Scan in 50's photos

[Higgs Boson]

While excavating a "landfill" in the garage, I just ran across an
album of b&w photos from the FIFTIES which are of GREAT SENTIMENTAL
FAMILY VALUE. I would LOVE to have these scanned into my computer,
but no way can I afford the prices even at Costco.

I feel funny about mentioning anything "commercial" on this pristine
NG, but... is there anybody in the Westside Los Angeles area with a
powerful enuff scanner to consider doing the job more reasonably?

Or any suggestions on how I could get it done within my (hah!)
budget? You may know sources & stuff that I don't.

There would be approx 60-80 small b&w prints.

Pls excuse & understand that if I don't "strike while the iron is
hot" they'll probably get buried again and found after I''m gone <g>.

HB

[David Dyer-Bennet]

Higgs Boson <hypa...@gmail.com> writes:

> While excavating a "landfill" in the garage, I just ran across an
> album of b&w photos from the FIFTIES which are of GREAT SENTIMENTAL
> FAMILY VALUE. I would LOVE to have these scanned into my computer,
> but no way can I afford the prices even at Costco.

Since what you've got are prints, nearly any modern flatbed scanner will
do a fine job (then they'll need some modest post-processing, especially
removing dust spots and such).

(I'm not in your area, so I'm not a candidate to help directly.)
--
David Dyer-Bennet, dd...@dd-b.net; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info

[Savageduck]

For B&W scans I would head to Staples and buy a Canon flat bed scanner,
one of the cheaper LiDE series which you should be able to buy for
$75-$110. When I got my LiDE 70 over 10 years ago it was about $100 and
it included a bundled OEM version of PS Elements.
It still works just fine, and I see there are used one available for
about $40. Today I would go with one of the newer versions, which might
or might not include additional bundled software beyond the Canon
offerings..
Here is one of my old family B&W LiDE 70 scans which was part of my
preservation exercise.
< http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/Evans-05AW1Cw.jpg >


--
Regards,

Savageduck

[Alan Browne]

On 2012-05-02 11:14 , Higgs Boson wrote:
> While excavating a "landfill" in the garage, I just ran across an
> album of b&w photos from the FIFTIES which are of GREAT SENTIMENTAL
> FAMILY VALUE. I would LOVE to have these scanned into my computer,
> but no way can I afford the prices even at Costco.
>
> I feel funny about mentioning anything "commercial" on this pristine
> NG, but... is there anybody in the Westside Los Angeles area with a
> powerful enuff scanner to consider doing the job more reasonably?
>
> Or any suggestions on how I could get it done within my (hah!)
> budget? You may know sources & stuff that I don't.
>
> There would be approx 60-80 small b&w prints.

As David says, any ordinary flatbed scanner can do this (such as
integrated with many printers). While they tout 1000's of dpi
resolution, you'll only need a fraction of that.

Assuming B&W that are very crisp, a scan resolution of 400 dpi will be
sufficient. (Use 600 if 400 is not available, but there isn't much more
information than 400 in a very sharp B&W print).

--
"A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds."
-Samuel Clemens.

[Chemiker]

He speaks the sooth. Any person who is interested in family history
tries to keep a flatbed or an all-in-one scanner/printer available.
One never knows when pix will show up, and more often than not they
are prints. Slide scanners are more $$$ and don't pay for themselves
unless you do a LOt of slide scanning. I have a Plustek, which is
probably the lower edge of what will give you usable results. These
things sold for @ $75 are just about useless. Plustek entry fee you
can determine on line. Somewheres in the $300 range, I think.

Because I'm feeling lucky, I'd be willing to scan your prints for you,
if you would pay shipping. No charge, of course. I have both a flatbed
and a 35mm scanner. If you're interested, email me for details. I
would provide scans on a CD and return all originals. My offer is
predicated on the numbers you quoted, and I would provide scans only,
with no post processing on my part. That should give you time to study
why you need a scanner.

Alex

[Paul in Houston TX]

If you have a decent camera then photograph the photographs.
Use a tripod. I do that sometimes with industrial photos
and expense receipts instead up powering up the scanner
and its 750 watt computer. Need to get good lighting though.

[tony cooper]

Black and white prints can be scanned on any scanner or
printer/scanner with reasonable success for family retention. Even
the under-$100 printer/scanner/copier combo units will do it.

If they are damaged, repairs will require an editing program like
Adobe Photoschop or Adobe Elements. The best scanner can't repair
damaged prints. You just get a little bit more to work with in the
editing program and a little less problems.






--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[fred...@noemail.com]

On Wed, 2 May 2012 08:14:30 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
<hypa...@gmail.com> wrote:

Your budget must be very small. There are places like drug stores,
Walmart, Kinkos, and others where you can scan them yourself for less
than a half buck each, and for another $4 or $5 get them on a CD. Even
at 50 cents each thats $40 for 80 pics and $5 to put on CD. Total cost
$45. Probably more like $30 to $40 for the whole job, since I've seen
them as low as 25 cents each on sale. If you cant afford that, you
either need a job, or to quit drinking. You cant buy a scanner for that
price, and unless you will scan many more photos, there is no sense
buying one.

[Higgs Boson]

I did find a site that will do it professionally for $40.

I also heard from a very kind and polite NG member who did not advise
me to get a job or quit drinking; he just offered to scan the pix for
me.

It takes all kinds...

HB

[fred...@noemail.com]

Geezzzzz, you're on top of the world. Now you can get your photos and
eat them too...... errrrr, I mean get your photos and spend your time
drinking and enjoying the pictures at the same time. :)
(Since these are OLD photos, I'd suggest OLD STYLE Beer)

Glad you worked this out.