“WHILE SOME INSURANCE POLICIES MIGHT COVER EMOTIONAL ITEMS TO A POINT, NO AMOUNT OF MONEY CAN TAKE THE PLACE OF THE LOSS OF YOUR FAMILY COLLECTION.”

Standard Insurance: Most of the people have insurance in one form or another, whether it’s for your car, health, rental, home, property, life, or anything else. Insurance serves to protect us in case something goes wrong while providing us complete peace of mind. Having homeowner’s insurance makes sure that in case there is ever a flood, fire, or another natural disaster, you will be compensated to make up for the loss or damages to your possessions. However, what would happen if you lost your most valuable memories?
We all have special personal items that we consider to be invaluable in terms of monetary value. For a lot of us, these unique keepsakes are in the form of captured memoirs and family history – the home videos of your children growing up, your grandparents wedding album, your 35mm slide collection from the 80s or the 16mm film reels you inherited from your parents that you have never even seen but know it contains an integral part of your family’s history.
These slides, photographs, VHS tapes, films, and audio cassettes are worth incalculable amounts more to you as compared to the money your insurance company will value the physical materials at. While some of the insurance policies might cover sentimental items, no amount of money can take the placeof the loss of your family memories.

“HARD COPY ORIGINALS NATURALLY DISAPPEAR AND DECAY WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME BECAUSE OF THEIR CHEMICAL MAKEUP”

Memories Fade: The quality of your negatives, photographs, video/audio tapes, slides, and film have been degrading since they were first captured and continue to deteriorate as you read this blog post! Hard copy originals naturally disappear and decay with the passage of time because of their chemical makeup. Degradation is similarly exacerbated because of the environment in which these items are usually stored. Factors such as humidity, temperature, dust, light, rodents, and insects can all lead to the loss of your captured memories. It’s just a matter of time before these keepsakes aren’t able to be enjoyed or even recalled across generations.

Digital Memory Protection: The only possible way to protect your valuable memories from the damaging effects of time and mother nature is negative scanning in Jackson, Mississippi. Once scanned and digitized, those negatives, slides, photos, and home movies will never have to be scanned and digitized again. You can make use of the local photo scanning service of www.scansouth.net. Consider it as your own personal memory insurance policy with terms that lasts longer!

Only in the past few years have we had the ability to photo scan in Jackson,Mississippi, and we are so lucky to have this amazing technology. However, what about all those photos we had developed into prints and camcorder videos we capture before the digital camera? Or before that – the negatives, slides, reel-to-reel audio or 16mm/8mm films? Perhaps some were passed on to us from our parents or grandparents.

LIKE US WITH OUR SMARTPHONES, OUR PREDECESSORS CAPTURED THESE MEMORIES FOR A LOT OF REASONS:

• Help them recall life events that may have otherwise been overlooked
• Experience the wide range of emotions when reliving those events
• Tell a story of what they did, experienced or accomplished
• Ensure they live on in the hearts and minds of their loved ones long after they are gone.
• Pass on their history to the next generations who wish to know where they came from
  
  

While hard copy photos, 8mm film, 35mm slides, etc. are historic items, they are helpless to loss and not convenient to view, access, or share. As the world grows smaller, your friends and family members can be anywhere in the world. Digitizing your media through Scan Photo Services in Jackson Mississippi allows you to share home movies and photos with the tap of a finger.
Whether you choose to take on a scanning project yourself or use a photo scanning service in Jackson, Mississippi, we are here to help with all of your scanning and digitization needs.

Unfortunately, we guarantee your videotapes will get worse over time, regardless of how well you store them and how carefully you look after them. 8mm, Super 8, and 16mm tapes degrade quickly, as they were never meant to be long-term video storage solutions. In fact, magnetic videotapes begin to deteriorate in around 10 years. The best possible way to make sure that your valuable home video footage doesn’t fade away is to transfer your 8mm, Super 8, or 16mm movie to DVD as well as your videotapes, as soon as possible.

“THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT AND SAVE YOUR VALUABLE HOME VIDEO FOOTAGE IS TO HAVE YOUR VIDEOTAPES DIGITIZED IMMEDIATELY.”

While you’ll wish to digitize your home videos right away to make sure of their longevity and safety, some people choose to put it on the back burner or want to maintain their original videotapes after they have been transferred. This blog post explains different factors that contribute to the decay of magnetic recordings like 8mm, Super 8, and 16mm, and how you can store and care for them to reduce further videotape degradation.

WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR VIDEOTAPE DECAY?

1. DEMAGNETIZATION
Demagnetization is the method which is used to remove magnetic charge. It is magnetic particles that stores information on a videotape. Magnetic particles can become demagnetized as a result of being too close to a powerful magnet, being exposed to great heat and as a result of time. Demagnetization severely affects the quality of Video to DVD transfer in Mississippi.

2. HUMIDITY
The binder layer of videotapes is the part that experiences direct contact with the playing machine. The binder layer can absorb water quickly, causing it to become sticky. This renders the videotape unplayable and can severely damage a VCR if you try to play an affected videotape.
Similarly, humidity can encourage fungus growth. Any outside particles can cause a loss of information from videotapes. If you have fungus on any videotapes, take it to an expert to have it cleaned before trying to play the tape. Videotape cleaning is included with every video transfer order with scansouth.net.

3. DECAY
Decay occurs over time as magnetic particles lose their charge. As the magnetic particles lose their charge, the color of the movie becomes weaker, distorting the color of the digital transfer.

4. FREQUENT USE
Every time you play a tape, some loss of quality or information occurs. While it is not obvious at first, over time, the quality of the video diminishes. The less you play a tape, the better the quality.

5. OLD MACHINERY
Poorly preserved or old machinery can collect dust particles. This can cause scratches, loss of magnetic charge, and wear and tear on the binder layer. These all can cause loss of information.

VIDEOTAPE TRANSFER OUTPUT QUALITY
When transferring 8mm, 16mm, Super 8 to digital format, the output quality is based on the quality of the original source. Usually, you can expect the quality of the digital version to be slightly better as compared to the videotape it was transferred from. Below mentioned are some of the common errors or distortions that might occur throughout the playback of a video transfer from a poor-quality videotape:

1. PINKING/GREENING
This is a fault where the top 10% of the picture seen on the screen flickers green and/or pink. This is usually seen on videotapes that were made on unsophisticated VCRs with skewed heads or just two heads.

2. VERTICAL JITTER
The timing of the tape is corrupted. Usually, we can stabilize the video by making use of a Time-Based Correction filter, which is usual with all of our video transfers.

3. CLEAR-WATER EFFECT
This is an error when parts of the movie on screen are wiggling, like ripples in clear shallow water. This is because of timing errors on the analog tape and cannot be corrected by software.

4. HORIZONTAL JITTER
This error is usually observed on copies of copies of copies, about 10 generations far ahead. Not much can be done to repair this.

5. STATIC LINES
These are glitches seen on-screen because of the tape particles coming off the videotape, leaving little static lines behind. This is usually seen on videotapes that have been reused a lot of times or on inexpensive tapes recorded in S-VHS-ET mode.

The digital age completely transformed how we capture and watch movies of our family events. Analog formats became obsolete in what seems like just a number of years, and suddenly the world had converted to the digital age. This has unfortunately rendered most of the home movie collections outdated – especially Super8, 8mm, 16mm film as well as all sizes of videotapes.
If you are fortunate enough to have family movies on old film reels, then you know how problematic it can be to watch and enjoy with family members, let alone share. Who has a working projector any longer? Another problem with old film formats and old film reels is that they do not last long. The chemical makeup of films, such as 8mm and 16mm film, causes it to deteriorate and break down with the passage of time. Your movie reel film is especially susceptible to damage and deterioration.
Even when stored in excellent conditions, the truth is that physical film is destined to break down eventually. Some of those films may contain precious family footage that you would like to preserve for upcoming generations, and having them converted to digital will stop the deterioration process cold.
Converting 8mm and 16mm film to digital is the best possible way to guarantee that your children and other family members will be able to enjoy your memorable home movies. Digital files are resistant to the damaging effects of mother nature and time, and if backed up appropriately, can last forever.
Are you not convinced yet? Well, to help you in making up your mind, here are a few reasons why you should digitize your home videos that are just too hard to ignore.

SAVE YOUR HOME MOVIES FOR THE FUTURE GENERATION

If you are reading this blog post, then the odds are that you understand the significance of preserving your family footage for the future. Each footage tells a story which commemorates precious moments in your family.
Outdated film formats do not have an infinite shelf life so the longer they sit collecting dirt particles in your attic or basement, the worse off they will be. Converting Super 8 and 8mm film to digital by availing scanning services, such as 8mm to DVD Service, 8mm film to digital conversion service, and Super 8 to digital conversion service, is the best choice you can make for maintaining your priceless family videos for future generations.

