The Digital Insider

My original plan was to finalize part 2 of the series I started here a couple of weeks ago, but then I came across this piece on CNBC yesterday and thought it would be interesting for our readers.

David Pogue from the New York Times did a piece on “AFLS” - Analog Format Loss Syndrome. As he mentions in the piece, so much of the equipment out there available for consumers are simply too difficult for the average user’s patience. Not to mention that the resulting quality is lower than expected.

This really reaffirms ScanDigital’s value proposition. We completely remove the leg work from converting your photos, slides and negatives into digital format or transferring your old videos and film into a usable digital format.

To see the video, please click here (CNBC wouldn’t let me embed the video in this post):

Do you suffer from AFLS?

ScanDigital has recently been working with many home organizers in the effort to help simplify the lives of their clients. Most of us have a system of storing our photos, slides and negatives that is somewhat similar; partially labeled and piled up in a closet somewhere. You may be the only one who is even able to decipher what is where. Now, with the help of ScanDigital you can store those images away neatly and have full access to your images on disc and online anywhere in the world (even organized into folders no less!).

When sending their collection of images and movies into ScanDigital, customers can label there rolls of film, carousels of slides and photo albums so that those same names and groupings appear when viewing them on your computer. ScanDigital’s scanning service means no more searching for twenty minutes to find those photographs from that great vacation 10 years ago. After sending them to ScanDigital they will be right at your fingertips, in high quality and digitally enhanced.

Along with the digitally organized images ScanDigital offers a digital photo frame that we will preload for the customer with their newly scanned images. These photo frames look great and are good space savers as you can rotate through many images on the same frame. The photo frames also make perfect gifts for loved ones.

I recently took a large bin of images out of my parent’s house and had them processed at our El Segundo facility. Because of our great turnaround time I was able to put the bin back before my mom even noticed it was missing. When I gave her the DVD loaded with all the images in labeled folders she was thrilled. It was great to see her reaction as she was amazed that our slide scanning and editing restored old slides that she was sure were faded beyond repair.  She had forgotten what was even in the bin in the first place and now she is enjoying her images and the bin has been put into storage!

If you were to start exploring the process of getting your images scanned into a digital format you would quickly see that most often the price to scan your photos is lower than the price to scan your slides and negatives. You are probably thinking, “Great! I will just send in my photos to be scanned and hold onto my negatives for safe-keeping.” Unfortunately for a small savings you would be keeping yourself from receiving the highest possible quality.

When scanning a print you are not working from the original material (negative) so essentially it is similar to making a copy of a copy. No matter how much we can do to adjust an image and while the results are often great, the results from scanning negatives or scanning slides almost always allows for a higher quality digital image. Because of how the slides and negatives are chemically processed it allows for a color quality that cannot be met on a standard photographic print.

Many consumers assume that because of the larger size of the prints they would create better digital images but with the high quality slide and negative scanners available that is just not the case. At ScanDigital we use Nikon scanners specifically designed for 35mm negative scanning and 35mm slide scanning. They are designed to scan at a very high dpi (we offer both 2000 dpi and 4000 dpi) with Digital Ice technology that automatically fixes very small scratches and any small dust particles that didn’t get completely removed during the slide and negative cleaning.

Slide scanning is a particularly important thing to do as the life of these slides is short-lived. Ektachrome slides for example can start deteriorating rapidly after just thirty years. Many customers express concern over shipping their irreplaceable slides across the country, believing that they are safer tucked away in the closet. Unfortunately by not preserving them digitally they are suffering irreparable damage as time goes on. ScanDigital is integrated with UPS for safe, secure and trackable shipping so don’t wait, save your precious memories by sending in your slides today!

At ScanDigital we have been very pleased with the great response we have had to our new film and video digitization services. We are proud to match our unrivaled quality in photo, slide and negative scanning with great video and film transfer. All video and film is transferred onto DVD which is easy to play in any standard player. The quality is excellent and it brings to life old memories that have been sitting in the back of your closet for years.

But what if you are looking for something more than just a DVD copy of your film or video? ScanDigital is happy to place your film and video avi files onto a hard drive. Once you have the full avi files you have the ability to do so much with your old film. There are a number of programs available to edit your home movies ranging from very basic programs like iMovie to professional level programs such as Final Cut Pro. From transitions and effects to adding music and chapter points, you are given the ability to personally customize your precious memories.

