The question most people ask, quite rightly so, is how long will my slide, negative, photo, cine or video digitising project take ?
The answer is going to depend on many variable as each project is different, different numbers, formats, levels of colour degradation and so on – that’s why I don’t like a prescriptive order form it is too constrictive. To answer the question ‘how long one slide will take to scan?’ is simple, about 2 minutes. To scan a negative will depend on the format but be between 2 minutes and 10 minutes. Video is transferred in real time so a 120 min tape takes 120 min to transfer. Cine film a rather horrific 2.5 seconds per frame (there are 18 frames per second on a 3 minute, 50ft film).
Of course the times do not include setting up, transfer between equipment and computers, editing and final transfer to usb.
When someone asks how long their specific project will take I look at the entire package and give an estimate as best I can. I do get it wrong and to be honest when I do get it wrong its usually been over optimism. I would rather send out a project completed to my, and your, satisfaction rather than send results neither of us will be happy with.
Anyway to give an idea of turnaround times a very small project of less than 100 slides or negatives can be scanned, edited and transferred to digital format in 2 days. For 1000 slides up to 7 working days. Remember – we edit each and every image manually adjusting colour and removing blemishes where practicable. We are proud of the product that leaves our lab.
So if you want an idea of turnaround time for your project please contact us. We can rush things through if you need pictures for presentations etc We will provide unedited images (reluctantly and only as tif files) where they are needed.
As I have said, every project is different. Each one is handled individually to provide you with the best possible results in a cost effective manner and an appropriate timeframe.
Until next time – David March 20th 2019.