Frequently Asked Questions

Digitizing by Rachel is having a Summer Sale!

Now through the end of August, all scanning projects over $200 will get a 40% discount on eiligable items.

What are the eiligable item types?

-Loose photos

-Photo Albums

-Scrapbooks

-Slides

-Documents

-Negatives

Which item types are not eiligable?

-Videotapes

-Audiotapes

-LP/Records

-CDs/DVDs

All eligible projects that sign a contract before August 31, 2024, will receive this discount.

The project must have enough items to reach $200 at the standard pricing for the discount to apply. Any project without enough items will be charged the standard pricing or the project minimum fee if applicable.

The discount will be applied to the per scan price and the per scan price will be adjusted accordingly in the contract.

There are a number of different options available for DPI. Below are our recommendations for different types of projects along with their respective pricing. Pricing is based on the additional processing time required. For a full list of DPI options and their pricing, click here.

Print Photos - 600 DPI

• 600 DPI has no additional cost and it provides a high-quality scan for print photos.

• If you plan to enlarge and re-print the images, we recommend 1200 DPI. Additional $0.40 per scan.

• Anything higher than 1200 DPI for print photos is typically unnecessary. If you have specifications for a project that requires a higher DPI, please let us know and we can discuss further options.

Slides and Negatives - minimum 1200 DPI, maximum 4800 DPI

• Slides and negatives are a smaller original so a higher DPI will allow for more flexibility with what you can do with the images in the future. To see an example, click here.

• 1200 DPI is an option for a solid-quality scan if you are viewing the images on your computer. Additional $0.45 per scan.

• 2400-4800 DPI provides a high-quality archive level scan, we recommend this for clients that want high-quality archive scans and may pass the images along to others or re-print the images. Additional $0.85-$1.70 per scan.

Photo Albums and Scrapbooks - 600 DPI

• Album originals are typically fairly large in size so similarly to Print Photos 600 DPI will provide a high-quality scan.

• Rarely are photo albums and scrapbook pages enlarged and re-printed so a higher DPI is typically not necessary.

Looking for more details? These articles do a great job breaking down DPI.

• Scan Your Entire Life - Q&A: What’s the Best DPI or Resolution to Scan Your Film Negatives?

• Dijifi - The Best Resolution for Scanning Photos

• How to Scan - Best Resolution When Scanning Slides Into Digital

Additional Pricing for TIFF files can be found here.

A TIFF file is a large file(approx. 7x larger than JPEG) and does not compress the image. The larger, less compressed file can maintain the finer details of color, contrast, and sharpness. Best to use if photo editing.

A JPEG or JPG is a smaller compressed file. This kind of file takes up less space on a drive/cloud and is easy to use when sharing photos. Many sharing sites/apps do not allow TIFF files to upload. Best to use if sharing and basic printing.

Still unsure which file type is best for you? Check out this blog post by Artful Printers, they do a great job of breaking it down. WHICH IS BETTER: TIFF VS JPG FOR PRINTING?

We recommend storing your project items in plastic bins if possible.

We ask that you organize your items with labels that state how you would like the files/folders on the drive to be labeled. These labels should be attached to the corresponding bundles as securely as possible to avoid them getting lost or mixed up or moved around during transport and processing. We do not recommend putting tape or Post-its directly onto the side of the items being scanned.

All documents need to have any staples, pins, or clips removed. We may remove any pins, staples, or clips during processing if needed. If a document or album page has post-its, tags, or other items adhered to them we will scan the page as is.

We offer free pick up and delivery for projects of $750+. For all projects under $750, there is a pick-up/delivery fee.

• Washington DC; Silver Spring, MD; Chevy Chase, MD; Bethesda, MD - $35

• Montgomery County between Gaithersburg and Bethesda, MD; Prince George’s County, MD; Arlington, VA - $45

• North of Gaithersburg, MD; Alexandria, VA - $75

Yes, we can compile your PDF scans into one or more files at an additional cost of $0.20 per scan.

Our standard scanning is for photos and documents up to 8inx10in.

For larger images and documents, the starting price is $2 per photo/page.

You can purchase a USB drive from us or you can provide your own*.

• *Note: If you provide your own USB, it must be new and in its original packaging.

• Price: $10-$35 depending on the size needed.

We offer a digital download via Dropbox.

• For this option, we will upload your project onto Dropbox and share the project folder with you. Then, you will have 14 days to download all of the content and move it to your own cloud service or onto your own computer storage.

• The files will be removed from Dropbox after 14 days. At that time, if you have not downloaded the files to your own storage you will have 5 days to notify us and we can re-upload them for 48 hours with a re-upload fee of $40. After 21 days we cannot guarantee that we will still have copies of the files.

• Price: $5-15 depending on the size of the project.

We offer expedited service on a limited basis*. Below are the turnaround times for expedited services.

Scans (Photos, Slides, Loose Documents, Film Negatives)

• 1-200 items: within 5 days

• 201-700 items: 1-2 weeks

• 701+: expedite services not offered

Photo Albums, Scrapbooks, Journals, Binders, Notebooks

• 1-2 albums/books: within 5 days

• 2-6 albums/books: 1-2 weeks

• 7+ albums/books: expedite services not offered

Audio and Video Tapes, Records, Reels

• 1-5 items: within 5 days

• 5-10 items: 1-2 weeks

• 11+ items: expedite services not offered

*Note: this service is not always available and the turnaround times listed above are not guaranteed. If you are interested in this service please contact Rachel at rachel@digitizingbyrachel.com for a quote.

All invoices will be sent via email to the email address you provide. You can pay the invoice with a credit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or ACH Bank Transfer.

We have a $100 project minimum. The project must have enough items to meet the $100 minimum, all projects with under $100 of items will be charged the $100 minimum.

We can digitize the following types of videotapes/discs:

• VHS Tapes

• VHS - C Tapes

• MiniDV

• BetaMax

• 8mm/HiFi 8 Video Cassette Tapes

• 8mm and Super8 Film Reels (without sound)

• DVDs

We can digitize the following types of audiotapes/discs/records:

• CDs

• Audio Cassette Tapes

• Micro Cassette Tapes (typically used in portable voice recorders)

• Vinyl Records (78s, 33s, and 45s)

Don’t see your video or audio type here? Let us know!

There is a $10 review fee for any tapes sent in that we are not able to digitize due to a 3rd party copyright.