Special Events can be a great way to use your newly digitized film. Seamlessly integrate stills and video together for that big slide show, everyone will love what you have created for the big anniversary, rehearsal dinner, birthday etc. Also, you can now post your videos on the web. This will allow you to share your video with friends and family members all over the country, even all over the world. We have already heard stories of our customers sharing great moments with family members as they watch their old films and videos. And that is really what our process is all about, restoring precious memories so that it can bring family and friends together, no matter how far apart they are.

As some of you may know based on my bio at ScanDigital, I was a history major at Dartmouth and spent a number of years working in commercial real estate investment banking. So when the City of Pasadena called us to bid on a large historical architecture preservation project, I was particularly excited and honored. From a business perspective, this was obviously the type of call we love to receive. From a personal perspective, this type of project is particularly interesting to me. In my free time, I enjoy reading about architecture, both old and new.

For those of you who may not live in Southern California, Pasadena has one of the most active historic preservation societies in the country and the City is home to numerous famous residential and commercial properties. The bid process involved scanning a small group of slides and about a month ago ScanDigital was pleased to learn that we were awarded the project.

Our team recently begun scanning slides that document many of the historic properties in Pasadena. In addition to the slide scanning work we are performing, we will optimize the images digitally and, perhaps most importantly, we will be tagging the images with metadata in order to create a searchable database of images. The conversion of these slides to digital, to me, represents a new trend in historical preservation and archiving. Prior to our work scanning the slides they sat relatively useless in the basement of Pasadena’s permit office. Once the project is complete, residents of the city will be able to enjoy an easily search-able and usable version of these historic slides. It will be a great way for residents, old and new, to gain better access to their City’s history.

We look forward to working on projects like this as more and more cities across the country seek to move into the digital age, clear their offices of old materials and preserve this historic material for future generations. In times past, discovering historical information involved a lot of digging and searching, with new digital capabilities the future of history will be far more manageable and accessible. I am truly proud to be working on the Pasadena project and excited to see the end result of photographic database we will help them create.

I was very excited when I recently learned that the DigiPac shipping option was added to ScanDigital’s artillery of high performance parts. DigiPac, the only way to ship your precious memories, eliminates the hassle of printing out a mailing label and locating appropriate packing materials for your treasured photos.

All ScanDigital customers have the convenience of registering online for the service. The process is really so easy from start to finish: gather your photos, create an account, request a DigiPac and for only ten dollars you will receive a box, pre-paid shipping label, bubble wrap and small plastic bags by mail within two to five days. All packing materials are recyclable and reusable. Then you just drop your photos in the box and about 10 days later the same box returns with your materials, a disc and instructions on how to access your photos online.

I was personally excited when I heard we were about to launch the DigiPac. It was one of those things that I knew immediately would help our customers because let me tell you, there have been so many times where I want to ship something that I end up in a mad scramble to put together a makeshift box only to realize that I do not have all the proper shipping materials. DigiPac eliminates the hassle of going to the UPS store or if you’re like me, creating a box practically from scratch.

Some of the most respected companies in the world use the pre-paid packaging method, the vision at ScanDigital was to model this while maintaining the highest customer service rating among our clients. I’m sure many of you for one reason or another have had to send a laptop or computer back for repair. When the packaging from, lets say Apple in this case arrives, you are instantly put at ease with the contents of the shipping package. A sturdy box, extra cushioning, and a label. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

The ScanDigital DigiPac…helping everyone sleep better.

About Brian Samuelson: ScanDigital welcomes Brian Samuelson, the newest member of the ScanDigital PR team. Brian comes from a variety of backgrounds within the of public relations, marketing, and event planning fields. Outside of the office, Brian enjoys photography, surf, and travel.

Greetings!

It is our pleasure to introduce The Digital Insider, ScanDigital’s monthly publication highlighting new and intriguing offers from ScanDigital. In addition, The Digital Insider will serve as a forum to present other topics of interest to our valued customers and digital photography enthusiasts. Enjoy!
ScanDigital’s Gift Cards are here! Ideal for the Holiday Season!

