ScanMyPhotos Review: Easy Way to Digitize Old Prints

Like wine, art, or antique jewelry, the value of a photo increases over time.

For me, nothing beats the pleasure of reliving hilarious childhood moments stored in photo albums in my living room.

The only thing I disliked about the experience was seeing how my snapshots faded and deteriorated over time.

In my quest to figure out how to perfectly preserve my pictures and protect them from getting damaged, I stumbled upon a simple solution: digitizing them.

ScanMyPhotos is a professional photo-scanning service that specializes in preserving photos, negatives, slides, VHS tapes, and movie films.

It allows you to conveniently digitize your collection of analog media for easy viewing, editing, and uploading.

Since its establishment in 1990, ScanMyPhotos has digitized over one billion pictures, with a 100% happiness pledge guarantee to all of its customers.

The company is based in Irvine, California, and is headed by CEO Mitch Goldstone.

ScanMyPhotos’s newest services include express ScanFast same-day scanning. It allows your photos to be processed and instantly uploaded within a day of receiving your order.

Plus, the company’s film digitization service has been upgraded for optimal viewing!

What’s more, ScanMyPhotos now provides a 35mm Kodak slide carousel service for a fixed price of $40.

The company also offers its best-selling fill-the-box photo scanning, which has a capacity of 1,800 pictures! All these services and more are available on their official website.

What Services & Products Does ScanMyPhotos Offer?

You can choose from ScanMyPhotos’s wide array of budget-friendly options for your photo scanning and video transferring needs.

The company accepts multiple media types, from a few home movies to a year’s worth of pictures.

Here are some of the company’s top-rated services and products:

Photo Scanning Service

If you have a bunch of fading snapshots in your drawer or in a shoebox collecting dust, consider ScanMyPhotos’s digital photo-scanning service.

Upon receipt, digitizing experts will process all of your pictures at the company’s facility in Irvine, California.

Your photos may be scanned into 72, 150, 300, or 600 dpi JPEG files, depending on your choice of resolution.

According to ScanMyPhotos, 300 dpi files are suitable for viewing, sharing, or reprinting photos of the same size. Meanwhile, the company recommends 600 dpi for archival purposes and large reproductions.

(See also: What’s the difference between dpi and ppi?)

After scanning your photos, your digital downloads will be provided via email, and your analog pics will be shipped back to you, safe and sound. What a convenient way to protect, preserve, and enjoy precious memories!

ScanMyPhotos provides three budget-friendly options for its photo scanning services:

Pay-Per-Photo Scan Service – Pro

If you only have a small number of special snapshots to digitize, this option is for you!

The pay-per-photo scan service allows you to send as few or as many photos as you like, with the corresponding charge based on the total number of pics.

The average turnaround time for this option is a few weeks.

You can opt for express same-day scanning to speed things up. This add-on allows you to receive your order in one business day. Nice!

Photo Scanning Box

The photo scanning box option is perfect for digitizing the treasured photos of family members, pets, and friends that are filling up your shoeboxes and storage bins.

When you place an order, ScanMyPhotos will swiftly send you a prepaid box that can hold up to 1,800 photos.

Without express same-day scanning, the turnaround time for this order is 5–10 business days.

Family Generation Collection

You can quickly, conveniently, and affordably preserve a lifetime of nostalgic photos with ScanMyPhotos’s family generation collection. You’ll receive six prepaid boxes with an average capacity of 10,800 photos.

Your order will typically be completed in 10–20 days. This order has the option of express same-day scanning as well.

But wait, there’s more! ScanMyPhotos also offers the following add-on services to further enhance your orders:

• Scanning photos in order
• Photo soap
• Dual side scanning
• Scanned photos stored in a standard DVD
• Scanned photos stored in an 8GB thumb drive
• Delivery signature confirmation

Related: What is the best photo scanning software?

Negative Scanning Service

Your photo negatives are also at risk of degrading over time.

When stored in unsuitable conditions, the pictures on them may fade, warp, or discolor.

For this reason, ScanMyPhotos offers a scanning service to preserve your fragile negatives.

This service individually hand-scans your negatives into 24-bit JPEG files with vivid color and impressive clarity. Y

ou can choose a 2,000 dpi resolution if you want to print your negatives as photos.

Meanwhile, 4,000 dpi resolution is ideal if you plan to print posters from your pics.

It’s worth mentioning that all of ScanMyPhotos’s negative scanning services have add-on features to choose from.

You can visit the company’s website to access special promo codes, instant rebates, and big discounts for their services!

ScanMyPhotos provides the following options for scanning your negatives:

• 35mm negative scanning services
• APS negative scanning services
• 120mm negative scanning services

Related: What is the best photo scanner?

Slide Scanning Service

You might’ve thought that the photos on your family’s old slides are completely irrecoverable, with the memories being lost forever.

Thankfully, that’s not the case! ScanMyPhotos provides slide scanning services where each one of your slides is hand-scanned by a technician.

In addition to standard slide scanning, ScanMyPhotos offers premium slide scanning. This option involves careful adjustment of your photos to achieve excellent color and density.

The scanning process uses Kodak’s digital ICE technology to reduce surface scratches and dust.

The following options are available under slide scanning:

• Pay-per-slide service
• Slide scanning box
• Kodak Carousel Slide Scanning

Related: What is the best film slide scanner for digitizing photos?