EASY TO WATCH, EASY TO SHARE

Even if your Super8, 8mm, or 16mm film and videos are still in excellent condition, it is not the most appropriate way to enjoy them. The home projectors required to watch old film reels are no longer made and you will have a hard time finding a working one.
 
If you decide to convert your Super8, 8mm, or 16mm film to digital, it will be much easier for your friends and family members to watch them. Digital videos can be watched with ease from a TV, computer, smartphone, or tablet.
What is more, digital files can be shared with friends and family members easily. You can send digital files via email, create flash drive copies, upload to the cloud, etc. Your 8mm or 16mm film and videos can be burned to DVD or flash drive after digitizing it to share with your loved ones. These make amazing holiday gifts for family and friends.
For many people, converting their old family films and videos to digital is a fun and emotional experience. Seeing movies of family members when they were younger for the first time.

PROFESSIONAL 8MM, SUPER8, AND 16MM FILM TRANSFER SERVICES

Chances are you might be convinced that converting your 8mm film to a digital format is an excellent idea; however, you might be wondering how do you go about doing that?
For most of the people, the digitizing film is not a great DIY project. The equipment and software required to get the job done right will cost big money, and you can easily spend many hours learning how to master it. Fortunately, there are film transfer service providers, like scansouth.net, who can professionally convert your 8mm, 16mm film and video to digital format for you.
If you do want to go with a professional service, you will have to choose a company that provides frame-by-frame capture. This method scans every single frame into high-quality pictures, which are then processed to make a seamless and smooth motion picture. Transferring 8mm, Super8, and 16mm film to DVD or digital using frame-by-frame technology provides an accurate, superior, flicker-free viewing experience. Scansouth.net can help you preserve your family movies to last a lifetime and longer with these very methods. Relive the happy moments with your children and grandchildren.

It doesn’t matter how hard you try to preserve your collection of family photographs; they will inevitably surrender to the effects of time and Mother Nature sooner or later.
The only possible way to make sure that your precious memories remain in excellent condition for future generations to enjoy is to have them scanned and digitized, and in this way, you won't have to stress about them collecting dust, getting wet, or fading away.

BUT HOW CAN YOU CHOOSE A PHOTOGRAPH SCANNING SERVICE PROVIDER?
Well, although the process might seem pretty simple, there are a number of things that need to be considered if you wish to get the best results. Therefore, to help you find a negative scanning service that will deliver a high-quality result, here are a few questions you need to ask before picking a photo scanning service provider in Mississippi:

CAN THEY SCAN AND DIGITIZE WHOLE ALBUMS?
Most of the people like to keep their physical copies of photographs in albums. Actually, sometimes the photo albums themselves have sentimental value, or it can be challenging to remove the photos without causing any damage.
That's the reason why you should look to digitize photo services in Mississippi that offer the possibility to scan and digitize the photos directly from the scrapbooks or albums.
They should have multiple photo scanners that they can use in different situations, including straight path, flatbed, and even sheet-fed scanners, all of which can be very beneficial when dealing with various formats.

IS THE ENTIRE PROCESS HASSLE FREE?
When you are choosing to get your photos scanned and digitized by an expert, you don't have to micromanage the whole process. With just a few questions answered by you, your scanning professional can deliver a quality product just the way you want it.

HOW IS THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT?
Even though you want the photo scanning company to look after the work proficiently without you needing to interfere in everything, sometimes you will need help or guidance when sorting through your photographs or deciding which format you should choose.

That's the reason why you should make sure that the photo scanning company has a cooperative and available support team that's able to provide you timely and comprehensive customer service, in case you required any kind of  assistance.
 
There's nothing worse than entrusting your photographs to a scanning service and then being left in the dark about their development, so you should check upfront to make sure that they have staff dedicated to providing quality customer support.

ARE THERE ANY HIDDEN FEES?
Not all photo scanning services in Mississippi are the same.  A prevalent tactic for some photo scanning companies is to offer low-priced package but nickel-and-dime the clients with add-ons that you would expect to be included in the price. For instance, some photo scanning companies providing multiple discount scanning packages charge additional charge per order for picture rotation. On the other hand, scansouth.net offers flat rate photo scanning packages where all scanning, digitizing, and editing (photoshopping) costs are included in the advertised price. There shouldn’t be any additional fees when purchasing a photo scanning package. If it looks too good to be true, it usually is. You don’t have to pay additional charges for photo scanning in a specific order, rotation, scanning photos other than 4×6, color correction, and many more. Do your homework and beware of the hidden fees that result in high costs to you, the consumer!

