Professional Photo Scanning for the Memories You Can’t Replace
Your originals come home. Your memories become easier to enjoy.
What Types of Photos Can We Scan?
Every family photo collection is different. Some arrive neatly organized by year; others arrive in shoeboxes that haven’t been opened in decades. Either is perfectly fine. If it’s a printed photograph, there’s a very good chance we can help preserve it.
Loose Photos & Prints
Loose prints make up the majority of the photo collections we scan. We routinely handle everyday snapshots, school pictures, studio portraits, wallet-size photos, Polaroids, and standard prints through 8×10. Your photos can arrive carefully sorted or simply grouped the way you already have them — you do not need to count every photograph before sending them to us.
Photo Albums & Scrapbooks
Some of the most important family photographs are still exactly where someone placed them decades ago: inside albums and scrapbooks. We can work with mounted photographs and complete albums, helping preserve both the images and the organization of the collection without requiring you to spend days dismantling everything yourself.
Names, Dates & Writing on the Backs
Sometimes the back of a photograph is nearly as important as the front. Handwritten names, dates, locations and little family notes can provide context that would otherwise be lost. When requested, we can scan the backs of photographs along with the images themselves so that information remains part of your digital archive.
Framed, Fragile & Unusual Photos
Not every photograph fits neatly into a stack. We also receive framed pictures, unusually sized prints, older photographs, curled photos and other items that may require individual handling. If you have something especially large, delicate or unusual, contact us before shipping and we’ll tell you the best way to handle it.
Is It Safe to Ship My Irreplaceable Photos?
For many customers, this is the hardest part of the entire project. These are not replaceable products from a store — they may be the only photographs you have of your parents or grandparents, your childhood, your wedding, or people who are no longer here. We understand why putting that box into someone else’s hands can feel uncomfortable.
What Happens to Your Photos After They Arrive?
Sending away photographs that may exist nowhere else in the world can feel uncomfortable. We understand that. Once your collection arrives at Memory Fortress, it is handled as a real family archive — not simply as a stack of paper moving through a production line.
How Should I Organize Thousands of Photos Before Sending Them?
This may be the question we hear more than any other from photo-scanning customers. The answer is reassuring: you do not need to spend weeks organizing your entire collection before sending it to us. Some customers send beautifully labeled archives. Others send boxes that have been accumulating for 40 years. We can work with both.
Bag 1: Mom's Childhood
Bag 2: Family Vacations – 1970s
Bag 3: Wedding Photos
Bag 4: Christmas Photos
Bag 5: Grandparents
Why We Recommend 600 DPI for Family Photos
One of the most common questions we hear is what resolution should be used for family photographs. For most family photo collections, Memory Fortress recommends 600 DPI because it preserves substantially more image information while giving you greater flexibility for future uses.
600 DPI captures substantially more image information, giving you greater flexibility for enlargements, cropping, editing, restoration and future uses that may not even be important to you today. When photographs have survived for decades and may never be scanned again, we generally believe the additional resolution is worthwhile.
300 DPI is also available for customers whose priorities are smaller digital files and lower scanning cost. It remains an excellent resolution for everyday viewing, sharing and standard-size reprints.
If you are unsure which option makes sense for your collection, just ask us. You do not need to understand the technical side of photo scanning before placing an order — we are happy to help you choose.
What Happens to Each Photo During Scanning?
A good photo-scanning service should do more than simply create thousands of image files. Your finished collection should be properly oriented, neatly cropped, easy to view and ready for your family to actually use. That attention to the finished image is an important part of our process.
Photo Scanning Prices: Clear, Simple Pricing
We believe you should be able to understand what your photo-scanning project will cost before you send us a box. Most family photo collections are priced by the number of photographs, the scan resolution you choose, and whether any photos require special handling.
Online Order Price
Online Order Price
Online Order Price
How Will I Receive and View My Scanned Photos?
This is one of the questions we hear most often. Your finished photographs are ordinary digital image files, so you can view, copy, share and enjoy them on the devices you already use. You can also choose more than one delivery method if you want both convenience and a physical backup.
✓ Email or text favorite photographs to family members
✓ Make new prints and enlargements
✓ Create photo books, slideshows and family-history projects
✓ Copy the files onto additional drives for backup
✓ Upload selected photographs to your preferred cloud or photo service
How Long Does Photo Scanning Take?
