Your 101 Guide to Digitizing Media

Planning to preserve your memories till eternity? You must have at least 10 of these 15 questions pop up in your mind. Here is our holistic guide for anybody who is up for getting their old media digitized, all surrounded by confusion. Most of these suggestions are given by digitizing experts and so guarantee a safe and secure digitization process.

Type of media 
All types of media can be digitized – loose photos of any size or format, slides and negatives, VHS tapes, 8mm/16mm film, audio cassettes, reel to reel audio, letters, posters, and so much more.

Why convert at all?
Digitizing experts suggest some great benefits of digitizing media, including free space, preservation of memories, and so on.

Handling of originals
People get their original media back as soon as the process is complete – then, they usually choose between keeping the media to serve nostalgic senses or discarding them to declutter.

Minimum order to Maximum Order
Most media companies pose different requirements for their clients. As for maximum order, there is usually no limit. However, one has to intimate in writing if it’s bulk, commercial order.

The backup files
Most services retain the digital backup for up to 90 days in case of loss, theft, damage, or need for more copies.

Packing media for safe shipping
One has to make sure the items are packed securely and don’t move around during shipment.

Payment Methods
Scan South, a photo scan service in Jackson, Mississippi, has several payment options and schedules to choose from. Many require partial payment of the estimated total cost and the rest when the projects are completed to the clients’ satisfaction.

Quality of Digital Media
No matter what the quality of old media is, the digital formats can be made into a high quality starting from 300 dpi to 1200+. However, it usually depends on the purpose of digitizing media.

Options with Digital Media
Most digitizing services offer facilities like color corrections, editing, manipulation, background music, etc.

Scanning Photos at home
A handful of photos would not pose a problem. People usually examine them at home, but converting extensive collections could be difficult without technical equipment and software.

Photo vs. negative
Negative scanning in Jackson Mississippi can attest to the fact that negatives produce a higher quality digitized image than the paper photo.

Receiving digital files after scanning
There are several options available to choose from. You could obtain them on any medium you prefer, such as discs, flash drives, or the cloud.

Repairing damaged videotapes
If a tape is torn, it can be transferred to a new storage medium without any noticeable changes to the original video.

Types of Documents
Old and young usually come up with paper files, microfilm, microfiche, engineering drawings, and much other archival material they have in store and want to digitize for one or the other reason.

Scanning documents
Scanned documents are easier to access than going through physical files, and it also saves the documents from any damage, such as from flood or fire. Most people avail digitization services for old documents like birth and death certificates, real estate papers for some electronic correspondence. 
Photo scanning services are the answer to your prayers when it comes to organizing your digital archives. You can easily pair up your documents with photos or videos, marked with the date and location. This will save future generations hours of tedious research and make for some fun family gatherings when they go through years of memories experiencing it almost as you did.