Recommendations for Reliable Photo Scanning Services?

[turnpaper]

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to digitize a few hundred old family photos and want to make sure I choose a quality photo scanning service.

I'm hoping for high-resolution scans, good color accuracy, and careful handling of delicate originals.

I’ve come across a few online options, but it’s hard to tell which are truly reliable. Has anyone here used a service they’d recommend?

Bonus points if they offer a fast turnaround and allow you to keep the originals.

I'd love to hear your experiences—positive or negative—before I commit.

 

[turnpaper]

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to digitize a few hundred old family photos and want to make sure I choose a quality photo scanning service.

I'm hoping for high-resolution scans, good color accuracy, and careful handling of delicate originals.

I’ve come across a few online options, but it’s hard to tell which are truly reliable. Has anyone here used a service they’d recommend?

Bonus points if they offer a fast turnaround and allow you to keep the originals Learn more.

I'd love to hear your experiences—positive or negative—before I commit.

thanks in advance for any help

 

[The Hat]

thanks in advance for any help

It would serve you better to get your own scanner, whether it’s a standalone one or comes built–in a printer.

You can then handle all your prints carefully and see the results straight away, remember it’s the scanning software that’s the key and not the scanner.

I was recommended Vuescan x64 and it has served me very well even with the change in O/S upgrades..

 

[Redbrickman]

I'm with The Hat - get a good quality scanner and do your own. That way you have control over how they look and can produce exactly the printed quality you want if you decide to print them. Also you can take care handling them and not worry about posting and possible loss of the originals or even leavign them with a company and worrying if they will be OK. You can't out a price on sentimental photos so take care of them

Even some of the scanner models at the cheaper end of the market are really good.

 

[thebestcpu]

I know there are always tradeoffs between using a service and doing it yourself, both in terms of cost and one's time.
When it made sense for me to use a service, I used Larsen Digital in Utah. I have used them several times, and they were for family pictures that we wanted to digitize to share more broadly.
I have found them to be very reliable.
They are very easy to work with. After reading their web page, you can call them and ask them anything about your project. Ask them about your concerns to ensure you are comfortable with their service.
I have used them for scanning slides and negatives, and they also take pictures.
Here is the link to their main page: https://www.larsendigital.com/

John Wheeler

 

[MikeH]

I use nicholsphotolab.com in Salt Lake City to scan my 4x5 color transparencies. They've done well for me, and, for large format, do a very good job at a reasonable price. Turnaround for my stuff is, maybe 2-3 days (?) before they are uploaded to their server.