Frequently Asked Questions

Photographic paper, film, and tapes were not meant to last forever. As time goes by, your photos, negatives, slides, and home movies begin to age and deteriorate from exposure to heat, cold, wet and dry environments such as your attic, wet basement, or out in the shed. Environmental and chemical deterioration is a given and will occur no matter how well you store your images. Preserve them now for future generations to enjoy.
Digitally scanning and storing all of your photos and videos allows you to organize and share them with family and friends.
As unfortunate as it is, natural disasters such as fires and floods do occur taking many of our one of a kind precious photos and memories with them. Having all of your images scanned and stored digitally allows you to make copies and have them stored in multiple locations should any unforeseeable natural disaster occur.

YES! That is the very reason you should scan them. The older they get the more deteriorated they become and the harder it is for them to be preserved.

If you have the negatives of your pictures and they are still in good condition, it is better to scan the negatives instead of the pictures. The negatives are the original source from which the picture was created and will produce a better quality scan.

The best place to store your precious memories is in a room in your house that has the same temperature and humidity that you yourself are comfortable with. Too hot, cold, damp or dry can deteriorate your memories faster than anything else.

At Digital Heirlooms we only hand scan your photos. We take each of your photos, negatives, and slides and place them by hand into our scanners. This allows us to make sure that each of your images is handled with the utmost care and provides the best possible image quality. Hand scanning also allows us to scan oddly shaped, non standard size, bent, or curled photos. NO automatic feeders, which could damage your photos as they are automatically fed through a machine, are used. During processing we wear white cotton cloth gloves.

Digital Heirlooms is open from 9am to 6pm Mountain time. We are closed on Weekends and all Major Holidays.

Do you want to preserve the important historical information on the back of your photos? The information on the back often contains the who, what, when, and where of the photo and without it the photo just becomes a picture of a person you might be related to. We understand the importance of this information and can scan the backs of your photos so you can keep that information with the photo. Check out or pricing page for additional information.

Often our collections of precious memories contain newspaper clippings of our relatives such as marriage announcements, obituaries, articles of something great they achieved, sports they participated in, birth announcements, and even your child’s first scribbles. Those items become just as precious as the photos. We can scan all those items in for you so that you can preserve them together.

If time has not been good to your negatives and slides we can still help. Don’t throw them away! Depending on the severity of the damage with Digital ICE we can often pull out images that you thought were long gone or discolored beyond recognition. Let us take a look at them for you and we will let you know what our team can do.

For hand scanning of pictures we use the Canon CanoScan 8800F.
For negative and slide scanning we use the top of the line Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Negative Scanner.
For home video to DVD transfers we use the industry standard JVC DR-MV150 VHS to DVD recorder.
All images are handled while wearing white cotton gloves.

DPI stands for “Dots Per Inch.” It is used as a unit of measurement for the amount of Pixels in a Digital Image. The more Dots Per Inch the higher the amount of Pixels contained in that image, thus giving you a higher detailed image.

The question you need to ask yourself is what do you want to do with your images once you have them scanned now and in the future? Are you having them scanned just to make a copy for storing or do you plan on doing something more?

• A 300dpi scan of a photo will give you the ability to reprint the photo at the same size as the original photo without loosing the photo’s quality or clarity. 300dpi is good for posting your pictures to facebook or emailing to friends and family.

• A 600dpi scan of the same photo will give you the ability to zoom in and crop or print a larger version of the photo without loosing the photo’s quality or clarity. 600dpi is recommended if you want to have a high quality image for archival storing purposes.

A Pixel is a single point of color within an image. The term Megapixel is often used for images from Digital Cameras. A Megapixel is one million Pixels of color in an image, the higher the Megapixel in an image, the higher the quality of detail in the image.

A JPG file is the most common file type in use for images. The advantage to a JPG file is that it gives you a smaller file size allowing you to save more images to a DVD. The disadvantage is that each time the file is changed and saved the file looses information and quality. You can just view the JPG files without loosing quality. In most cases a JPG will be adequate for what you will need as it is perfect for preserving, viewing, sharing, and printing.

A TIFF file is not as common as a JPG file. The advantage of a TIFF file is that it gives you an extremely high quality image for Archival or editing purposes. The disadvantage is that a TIFF file is four times the size of a JPG which only allows you to save a quarter of the amount of files per DVD. The advantage of a TIFF file is that when you make changes to the file and save it, it does not loose any information or quality. A TIFF file is great for high quality archiving and editing.

The question you need to ask is what do you want to do with your images once you have them scanned? If you just want to preserve, view, share, or print your images after they have been scanned in then we would recommend the JPG file format. If you want to have high quality Archival images with the ability to edit them, then we would recommend upgrading to the TIFF file format.

Digital ICE is software we use with our Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED that automatically removes surface debris, such as dust and scratches from scanned negatives and slides. It allows us to provide you with a cleaner, clearer image without loss of detail.

We can transfer VHS, VHS-C, MiniDV, Hi8, Digital 8, and 8mm tapes to DVD.