Most photo-scanning projects are completed in approximately one to two weeks. Smaller orders are often finished in about five business days, while larger family archives generally require closer to ten business days.
1–2 day turnaround: approximately 100% rush premium
Photo Scanning FAQs
After more than a decade of scanning family photo collections, we have heard just about every question imaginable. Here are answers to some of the questions customers ask us most often before sending their photographs.
Do I need to count all of my photos before sending them?
No. An estimate is perfectly fine when you begin your order. Once your photographs arrive, we determine the actual quantity during intake and production. If you have several thousand photos, please do not spend hours counting every one before getting started.
Do I need to organize my photos before sending them?
No. Some customers send carefully organized collections and others send boxes that have accumulated over several decades. Both are completely normal. If organization matters to you, clearly labeled bags or groups are an easy way to tell us how you would like the finished digital folders arranged. Custom folder organization is available for $4 per folder.
Can you scan photos that are still in albums or scrapbooks?
Yes. About one-third of the photographs we receive are still mounted in albums, scrapbooks or similar holders. In most cases, you do not need to remove them first. Keeping photographs in an album can also help preserve the original order and context of the collection.
Can you scan the backs of photographs?
Yes. Names, dates, locations and handwritten notes on the backs of photographs can be just as meaningful as the image itself. If you want the backs scanned, let us know when placing your order so we can include them with your digital collection.
Should I choose 300 DPI or 600 DPI?
For most family archives, we recommend 600 DPI. It captures more image information and gives you greater flexibility for cropping, enlargements, restoration and future uses. 300 DPI is also available and works well for ordinary viewing, sharing and standard-size reprints.
What sizes of photographs can you scan?
We routinely scan wallet-size photographs, standard snapshots, school pictures, studio portraits, Polaroids and prints through 8×10. We can also convert larger, framed, fragile or unusually shaped photographs which may require special handling and pricing (see Scrapbook Scanning), so contact us if you have something outside the ordinary.
Will my photographs be cropped and rotated correctly?
Yes. Finished images are reviewed for orientation, cropping and overall scan quality. Unnecessary scanner borders are removed, and photographs are rotated into the proper viewing position whenever the correct orientation can reasonably be determined.
Do you restore faded, scratched or damaged photographs?
Photo scanning and photo restoration are different services. A high-quality scan preserves what is present in the original photograph. Severe fading, scratches, tears or missing areas may require separate restoration work. A high-resolution scan is an excellent first step because it preserves the original image before restoration is considered.
How will I receive my scanned photographs?
Most customers choose a USB or USB-C flash drive, and many also choose cloud delivery. Our cloud-download option is a one-time $10 charge, the link remains active for 30 days, and you may share it by email with family members. Archival-grade DVD delivery is also available for customers who prefer it.
Will thousands of photos fit on one flash drive?
Usually, yes. Even our smallest flash drive can hold thousands of scanned photographs. Very large collections simply receive the storage capacity appropriate for the size of the finished order.
Is it safe to ship irreplaceable photographs?
No shipping company can honestly guarantee zero risk, but families have safely shipped photographs to Memory Fortress from across the United States for more than a decade. We recommend using a sturdy box, good internal cushioning and a major carrier with tracking. Once your photographs arrive, the scanning work is completed in-house by our own team.
How long will you have my photographs?
Most photo-scanning projects take approximately one to two weeks. Smaller orders are often completed in about five business days, while larger collections generally take closer to ten business days. Rush options are also available for customers with important deadlines.
Can you handle 5,000 or 10,000 photographs?
Absolutely. Large family archives are a normal part of our work. You do not need to create a perfect inventory or spend weeks preparing the collection before sending it to us.
Can I bring my photos to you instead of shipping them?
Yes. Customers in the Atlanta area are welcome to bring their collections to us in person during normal business hours. Many local customers prefer to hand-deliver especially large or sentimental collections.
What if I have something unusual and I’m not sure you can scan it?
Call us at 678-579-2249. We would much rather spend a few minutes looking at or discussing an unusual item before you ship it than have you guess. A real person can tell you whether we can handle it and the best way to send it.
What Memory Fortress Customers Say
We can explain our process all day, but sometimes the most reassuring words come from families who have already trusted us with their own photographs.