Can scrapbook photos and pages be scanned on to a disk to allow
duplication for distribution to family members?  If so, what and where
is the most efficient place/process to do this?  Kinko's?  Also, how
do you cause 50 scrap books to be scanned appropriately, efficiently
and inexpensively and then save on to disks?

Hello gregrenker~

There are several ways to scan scrapbooks and distribute them among
family members. I'll lay out the most practical choices, one by one.


1.  The least expensive way to copy and distribute scrapbooks is to
scan the pages yourself and save the results on a CD. You can then
make copies of the CD (onto other CDs) and pass these out to family
members. To accomplish this, all you need is a scanner and a
CD-burner.

            1b. If you don?t want to copy the CDs yourself, you could
hire a company to do the it for you.  Typically, such businesses have
a minimum order of at least 50. For an example of such a business, see
DiskDuper.com: http://www.diskduper.com/prices.htm

            1c. If you don?t have a CD-burner, you could email pages
to a friend who does have one?-although this could be time consuming,
especially if you have a standard telephone connection to the
Internet.

            1d. You could also print out the copies on your home
printer?-but this could get expensive very quickly.



2. Another option is to scan the pages yourself, place them on a CD,
and take them to a print shop like Kinkos. (You can also email pages
to Kinkos. To learn about this, see ?Online Printing,? Kinkos:
http://www.kinkos.com/products/personal/index.php?sol=&sec=p2k
)  Then, have Kinkos print out the pages with their high-quality
digital printing services. For more information about Kinko?s photo
printing services, check out ?Digital Photo Printing,? Kinkos:
http://www.kinkos.com/products/personal/index.php?sol=ps&sec=sony

 

3. Yet another option is to go to Kinkos and use their PictureStation
to scan in your scrapbook pages, and then print them out.



4. You could also use a digital camera to copy scrapbook pages.
However, I don?t recommend this, because it will be difficult to
achieve a good copy.



5. If you scan the pages yourself and save them, you could also post
them online. Then, family members could visit the website, save the
pages onto their own computer, and do whatever they wish with the
images. There are a number of places to create online photo albums;
here are just a few:

? HP Photo: http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/com.us.LoginNew?com=usBanner&awp=index3.html&DIRECT=show&goNext=photosharing

? Kodak OFoto: http://www.ofoto.com/Welcome.jsp

? Picture Trail: http://www.picturetrail.com/

? Yahoo! Photos: http://login.yahoo.com/config/login?.src=ph&.done=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//welcome&.intl=us&.linkdone=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//welcome

? Sony Image Station:
http://www.imagestation.com/index.html?DCMP=KAC-Google&creative=online_photo_album

? SmugMug: http://www.smugmug.com/index.mg?adtype=adwords&adname=online%20photo%20album&addays=30



6. Anoterh option is to make color copies of each scrapbook page; the
quality won?t be as good as one of the digital options, but is worth
considering. Kinkos and many other print shops can do this for you.


(To find a Kinkos near you, go to ?Kinko?s Stores:?
http://www.kinkos.com/help/stores.php )



As for the most efficient way to copy all those pages...Well,
unfortunately, the answer is one page at a time. There's no shortcut.
However, a good scanner will help considerably. If you?re doing the
scanning yourself, do make sure you use a scanner with software
designed for scanning photos. There are a great many available these
days, but since you're going for heirloom quality here, I would avoid
the lowest-end scanners.

I?ve personally been impressed by the quality and ease of use of
Epson?s Perfection 3170 Photo Scanner. With this machine, you can
automatically scan such things as illustrations, photos, mixed pages
(with text, art, and photo...click the ?magazine? option), and much
more with the least amount of ?correction? later. You can also choose
low or high dpi output (up to 3200 dpi), and software is included for
touching up the scans. Here?s the Amazon listing for this scanner:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000C121R/qid=1084902929/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1_etk-electronics/002-0592456-2448838?v=glance&s=electronics&n=172282
 You can check also out this Froogle search for the lowest prices:
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=Perfection+3170+Photo+Scanner&btnG=Search+Froogle



If I were in your shoes, I'd either scan the pages myself and place
them online-?OR, I?d pass out CDs. For those family members without
the ability to view CDs (i.e., they don?t have a computer or a newer
DVD player), I'd print copies by taking the CD to a place like Kinkos.
Since printing is going to be the most expensive option, hopefully
most of the family has up-to-date technology :)


Finally, for some good basic tips on making copies of scrapbooks, you
may wish to read ?Making Multiple Copies: Two Scrapbooks Are Better
Than One,? HP: http://h30039.www3.hp.com/scrapbooking/articles_howtos/multiple_copies.asp


Good luck!
Kriswrite

RESEARCH STRATEGY:

copy CDs
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"how to" make copies scrapbook
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"make copies" "photograph album"
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copies scrapbook
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online "photo album"
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multiple copies scrapbook
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Although you have supplied lot's of information, the key to this
question is the fact is that scrapbook pages today are larger than any
scanner bed I have been able to find. This new scapbooking hobby has
become more popular. The scapbook page is a square ~13.5" (don't hold
me to that)so it is impossible to use a 11.5" x 17" scanner to capture
it. I am looking forward to seeing if you can find a solution to this
problem.
Andy

After spending 250 hours and including the efforts of 15 family
members to create my grandfather's 85th birthday gift - a Heritage
Album - I too wanted to make a copy for myself and all family members!
I made well over a dozen phone calls to the "kinko's, copymax, etc. of
the world" but either they could not accommodate my 12x12 size or they
were just way too expensive.

I have enjoyed creating albums for my family and have looked for ways
to share them with out of state and out of country relatives. After
much research on equipment, software and customer needs, I started my
own business to help others with this same situation. I love what I do
and feel great knowing that others have a peace of mind in the event
something happens to their albums or if they want to share them with
others.

I help individuals protect their memories for future generations to
enjoy! Whether it is scrapbooks/albums, individual photographs,
children's artwork or other items, I scan each item/page individually
on my 12x17 scanner to capture the entire image without "stitching". I
save in high-resolution and low-resolution files. I also create a
beautiful 3D page flipping slideshow set to music, which you see an
example of on my website www.scanyourmemory.com. I save all of this on
CD or DVD and make as many copies that you need for all of those
family members and friends.

I hope this has helped!
Sandy

andy2205-ga, you can use a regular size scanner to scan a 12x12
scrapbook page.  You simply "stitch" two scan together.  Here is a
site that demonstrates:

http://www.ukscrappers.co.uk/personal/stitch/

I have a great scanner, the Mustek ScanExpress A3 USB, that scans at
nearly 12x12. It is close enough that I successfully scan my 12" x 12"
scrapbooking pages (which are the standard size) all of the time. This
scanner only cost me about $140 at the time of purchase.  The quality
of the scans are good enough that I use it almost daily as I scan
layouts for samples for my my business, Scrap Girls
(http://www.scrapgirls.com). Please feel free to go to the site and
poke around to see what the quality of the scans are like.

I would highly recommend it this scanner to everyone.


If your book happens to be larger than the standard 12x12, you may
find that your only remaining solution would be to have the pages
photographed.

I would also like to add that many scrapbookers are now finding that
even if they create their original pages at 12x12, they scan them in
and then print them out at 8" x 8" on photo paper for duplication for
family members. The quality is excellent, a large format printer is
not required, and yet the printing is large enough that all of the
details and journaling entries can be clearly viewed.

Ro