<p>Hi all - first, sorry if I got the wrong subforum - please feel free to move this thread if it's not in the right place.<br /> <br /> I'm considering options for digitizing my family photos. I have, sitting in boxes in my closet, thousands of printed photos going back to my childhood. Several years back, I started scanning these prints with my own scanner, but after weeks of labor I found the task too insurmountable. Moreover, I realized that for all the time I was spending on these photos, I should use the best scanner possible. I came to the realization that it would probably be overall most efficient to have the job done professionally. It would cost a lot of money, but cost less in time, and most importantly, the resulting digital photos might hopefully be better quality than if I had done them myself.<br /> <br /> However, from looking at current professional scanning options, I'm not that impressed by the choices. Based on my research, it seems like ScanCafe is the best rated and most popular company. However, from looking at their website, I noticed that for scanning prints, this professional service uses a $120 scanner (now discontinued):<br /> <br /> http://www.scancafe.com/scanning-quality/equipment<br /> <br /> Also, they give you JPGs, unless you pay significantly extra for TIFFs (speaking of which, why do people like TIFF more than PNG, when both are lossless formats and TIFF have such larger file sizes?). When you add on all the "pro" options you want for your pictures, you end up paying close to $1 per photo instead of $0.22 per photo advertised, and I have also heard they try to get you to pay $10 per photo to have certain photos restored. I wonder if, in a few years from now, there will be better options, both in terms of quality and price?<br /> <br /> Today, my photos are still in storage, and I am trying to decide whether it's better to have them scanned already to avoid any further deterioration and information loss of the prints, or if it's better to wait a bit longer for the technology to improve before I spend $1000+ on this investment. I would be sad if I invested my savings into this project today, only to find out that in a few years, companies are using better scanners (what if tomorrow brings "HDR" scanners or something?) and using better algorithms for dust/scratch removal, color restoration, etc. Should I wait for the superior technology to come, possibly with the ability to undo any photo deterioration that occurs while I wait?<br /> <br /> Thank you for your thoughts!</p>
