Old Photos (Naples: home, wedding, vs)

[npz]

Where would be the best place in Naples to take some old (pre-digital!!) photos to be replicated?? Has anyone been somewhere where they both do a good job and take care not to damage the original?

[markjames68]

Photos or negatives? Any place can scan original photos. Or, if you are nervous, you can use a flatbed scanner or all-in-one printer.

[npz]

Originally Posted by markjames68

Photos or negatives? Any place can scan original photos. Or, if you are nervous, you can use a flatbed scanner or all-in-one printer.

Photos. I thought about scanning them at home but thought a photo center would have a better quality. I wasn't sure whether anywhere had a better reputation than others, or whether they are all pretty similar in terms of service and quality

[markjames68]

Most decent scanners do 1200dpi (dots per inch) so unless you are enlarging them a lot it won't make a difference. If they are delicate who better to do it than yourself?

[motordavid]

^ +1...
The OP may need to dig into their scanner program to set the highest dpi, but 600 is decent and 1200 is very good, possibly enhancing or showing many of the flaws in the orig photograph.

Many printer scanners offer some contrast/color/sharpness enhancements too, before one hits the scan button and after one has cropped projected scan or at least gotten it to workable size.

If one does home scanning, dust is The Devil and one has to be scrupulous with the dust free cleanliness of the scanner platen, unless one is using Adobe Lightroom, et al and wants to do dust specks clean up on captured image.

There are several photo scanning services listed in Naples area, though I have not used any of them.

I did send boxes of 'good' to 'really good' old Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides out, (and a few photos), to one of the dozens of mail order services: the quality of scans was 'good', not great even though I paid for the higher res dpi, blah blah blah. Same for the photos, so I now just scan old photos myself on a cheap oh HP 3510 printer/scanner and then work on the captured jpegs in Adobe Lightroom. They are OK, which is what most of us are looking for, imo.

I rec'd the OP give it whirl on their home printer/scanner, paying attention to platen cleanliness and scanner 'tools' and see how they like the jpegs that result...if not satisfied, then take a few to a local joint and have them do some scanning for you. If they have a quality flatbed scanner vs a typical printer/doc scanner the resolution should be better, but the orig photo flaws may be enhanced also...a real printing joint with a drum scanner will knock it out, but expensive and maybe a method that no one needs for snapshots or old portraits.

My 50Cts...
GL, mD

A home scan of a dive photo I took a few years ago...

[npz]

Thank you both for incredibly helpful replies. I have scanned the photos myself and now just need to get them printed.


At least doing it myself, I was not worried about any damage occurring to the photos and the image quality seems just fine to me!


motordavid - love the dive photo. Thank you for posting!!

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by npz

Thank you both for incredibly helpful replies. I have scanned the photos myself and now just need to get them printed.


At least doing it myself, I was not worried about any damage occurring to the photos and the image quality seems just fine to me!


motordavid - love the dive photo. Thank you for posting!!

Thank your for the props and you are welcome...
For printing your jpegs, one can spend from econo to lots.

Not knowing your photos, scan process or how they 'look', I rec'd simply emailing the full size output jpegs to your local Walmart or CVS, et al, via their site(s).

If you are getting 4 x 6/ 5 x 7, maybe up to 8 x10, any of those places can do an OK to good job, all subjective views considered.

If you want a larger/knockout rendition, then a custom lab that takes out dust/artifacts and adjusts contrast, color, saturation and on and on, may do a better job...but for an 8 x 10 or less reproduction photographic print of a home made scan, the Walmarts of the world will do a decent job. Skip the one hour and just have them knock it out in a day or so...I suspect you will like your photos, and you have done the 'scan' yourself.

If you really want custom printing, ask me: I deal with several but they may be an answer to a question you never asked or needed, or want. No disrespect intended.

Enjoy your old collectible Fam photos!
GL, mD

[npz]

Originally Posted by motordavid

Thank your for the props and you are welcome...
For printing your jpegs, one can spend from econo to lots.

Not knowing your photos, scan process or how they 'look', I rec'd simply emailing the full size output jpegs to your local Walmart or CVS, et al, via their site(s).

If you are getting 4 x 6/ 5 x 7, maybe up to 8 x10, any of those places can do an OK to good job, all subjective views considered.

If you want a larger/knockout rendition, then a custom lab that takes out dust/artifacts and adjusts contrast, color, saturation and on and on, may do a better job...but for an 8 x 10 or less reproduction photographic print of a home made scan, the Walmarts of the world will do a decent job. Skip the one hour and just have them knock it out in a day or so...I suspect you will like your photos, and you have done the 'scan' yourself.

If you really want custom printing, ask me: I deal with several but they may be an answer to a question you never asked or needed, or want. No disrespect intended.

Enjoy your old collectible Fam photos!
GL, mD

Again thank you!


After several not so good results with different Walgreens and CVS stores, I finally managed to get some prints that, to me anyway, looked good. If I had more time (this was a last minute gift idea) I would have loved to get these professionally reproduced, as they are lovely old wedding photos of long-deceased grandparents from I believe the 1930s.


The failed attempts all, for some reason, chopped off the top of the photo no matter how it was set up on screen in the store. Each time, the person helping could not get the photo to print out properly and suggested it may be due to the age of their equipment.


In case it is of any use to anyone else, the Walgreens on US 41 opposite Mooring Line Dr. was both very helpful and produced good looking prints.


For me, prints have now been produced, put into a gift and sent on their way, hopefully to bring back some good memories for the recipient!!