FAQ’s

How do I supply you with the negatives and/or photos to scan?

The easiest way is to post them via Australia Post to our address. Remember to pack them carefully. If you are sending a photo, insert a piece of card to prevent the photo from being bent. We will return the negatives and photos once scanning is complete.

How do you turn a negative or photo into a digital version?

With negatives, we take a very high-quality photograph of the negative and then use software to convert it to a positive and then do basic editing like correcting white balance and cleaning of scratches and marks etc. The end quality of the conversion is dependent on the condition of the supplied negative/photo. They degrade with time and whilst we can fix a lot of problems, if the image has degraded beyond a certain point, the cost to try and restore may outweigh the quality of the end result. We will discuss any issues with you during the process and you can decide on a case by case basis on how far to go.

Photographs are scanned with a high-quality scanner and hen colour correction and basic scratch removal is completed. Further edits can then be made, dependent on what you want.

How do you return the digital files?

We can upload the digital files to a cloud server where you will get an individual link to download the files and this service is free. If you want to have the files saved to a DVD, Blu Ray disk or a USB flash drive, there are additional costs involved which are listed on the price list. All digital images will be saved in 2 different formats. Raw format is the high-quality image and is the best version to use if editing or printing an image. Not all photo programs can open raw images so we also supply a jpeg format as well. Jpeg files are a lot smaller than a raw image as they are condensed into a smaller image by decreasing the resolution. Some image quality is lost with a jpeg and if you keep saving the same image, over and over, each time it, it is further reduced.

What payment methods do you have?

As we are a small business, payment via PayPal or direct deposit are the 2 preferred methods.

What if I am not happy with the end result?

We will work with you through the process so you will know what the end result will look like. The quality is dependent on the condition of the supplied negative or photo and how much work is needed to repair the damage.

What is a slideshow?

A slideshow is a collection of photo images that are converted into a movie clip. There are numerous variances like the number of photos, length of time each image is displayed, whether there is any motion inserted and whether music or other sounds are incorporated into the clip. Personal titles are also added and we can even label parts of the image. (e.g an old group photograph to highlight the subject person).

What is a RAW or JPEG?

When digital photos are taken, the RAW file is the actual full image but it is in a real digital format of 0’s and 1s. Not all computer programs can understand and read the file but it is the best format to keep as an original as it contains all of the information captured. A JPEG is a compressed version of the RAW file and converted into a picture that can be seen in all programs. A jpeg is good for a final version of the photo but it reduces the quality of the image. A photo can be saved in other formats as well like a tiff or png file but jpeg’s are the most common.

We supply all images in both the raw and jpeg format.

I used a cheap photo print service but the photo doesn’t look anything like it did on my phone or computer screen? How can I get it printed accurately?

It can be extremely difficult to get a printed photo to look the same as your phone or computer screen. Phone and computer screens use light behind the monitor to show the photo image whereas a printed photo relies on the light shining onto the paper to display the image. You also need to take into account things like the light colour temperature and brightness. We use colour corrected screens that make it easier to print the image as you liked it.