5.0★ from 201 Google reviews
Loose Photo Scanning
Get all your scattered photos scanned and enhanced as part of our in-depth digitization process. We scan old photos of all types and sizes.
Scanning Loose Photos
Taking photographs of important moments in our lives and the people we love has been a tradition in most families for generations. These one of a kind photos hold sentimental and historical value that can never be replaced if they’re lost or damaged. That’s why scanning old photos to digital format is so important.
Loose photos are stacks or bundles of photographs that are not framed, mounted or in albums. Loose photos can be in envelopes, organized in zip-lock bags or thrown in a shoe box. Just get the photos to us and we’ll take care of the rest.
Our Wide Range of Service
Photo Album Scanning
Whether sleeved or mounted, we will carefully remove the photos from your albums. We will keep your organization as we scan and enhance each image.
Scrapbook Scanning
For scrapbooks and albums too important to separate, we will scan the full page of each album or scrapbook while keeping your original completely intact.
All Digitization Services
We offer various digitization services to meet all of your needs. In addition to digitizing photos we also scan documents, letters, frames, slides, negatives and more.
Every Loose Photo Scanning Order Includes:
- Color Correction and Enhancement
- Rotating and Cropping of Each Image
- Custom Naming of File Folders
- Free DVD or Link to Download your Images
- Free Shipping for Orders Over $250
- Free Pickup for Orders over $500 (NYC Tri-State Area)
Converting Loose Photos to Digital
A good way to estimate how many loose photos you have without having to count them all out is to stack and measure them. The rule of thumb is that there are approximately 100 photos per inch thick. We have bulk discounts so the more you have the less it will cost per photo. Don’t worry about taking an exact count, you will only be charged for the exact number of photos we scan.
Once we receive your photo collection at our secure scanning facility just outside NYC, it is labeled and logged into our order tracking system. Your project will then be assigned to one of our experienced scanning technicians who will treat your family photos with extreme care. We convert photos to digital using state-of-the-art imaging equipment to ensure the highest quality digital images. We always maintain the organization of your collection by creating separate folders and sub-folders for each batch, envelope, bundle or bag. Pictures are scanned in order and placed in the appropriately named folders.
After we scan your photos, our post production team gets to work on cropping, rotating and color correcting each image so they look their absolute best. Your scanned photos can be delivered via online transfer, CD/DVD, flash drive or external hard drive. Your originals will be returned to you in the condition with which they were received.
Loose Photo Scanning Resolution
Photo resolution is measured in Dots Per Inch (DPI) and refers to the amount of information or pixels a digital photo contains. The higher the resolution a picture is scanned at, the more detail is captured and the more flexibility you will have to enlarge and edit the pictures down the road.
Depending on what you plan to do with the images once we convert your photos to digital will determine the best resolution for you to have them scanned at. The difference in resolution won’t be very noticeable when viewed on your iPhone or laptop. However, if you zoom in for editing, project onto a screen or reprint the images larger than the original size the differences will become apparent.
- 300 DPI This is the standard for all print media. When you scan old photos at 300 DPI, they are perfect for viewing and sharing on digital devices and can be printed at the same size as the original without any loss of image quality. Printing larger than the original size, however, may result in blurry or pixelated pictures.
- 600 DPI This resolution will capture twice the amount of pixel data as 300 DPI. This additional data allows you to reprint your photos at twice the size of the original without any loss of quality (e.g., a 4 x 6 photo can be reprinted at 8 x 12 without any loss of quality). You will also have more detail to work with if you intend to digitally edit the images.
- 1200 DPI Converting photos to digital at 1200 dpi allows you to make reprints of at least 4-6 times the original picture size without any loss of quality, as well as perform very detailed digital edits. The downside to digitizing pictures at this high of a resolution is that the files sizes are much larger, which takes up more disk space and can take longer to load when viewing. Scanning photos at 1200 dpi also costs more because it takes much more time to process.
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What people are saying
about our Loose Photo Scanning Services...
What Our Customers Say
We had such a great experience with Smooth Photo Scanning, and I really can’t recommend them enough. We brought them a very old book with Sanskrit/Devanagari text, which turned out to be a much more complicated project than a standard book scan. Brandon took the time to go through the book, understand exactly what we were trying to accomplish, and talk through the different options with us. One… of the biggest challenges was the OCR. Devanagari wasn’t compatible with the typical OCR programs they normally work with, but instead of just telling us it couldn’t be done, Brandon independently researched different OCR programs and tested several options on our pages. He spent a lot of extra time trying to find something that might actually work for us which was so above and beyond of him. The scanning itself was incredible. The book was scanned completely non-destructively, with absolutely no damage to it, and the quality of the finished images is beautiful. We were honestly amazed at how clear and professional everything came out. The pricing was also very reasonable, especially considering the amount of time and care that went into the project. We were also on a bit of a time crunch because we were trying to get the material ready to begin working with our teacher, and everyone went above and beyond to accommodate our timeline. Everyone we interacted with was super understanding and helpful.. While we were there Brandon also took the time to show us some of the incredible archival work they’ve done, involving places like Madison Square Garden and historical works. It was extremely fascinating to see the level of care and expertise that goes into preserving these materials. We are so grateful to Brandon and the whole team. They were amazing to work with and this truly is a passion for all of them. The quality of the scans is amazing, and we couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out. If you have something valuable or irreplaceable that you need scanned, especially if it requires extra care, I would seriously recommend Smooth Photo Scanning. 11 out of 10!
- Apoorva YaddanapudiGoogle review
Great experience overall. I brought in my paintings to be scanned and they had everything done same day, which I really appreciated. The customer service was very friendly , professional, and made the process smooth. The quality came out exactly how I needed. Definitely a solid spot if you're an artist looking to get your work digitized . I will be back for sure .
- Tamar RobinsonGoogle review
The old video tape that Brandon had digitized for me had presented a few difficulties on my end. I got back in touch with him with questions a couple of times, via email. He responded quickly every time and guided me to find a solution to the problem. He is a very responsible and professional businessman. I highly recommend Smooth Photo Scanning.
- Guillermo GallegosGoogle review
I had three very old family group photos colorized by Smooth Photo Services and the result was amazing, seemingly bringing those persons back to life with perfectly chosen colors, an excellent job. I wholeheartedly recommend them for your more important b&w photos.
- Lorenzo CamilloGoogle review
I brought in 17 beta tapes from an old camcorder and within a week and a half they were put on a thumb drive! Excellent service, really nice people that work there! I highly recommend! It was so nice to be able to share these videos from almost 30 years ago with my grown children! They loved seeing themselves as little kids.
