead. Here’s why.
- Loose photos are cheaper to scan. Because loose photos take less work to scan, we charge less on a per-photo basis. The cost to scan loose photos starts at $0.38 per image (and decreases the more photos you have), while the cost to scan photos in an album starts at $0.58 per photo. There is also a “Super Saver” option for loose photos where we charge as low as $0.17 per photo scanned.
- Loose photos are cheaper to ship. Once your photos are digitized, our team will cover the shipping costs to return your memories to you. However, you need to pay to ship them to use. Photo albums are often bulky and heavy, which means you will be charged more for shipping them. You can significantly reduce your shipping costs (and the overall costs of the project) by removing the photos yourself.
You can still curate your memories if you remove your photos from their albums. Simply place different photos in plastic bags and label them clearly. For example, all of the photos from your wedding album can be labeled “wedding.”
Removing pictures manually from the photo albums to be digitized will take longer. Plus, you will have to replace these photos after we return them to the same place. While you can save money by sending loose photos, the process of packing your prints and reorganizing them might not be worth your time.
Choose the Method That Works Best for You
Our team is happy to receive loose photos or curated albums to complete your digitization project. It is ultimately your choice whether you want to ship photo albums to be digitized or remove the prints yourself. Evaluate how much time it will take to remove and replace your photos to see whether it’s easier to pay us to take on the project instead.
One more thing to consider is whether you want to hold on to the albums after your memories are digitized. Some people want to save their albums and use the digital prints as a backup option. Other people want to increase storage space in their homes with this project and have no need for the returned albums. It might be better to send us loose prints if you won’t want to use photo albums anymore.
Start Your Order With Memory Fortress
Whether you want to send us photo albums to be scanned and digitized or curate loose prints for our team, take the first steps to place your order today. You can tell us to expect your order and won’t have to pay for the project in full until it is complete. (We only charge $29 upfront to confirm your order.) Start your order with Memory Fortress and send us your photo albums to be digitized.