Professional Photo Scanning Services - FAQ

How much does scanning cost?

It depends on which resolution and options you choose. Economy scanning starts at just $0.25 per photo.

Can you scan photos in albums?

Yes. We can. There is an additional charge for "album access" of $0.25 per image to remove and replace the photos. In some extreme cases, the charge may be doubled - for photos that are attached to the albums in a difficult manner.

What's the difference between Economy and Regular scanning?

Both use the same equipment and produce the same high quality scans. However, Regular scanning includes a detailed finishing process (rotation to the correct orientation, de-skewing, cropping, color-correction, and quality checking). Economy scanning is a good option if you're proficient with computer multimedia editing software and intend to manipulate and finish the images yourself. See the difference.

Do I really need CleanScan?

We recommend using our CleanScan service to remove scratches and dust particles on slides and negatives of any age. CleanScan applies a sophisticated optical technology that "sees through" dust and scratches to produce an almost flawless digital image.

If CleanScan is not applied, you will get some evidence of scratches and dust particles on negatives and slides. This is caused by the development process, and by the use of plastic sleeves, among other things.
Please note that CleanScan DOES NOT work for black & white negatives and slides!

This means that you can expect some scratches and dust particles (electrostatically clinging to the film that our cleaning process cannot remove) to be evident. These can all be removed easily by us through retouching them using Adobe Photoshop at an additional cost using our restoration service.

What's the difference between putting my images on CD versus DVD?

A DVD stores almost 7 times more data than a CD (4.7 GB versus 700 MB).

How will the image files be organized on my CD/DVD?

We organize your files and folders to reflect the way your physical media is organized, i.e. by roll of negatives, carousel of slides, etc. For example, if you have an album of photos called "Italy 1995", w e'll place all those images in a folder called "Italy 1995" and name the files "Italy1995-001", "Italy1995-002", and so on.

Will I be able to view my images and play them on a DVD player?

Yes, many of the new DVD players are JPEG-compatible, which means they can display image files directly from your CD-ROM. However, this option is not universally compatible and does not allow for addition of music or interactive features. For that you will need our playable DVD Slide Show.

Regular Vs. Economy Scan?

Both options use the same equipment and produce the same high-quality scans.
However, in Regular Scan we perform the following finishing procedures:

Image rotation to the correct orientation
De-skewing (leveling the image)
Cropping any visible border effect
Color correction
Detailed quality check

Economy scanning is a good option if you're proficient with computer multimedia editing software and intend to manipulate and finish the images yourself.

See the difference between Economy and Regular scanning.

Resolution Table
Original Media		Scanned Resolution (pixels per inch)	digital image
Type and Size		Scanned Resolution (pixels per inch)	Mega Pixels	Max Print Size (Phot0-Quality)	JPEG File Size (MB)	TIFF File Size (MB)
Photo Print	3.5"x5"	Standard (300 ppi)	1.6	3.5" x 5"	0.5	5
	4"x6"		2.2	4"x6"	0.7	6
	5"x7"		3.2	5"x7"	1.1	1
	3.5"x5"	High (600 ppi)	6.3	7" x 10"	2.1	19
	4"x6"		8.6	8" x 12"	2.9	26
	5"x7"		12.6	10" x 14"	4.2	38
35mm Negative (1" x 1.5")		Standard (1500 ppi)	3.0	5"x7"	1	9
		High (2500 ppi)	8.4	8" x 10"	2.8	25
		Pro (4000 ppi)	21.4	12" x 18"	7.1	65
APS Film (0.65"x 1.2")		Standard (1700 ppi)	2.3	4" x 6"	0.8	7
		High (2500 ppi)	4.9	6" x 8"	1.6	14
		Pro (4000 ppi)	12.5	10" x 14"	4.2	38
35mm Mounted Slide (1" x 1.5")		Standard (1500 ppi)	2.8	4" x 6"	0.9	8
		High (2500 ppi)	7.7	8" x 10"	2.6	23
		Pro (4000 ppi)	19.6	12" x 18"	6.5	59
Medium Format Film (2.25" x 2.25")		Standard (1000 ppi)	5.1	6" x 8"	1.7	15
		High (2000 ppi)	20.3	12" x 18"	6.8	61
		Pro (4000 ppi)	81.0	18" x 27"	20	180
Large Format Film (4" x 5")		Standard (600 ppi)	7.2	8" x 10"	2.4	22
		High (1000 ppi)	20.0	12" x 18"	6.7	60
		Pro (2000 ppi)	80.0	24" x 36"	26.7	240

Default Color Space: sRGB

Available Formats:

8-bit JPG (default) (file sizes are in the table above)
16-bit JPG (files sizes are 2X the 8bit size)
8-bit TIFF (file sizes are in the table above)
16-bit TIFF (files sizes are 2X the 8bit size)
and low compression JPG (Photoshop quality level 12) with file sizes approximately half that of 8bit TIFF.