VHS and Film Transfer Service

The magnetic material on your VHS degrades over time, causing your tapes to eventually break down.

To avoid losing your recordings, try ScanMyPhotos’s 8mm/16mm film and VHS tape transfer service.

All you have to do is send in your VHS, VHS-C, MiniDV, and Hi8 video tapes or your 8mm/16mm film. ScanMyPhotos will then transfer the footage to an archival-quality DVD.

You can opt to have your movies uploaded or stored on a hard drive, too.

What’s more, ScanMyPhotos’s upgraded reel digitization services have the following top-tier features:

• Scene-by-scene density adjustment
• Flicker-free playback
• Manual retiming
• Full frame capture
• Transfer movies in order

(Related: How to Convert Mini DV to Digital)

Photo Restoration Service

ScanMyPhotos’s restoration services can bring your vintage photographs back to life!

Just upload your old pictures as you order and let photo artists enhance and restore them to their former glory.

Experts will repair any flaws and discoloration from your photos, transforming them into vivid and colorful artworks.

The average turnaround time for this service is 20 days. Rush 10-day completion and ultra rush 3-day completion options are available for an additional cost.

Here are some of the features and add-ons that come with this special service:

• Photo colorization
• High-end pro eye retouching
• Image cropping
• Teeth whitening
• High-end blemish removal
• High-end background enhancement

Photo Soap

Photo soap is a computerized image correction process that ScanMyPhotos offers in combination with its scanning services.

(This process was formerly called Crystal diamond photo enhancement.)

To enhance the exposure or correct the colors of your old or faded pictures, select this add-on when ordering.

Photo soap comes with the following impressive features:

• Skin tone correction
• Greater shadow detail or better highlights
• Image sharpening
• Reduction of abnormal tint due to tungsten, fluorescent, UV, and infrared lighting
• Color vibrancy and saturation restoration
• Exposure optimization for underexposed photos

Alternatives to ScanMyPhotos

If you’re planning on getting plenty of pictures digitized, it’s best to explore your scanning options and search for the best deals and discounts.

Take a look at how ScanMyPhotos compares against other photo-scanning services in the market.

• ScanDigital

ScanDigital is a top-performing photo scanning and digital transfer service that converts a wide range of analog media.

This service is relatively similar to ScanMyPhotos in terms of affordable pricing, excellent features, and user-friendly web design.

According to users, ScanDigital has great customer service. In cases where a customer isn’t happy with the scans produced, ScanDigital will offer to redo the photo for free!

Plus, each image undergoes a 3-stage review process to ensure the highest quality.

As for speed, ScanDigital has a slightly longer processing time than ScanMyPhotos, taking 3–4 weeks to complete an order.

Another downside is that the service doesn’t offer an option to upload and host your photos online.

• Digital Memories

Digital Memories is another good option for your photo scanning needs. This service is popular among customers for producing high-quality output at an average turnaround time.

Digital Memories offers various bundles and lots of free enhancements for various types of analog media.

The company also uses premium equipment and provides a hotline to speak directly with the founders regarding your orders.

When it comes to pricing and web design, ScanMyPhotos definitely has the advantage.

Digital Memories’ pricing schemes are quite complicated, which may be difficult for some customers to understand.

Additionally, the company website is outdated and a bit tricky to navigate.

How Much Does ScanMyPhotos Cost?

The total cost of an order at ScanMyPhotos would depend on the type of service you avail, the volume of analog media, and your choice of add-on features.

Photo scanning services start at 13¢ per scan for pay-per-photo, 12¢ per scan for the photo scanning box, and 9¢ per scan for the family generation collection.

Meanwhile, KODAK Carousel slide scanning starts at $40 for up to 140 slides (35mm) per carousel.

As for negative scanning, 35mm negative scanning starts at 47¢ per frame. APS negative scanning starts at $7.95 per roll, and 120mm negative scanning starts at $1.95 per frame.

In addition, photo restoration services cost $45.50 for individual photos.

If you want to digitize an individual 8mm reel, prices start at 19¢ per foot. Meanwhile, the cost of a 16mm reel digitization starts at 25¢ per foot. F

or individual VHS to DVD transfers, prices start at $19.95 per tape. Prepaid box deals are also available.

Here are the prices of add-on features under ScanMyPhotos’s popular fill-the-box scanning service:

• Elite concierge expert service: $15.95
• Scan photos in order: $88 per box
• Photo soap: $109 per box
• Image rotation: $109 per box
• Return signature confirmation: $16.95 per box

You may visit ScanMyPhotos’s official site for up-to-date info on the latest prices, discounts, and promo offers.

Is ScanMyPhotos Right for You?

 

If you’ve been meaning to digitize a bulk of precious snapshots, negatives, slides, or films but don’t have the time to do so, ScanMyPhotos might be an ideal solution.

Not only are the services affordably priced, but they’re also professionally done and have a fast turnaround time.

Additionally, ScanMyPhotos’s services are suitable for customers who want to restore special photos but lack expertise and equipment.

The same applies to customers with outdated media, such as VHS and slides, that need a technician’s skill to be converted into digital format.

Compared to other photo scanning services in the market, ScanMyPhotos stands out as a strong contender for its quality and speed.

Thus, if you need extra help in digitizing your memories, ScanMyPhotos is definitely worth considering.