How to send us images
Electronically:
If you have images that have been scanned or you have access to a suitable scanner, you can upload single images, one at a time, up to 25 megabytes (MB) in size below; this will for example accommodate a very large, highest quality JPEG file. The Scanning Section of the FAQ page may be of help also. You can email us direct with an image of up to 20MB, it may just take a little while to arrive.
For larger digitised image files there are numerous services that will allow you to send these without you incurring a charge; 'WeTransfer' and 'Smash', at the time of writing, are two such examples, you may have used them or a similar service before - we are not endorsing either, but we have used both without issue and there are certainly more services that offer similar.
UPLOAD A PHOTO
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By post:
When sending materials by post please ensure you protect them by using suitable packaging materials such as, for single or smaller numbers of images, board backed envelopes, some of which will also have 'Do Not Bend' written across them; many stationers carry these although you could improvise if you have suitable materials to fashion a sturdy envelope or folder that cannot be bent. For larger quantities of images please select a suitable box or container, the filling of voids with suitable materials will also help secure items while in transit. Please use Royal Mail Special Delivery or your preferred carrier if they offer a suitable service. Make sure you place enough information inside the package so we know who the item belongs to, where you are, how to make contact with you and what image adjustments or scanning requirements you are looking for, we will always make contact to confirm, and you are of course absolutely welcome to make contact with us to let us know you are sending a package. Our full postal address can be found in the footer.
Deliver in person:
This is possible by arrangement, but please refer to question two of the Submitting Images section of the FAQ page. If you can't reach us and are concerned about posting what may be precious memories, completely understandable, and you are unable to scan or arrange a scan of your image(s) you could have a go at photographing them, they can turn out better than you might think. Question one of the Additional Help Section of the FAQ gives a basic guide.
How to prepare images when sending for scanning
Whether you have small numbers of images or many boxes, albums or packets full of photos and slides, you might be unsure of where best to start in getting them ready to be digitised. The below might be useful to you, especially if you do have a significant quantity to send, in helping you decide how best to organise them:
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Take some time to sort your images. Gather them all in one place with enough usable space for the task, a large, flat, clean and dry surface, such as a dining table for example, is ideal.
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Decide how best to manage your images by separating and grouping them, particularly, if there is a large number of them and they are in multiple formats, elastic bands are fine and sandwich type bags or envelopes are ideal to keep things in order. and offer a degree of protection..
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You may want to label your separated groups of images, where that information is available, with simple phrases such as 'Snowdonia 1979' and 'Mom & Dad 1960' rather than long descriptions to make them easier to locate once on your chosen digital media; we can save them into named folders to match for easy reference. You may though find it far more practical to group by format and size rather than attempt to place into possibly, many, named folders, especially if you have little information about the images to confidently do this with any accuracy.
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If you have multiple images of the same thing you might want to choose what you think is the better or more pleasing versions and remove the others.
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Decide if you want all images scanned, it can be easier to scan everything and then edit images out later; but there is clearly a higher cost for greater numbers although this might be relatively modest, and you may loose your most important or meaningful images in a sea of scanned items that may have limited significance for you.
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Remove any items that are stuck or attached to images, if you can do so without damaging them, such as tape, Blue-tac and staples.
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Make sure images are all facing the same way it helps to avoid any potential scanning errors, if you are unsure of how to identify, say which way around slides should be, please have a look at the scanning section of the FAQ page for guidance.
Help with posting items to us.
How to store images once scanned
Your options are:
USB
DVD
Upload to a cloud based service
Although the option is of course available DVD's might not be the better long-term choice, as like all older technology it is getting less common with disk players harder to come by and pc's/laptops frequently not coming with their own internal drive, as cloud based services and hard/portable drive storage have become the norm, which for the most part, provide greater convenience and storage capacities.
We do recommend, if you hadn't already anticipated doing so, on receipt of your images, that you copy and store them in at least one additional place as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after receipt, just in case an issue arises and you are unable to access or play through your images. We do store client images securely for that 30 day period on confirmation of the receipt of your images, just in case something unforeseeable happens, such as a loss of data, before you have had an opportunity to fully back up your images. Your privacy is important to us and we don't wish to hold onto anything longer than necessary so please let us know as soon as possible if you are experiencing any difficulties.