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ScanDigital orders come with an unlimited,free gallery for storing and sharing your photos

Order Reprints and print products from your gallery

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Fastest turnaround time, guaranteed

100% Satisfaction Guarantee on All Work

Click Here To Order Gift Cards

New and Enhanced Affiliate Program Features

Due to the overwhelming success of ScanDigital’s pioneering Affiliate Program, we are excited to announce the release of a fully upgraded and enhanced online affiliate interface. The new, unique console provides unprecedented tracking capablities for our affiliates to view their progress and earnings. The program is free to join and provides numerous highlights including:

20% commission on all revenue generated plus $2 for all user registrations

Average order size over $200

Real-time statistics and monthly payments

Perfect for online and offline partners through the use of both custom referral links and trackable coupon codes

High converting, award winning website

Perfect for traditional photo labs, online photo services, webmasters, graphic artists, scrapbookers, photography lovers and online marketers!

Click Here For More Information

ScanDigital Featured in The Los Angeles Business Journal and The Daily Breeze

ScanDigital has recently received some exciting press coverage. These articles, as well as other ScanDigital press coverage can be found at: www.scandigital.com/news

Enhancements to ScanDigital’s Online Gallery Create Friendly Functionality

Major upgrades to our online gallery released last week provide all registered users with access to the most user-friendly online photo gallery. The latest upgrades include:

• Multiple views (thumbnail, album, full view) for easy navigation through large photo collections
• Built in photo slide show functionality
• The ability to rearrange albums using ScanDigital’s proprietary drag & drop technology
• Enhanced ability to add titles and comments to photos, providing users greater flexibility for online photo organization
• Optimized Qoop integration allowing faster access to order prints and print products

Click on the image to view an enlarged version:

The Digital Insider Online Blog

In addition to the monthly newsletter, the Digital Insider is also online. Each week we post several articles of interest to our valued readers. To read and subscribe to the online version of the Digital Insider, please visit: www.scandigital.com/blog We are constantly looking for exciting and relevant topics for newsletter and blog articles, if you have any suggestions or would like see specific subject matter please email us at digitalinsider@scandigital.com Best Wishes!

Right off the bat here, I must admit that I have never been involved in any kind of evacuation. A few earthquakes and some school drills are about all I’ve attended. When it comes to fires, tornadoes, hurricanes or even an alien invasion I couldn’t even imagine the thoughts that run through a homeowners head. Having just a few minutes to get yourself, your family, and anything else you may find important out and on the move has got to be tough. What items do you take? What do you leave behind? What types of questions do you ask yourself? Do you really get the time to ask these questions?

Recently we here at ScanDigital have been receiving materials from those who have gone through just that. As I’m sure you know by now, Southern California has been fighting wildfires from Santa Barbara all the way down to the Mexican border. Thousands of homes have been destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the devastation. The story we are hearing first hand here every day is that of families gathering up whatever they can, clothes, heirlooms, and pictures and seeking shelter. The luckier ones have been able return to their homes and are working to return everything with minimal effort.

Having started as part of the ScanDigital team only weeks before this tragedy, I’ve realized in these dangerous evacuation situations it simply makes sense eliminate the burden of trying to rescue your photos by having them preserved and digitized in advanced. One of my favorite parts of our service is that the images are backed up to our offsite, secure servers, meaning our customers do not even need to worry about grabbing their CD/DVD in an unforeseen tragedy. If leaving pictures behind allows for more time to gather other items that can’t be replaced, I say save those. Printing out photos later just makes sense. It’s a problem one could worry about after all the other hassles are squared away. I like to think that the work I am doing provides a bit of the safety and piece of mind to our customers who know their photographs are safe offsite and online, hopefully this helps people during times like these.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with Muhammed El-Hasen from the Daily Breeze. We had a great discussion and covered topics from how we founded the Company to our plans for the future. The article was great and I have been meaning to post it for everyone to see. Have a read when you have a chance. The article can be found online at the following address:

http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/articles/10663116.html

Alternatively, the print version (including photos) can be found here:

http://www.scandigital.com/newspress.php

Last week, Greg Soblete from TWICE magazine spent some time discussing ScanDigital and our new affiliate program with Anderson Schoenrock. When you have a chance check out the article posted over at . The interview and article was also featured in TWICE’s print publication. The full article can be founde here: http://www.twice.com/article/CA6487977.html?q=scandigital