DO THEY HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION IN MARKET?
Finally, you should make sure that the photo scanning company you choose can do the job properly. Most of the companies will make bold promises and claim that they are the best in the industry; however, in reality, not all photo scanning services providers have the same experience, equipment, or even qualifications to look after your scanning project.
The best approach to see if a photo scanning company can be trusted is to look for social evidence. Preferably, that would come in a personal recommendation from a relative or friend. But even if you don't have someone you trust to make a reference, there are still ways you can check whether a company is trustworthy or not. By simply going online and checking customer reviews, you can get a much better idea of whether a photo scanning company knows what it’s doing and can be trusted.

It's Officially August!!
Do you know what that means?
The Holiday Season has begun!!
I'm not saying it is time to go fight the crowds. I'm saying that it is time to think about giving an amazing gift to your family - one they won't soon forget. It is time to start thinking about putting together a PHOTO BOOK to give to your kids. It is a unique, one of a kind, can't just pick up something like this anywhere kind of gift!

Here are some ideas to mull over:
• Family recipes cookbook
• Photo book for each child with an accompanying flash drive that includes all the photos and more digitized.
• Photo book of that great trip you took this year! Give one to your traveling companion too!
• Give the gift of a LOVE BOOK to your special someone filled with great pictures of just the two of you.
• There are lots of ideas to make into books! Talk to us.
• When all else fails, give a GIFT CERTIFICATE so that someone on your list can preserve their precious memories forever. We fit any budget. Tell us how much you want to give and get 10% off your next order with Scan South.

Talk to us. We want to hear your ideas!

Hello friends!!
This is a new format for this newsletter - just trying it out. Please let me know how you like it and if you like it better than the way I was delivering it. First, I want to say that I’ve missed writing these newsletters. I let the holiday season pass without getting a newsletter out, and for that I’m sorry. I am happy to report, however, during the holiday season Scan South scanned and preserved so many photographs and photo collections for future generations as well as completing 2 books – just in time for the holiday!

If you are thinking about digitizing your photos and other media in time for Christmas, don’t wait until the last minute. Please give me a call and we can put you on the books to be delivered in time for Christmas and the holidays.
 
601-238-3322 • laurie@scansouth.net
I am so excited to tell you about these books! 

6 x 9 inch hard AND softcover book, 128 pages, self-cover + accompanying DVD 

This book is an autobiography, written by Jerome Smith and his wife, Pam. Jerome and Pam are both alumni of Ole Miss. Pam has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from The University of Mississippi and both are ardent football fans. This couple wrote the book about Jerome’s life of service to the educational community in the Jackson and Mississippi areas. It included numerous stories about Jerome’s growing up period in a humble farming family in Mississippi. It highlights his military career, Ole Miss education, family, friends and his career as a guidance counselor at Bailey Jr. High and principal of Callaway High School, all the way to the Governor’s office as an Education Advisor in Governor Kirk Fordice’s cabinet. I was so humbled to be able to help them bring this personal project to fruition in the form of a book and a video that utilizes the photographs from his life, complete with music and fun. The book, titled, Jerome Smith – Touching Lives, has been well-received throughout Jackson and is making its way to Amazon.com and Blurb.com. We will update you as it becomes available online. It is a great read – a fast read – and I recommend it highly. At 98 years young, Mr. Jerome Smith is still making an impact in the lives of his family and friends. I am happy to call them friends, too. If you are interested in getting a copy, please email Pam Smith at pamelasmith1004@att.net.

8 x 10-inch hard-bound book, 40 pages, self-cover.

The other project I worked on was a fun and interesting book, called A Southern Belle at Yale – A Mississippi Girl’s Adventures at Yale by Elizabeth Henry. Elizabeth’s mom, Kathy thought it would be a good Christmas present for her daughter now that she is graduated from Yale and out in the real world. Elizabeth’s friends refer to her as a God-fearing-pearl-wearing Southern Republican. But make no mistake about it, she was more than that at Yale. Among other things, she was a blogger and it is those blog posts that make up the book. It was a great Christmas present for Elizabeth and the whole family wanted a copy too. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of this book, please contact Kathy Henry at kathyhenry@integrity.com. Now, Kathy Henry is considering creating a cookbook of all her fabulous recipes, since her children have grown and continue to ask for her recipes of their favorite foods. I think I see another Christmas present!!!