- Digital Pickle
- (415) 861-4565
- 1256 Folsom St.
- San Francisco, CA 94103

Video Transfer
Film Transfer
Audio Transfer
Photo Scanning
Restoration
DVD Slideshows
Photo Books
Slideshows
GSA Certified

We use dedicated commercial equipment complete with noise reduction and image stabilizationwhen we transfer home movies to DVD. Our process produces exceptional video quality. Digital Pickle can perform professional video editing and DVD authoring to your requirements. We are able to handle high volume video archiving projects and transfer video tapes to DVDs as well as uncompressed video to external hard drives or mini-DVs in AVI, Quicktime, MPEG4 (H.264), and any required proprietary format for editing and archiving.

We Digitize Movie Film – convert film to DVD. We convert 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm film using high fidelity digital transfer technology. Our aerial-capture process produces uniform lighting, unmatched clarity, and stunning color depth. Your film is converted to digital video in the form of full quality digital video files and/or a playable DVD disc that is compatible with almost all DVD players.

We digitize and convert records and transfer to CD any audio cassettes, reel-to-reel audio tapes and DAT and output the digital audio noisefiles to high quality audio CDs. Level optimization and track separation are part of our standard service. We also offer audio cleanup services to reduce noise, hiss, and to normalize audio levels for audio cassette to CD transfer. When we convert records the same service is available plus the optional noise reduction service may become very handy.

We scan and digitize photos, slides, and negatives of any format using high-end commercial scanners that produce unmatched image quality. Our expert digital imaging technicians spend time with each individual frame to ensure ideal exposure, focus, color fidelity, cropping, and orientation. We create files suitable for online photo sharing as well as CDs or DVDs with image files and folders.

We can perform digital retouching on any photo or digital image. Image retouching is performed by our expert technicians manually using Adobe Photoshop. Since photo touch up requirements vary greatly, we quote our work on an hourly basis and most projects take much less than an hour. Photo Editing is often requested to remove or add objects or people to an original image resulting in a very different final image. This work is also quoted on an hourly basis for the same reasons as photo touch up.

Digital Pickle specializes in producing spectacular, flicker-free DVD slide shows with interactive features and your selection of music. The final product is a DVD disc that is compatible with almost all DVD players and can be controlled just like a movie (i.e. pause, fast-forward, etc.). DVD photo slide show, or Slideshow DVD, are also known as: DVD photo album, video slide show, DVD photo slideshow, family slide show, photomontage, wedding photo montage, or digital photo montage. Essentially, a slide to video conversion is what it is about. These all refer to the same great movie that we create out of the compilation of your memories as captured in photos, slides, negatives and even clips of video and film.

Sharing all your digital images on the Internet or on your computer is nice. How about leafing through a glossy full color custom designed digital photo album with pictures that will never fade or discolor? How about sending these albums to family and friends at special occasions to preserve and share the memories? Well, this is what a photo book is all about. Digital Pickle offers you the full capability to unleash your creativity in creating custom designed long lasting beautiful photobooks with complete control over the layout, backgrounds, themes, and cover types.

We scan and restore photos, slides and negatives in any format and size. We convert (and enhance) any video and audio content to digital media in any required format, we transfer and restore 8mm and 16mm to digital media in full high definition, we produce DVD slide shows, photo books, and many custom photo gifts. We produce professional digital video productions and we duplicate CDs and DVDs. We perform commercial digital imaging services including video production and post-production services, document scanning - both standard and delicate handling, CD/DVD duplication, and conversion to digital records of large archives. We provide services to government agencies under GSA schedule 67 (Cameras, Photographic Printers and Related Supplies & Services, Digital and Film-Based) SINs 19 100 - contract # GS-02F-0066W.