A regular VHS tape recorded at standard speed (SP) holds a maximum of 2 hours of video. We will only copy 2 hours of video per DVD to retain the highest quality possible of your recording. If you have a VHS tape that was recorded at 4 (LP, Long Play) or 6 (EP, Extended Play) hours it will require additional DVD’s. For example, if you have a VHS tape with 6 hours of recording time, it will take 3 DVD’s to copy the entire video.

VHS tapes can hold 60 minutes to 6 hours of video footage.
VHS-C tapes can hold 45 to 90 minutes of video footage.
MiniDV tapes can hold 30 to 80 minutes of video footage.
Hi8, Digital 8, and 8mm tapes can hold 30 minutes to 2 hours of video footage.

For both options a menu will be created so that you can watch your video in your DVD player and most computers. With the Economy option we will use the label on the tape or tapes that are transferred for the menu. If the tape does not have a label, we will then use your name and order number.

With the Advanced option a menu with individual clips of your recordings will be created that will show you a brief clip of each video. This will allow you to choose which video you would like to watch. It is recommended that you watch your video if possible and provide a list of each recording prior to dropping off your order so that we can label each clip with a title that will be meaningful to you. If you do not provide a list of your video recordings, a basic label based on the events recorded will be used.

If you would like to edit the footage yourself we can convert your home videos to an editable AVI format. The files will be very large so an external USB hard drive is required. The hard drive must be purchased through Digital Heirlooms to ensure quality and no viruses. Please note: In order to edit the footage you will need video editing software like Adobe Premier, Sony Vegas, or Roxio Creator.

At this time we do not currently transfer 8mm Reel Film. We are looking into offering this service for our customers. Since we only use top of the line equipment we must make sure there is enough of a demand for it as the equipment is quite expensive. The equipment we would use takes a picture of each and every frame 1/4 of an inch away from the film so that no quality is lost during the process. If you would like to be put on the list to be notified when we will be offering this service please give us a call.

You estimate how many photos, slides, or video tapes you have and fill out the order form. (We will scan your items in the order we receive them. If you would like them scanned in a specific order please have them organized before you drop them off). Each item is cleaned and scanned by hand, no automatic feeders are used.  All items are placed and stored in their own container and are scanned in our private secure facility. We do not ship your items out of state or to a foreign country.

• For Economy Photo Hand Scanning we correct for:

Proper Orientation

For Archival Photo Hand Scanning we correct for:
Proper Orientation
Minor color and exposure adjustment
For Negative and Slide Scanning using ICE Adjustments we correct for:
Orientation
Dust and Scratches
Color Exposure adjustments
Film Grain Reduction

We copy your images to DVD (unless otherwise specified) and you pick them up or we ship everything (including your originals) back to you. Should you decide you want additional copies, Digital Heirlooms will store your order on file for 14 days starting from the completion date of your order.

The average order completion time is 2 weeks; however additional time may be required depending on the size of your order.

All of your originals will be given back to you along with a DVD of your order once your order is complete.

Should you decide you want additional copies, Digital Heirlooms will store your order on file for 14 days starting from the completion date of your order.

Yes. Digital Heirlooms will create additional DVD’s for $8.00 per CD. You can also create additional DVD copies yourself if you have the proper burning software on your computer at home.

The customer pays for shipping to and from our facility. Shipping your items back to you will be included on your invoice.

If you choose to ship your items to us here are a few shipping tips we recommend:

• Use a secure sturdy box so your items will be protected during transit.
• Label your box clearly so that it arrives to us safely.
• Put your items in containers or bags within the box ordered exactly how you want them scanned in. (We will scan your items in the order we receive them).
• Place your entire order in a plastic bag to protect them against moisture and dust.
• Make sure your items are secured properly within the box to limit shifting during transit. However, do not use soft packaging or packing materials that will leave a residue on your items as this can make them difficult to clean.

Yes, we highly recommend organizing your images as much as possible based on what order you want to view them after they have been preserved. Organizing your items before they are digitized as computer files is much easier than renaming and moving them around in folders on your computer. We recommend that you organize and label your items in containers or bags exactly how you want them scanned in as we will scan your items in the order in which they are received.

Are you finding it difficult even knowing where to begin sorting your images. You’re not alone, so many photos are not labeled or put in any kind of order and the people who knew are gone or may not live close. If you have several decades of photos, try sorting them by year and then by decade. A few tricks to do this is by looking at the factory processing dates (especially older photos), the type of photo paper used (sepia tone, black and white, first attempts at hand colorization, Polaroid), or type of paper or processing such as Kodak, Fuji. You can also sort by looking at the progressive age of children or people in the photos, those good old hair styles, or the types of clothes they are wearing. Put each decade in a bag and label them.

When it comes to Home videos that’s another matter, if the tapes are labeled your in luck! Just put them in the order you want them transferred, usually oldest to newest. If you are lucky enough to have a player that will still play your tapes we encourage you to watch them and then label them exactly how you want them labeled on the DVD. If you have several decades of videos, try sorting them by year and then by decade. A few tricks to do this is by looking at the progressive age of children or people in the videos, those good old hair styles, or the types of clothes they are wearing (shoulder pads, need we say more). If you are like so many though, your player is broken and there is no way for you to know what you have, which is probably one of the biggest reasons your having them transferred. Imagine the treasures you will uncover!