10 x 8-inch hard-bound genealogy book, 60 pages, dust jacket over linen cover.

Now I’m working on a second book for the Conner family. This new book is about the Betts, Betty’s father’s side of the family. Late in 2017, Scan South helped Betty bring the book about her mother’s side of the family, the Lynch side, to life. This genealogy book takes the family history back to 1399! It had been a labor of love for Betty, but most of the hard work of tracing the genealogy was done by her cousin, who later gave his work to Betty to finish. Finish it she did. This book, The History of the Lynch Family in the American South, was completed by Betty, her 4 daughters and her husband, Dr. Weir Conner, in October 2017 and Scan South edited, designed it and created the format for the genealogy to drop into by early December 2017. We got the books back just before Christmas (on my birthday, as I recall). We weren’t sure we could get them back in time to give out for Christmas, but we were surprised and delighted with the turnaround. Betty and her husband, Weir are sending a copy of both books, when they are finished, to the Mississippi Archives and History to put into their collection. I will be updating you when we get the second book done. It is fascinating and so much fun for me to create these books for my clients. 

601-238-3322 • laurie@scansouth.net
 
Videotaping being added to Scan South’s list of services
I was helping Monica Harrigill of the Sunray Company, who was working on a personal project of converting all her assorted VHS videotapes of her kids, family and a lot of other interesting videos, not to mention her wedding videos to digital, when she asked if Scan South offered video services. It was impeccable timing as I had been thinking of perhaps offering the service since I had three really good guys (recent college grads) who are in the business and open to some freelance work. Scan South decided to give it a go. Our very first client, called the next day. (It’s a God thing, I’m sure). She asked about taping a class she taught in order to get her advanced certification for teaching. We are currently editing it now and expect her to be very pleased with the final product. Meanwhile, we are in talks with the Sunray Company to figure out exactly what they want to do and who they want to feature in their videos. We are very excited about this new service we will offer. Marketing videos (30 seconds to 1-hour videos – any length really, to put up on Facebook or any social media) or any other kind of videos for your company, small business or family. We are just beginning, but I am very excited about this new service Scan South offers.

Thank you to all our clients
We want to thank all our clients past and present. You all have been the source of both encouragement and new clients. Thank you all for saying such nice things about Scan South and me and how we have served you. We always want to deliver more than we promise and that has been what we have been striving for since the beginning.
So just to be clear – we are still converting photographs, slides, negatives, antique photos, Super 8 and 8mm + 16mm home movies, VHS and MiniDV videotapes, and audio cassettes. 
We offer:
            • Photo and media organization, and scanning
            • Video movies of scanned photos for special occasions like
milestone birthdays, anniversaries or special events
            • Video-taping services for personal or commercial use
            • Creation of photo books
            • Graphic design in all formats
            • Special classes in photo restoration, organization, and getting started with your media projects
            • No project too big or too small.
No need to organize your collection (unless you want to). We can take all the worry away and return to you an organized and digitized collection of your media that will be easy to view, pass along to friends and relatives or pass down to future generations.

The great thing about Scan South is that we are LOCAL in Jackson. No need to worry about sending your precious memories away in the mail. I will pick up and deliver and make sure everything is well cared for in the interim. However, I want to point out that we have used the mail for several clients, and have had NO problems.

But let me tell you about what happened to me. My friend, Suzanne Lindsey who has her own business, LIGHT HOUSE ORGANIZER has helped me to organize and re-configure the Scan South office at my home so that I am more organized (I was already pretty organized) in my business and more productive by rearranging my workspace for optimal use. It also is incredibly satisfying when it is completely and logically organized.  And she brought me an Icee! Now, I can take on more work!!!! Call her because she is just FANTASTIC and reasonably priced. Her number is 601.454.7361. You can view her website at www.lighthouseorganizer.com. I am also converting all her videotapes of her kids! She is going to be so happy to see those great memories again.
 
  601-238-3322 • laurie@scansouth.net

Thank you for reading my newsletter. We can't do it without you.
So please call if I can help you in any way - even if you are having trouble
figuring out your computer!
Bless you, all,
Laurie McCarthy