FotoBridge | Digitizing Photos Blog

Philadelphia University is celebrating 125 years of innovation in higher eduction this year.  And never has it's ambition to lead been more apparent then today. The university has  rapidly positioned itself to demonstrate the contemporary model for professional education well into the 21st century.  President Dr. Stephen Spinelli, armed with a new vision and strategic plan, is leading a top-notch team and student community into a promising future for the institution.

The year-long celebration makes it an exciting time to visit the beautiful, park-like campus in the city of brotherly love. It's also a significant milestone that demands reflection and tribute to the school's richly diverse heritage. As part of this significant commemoration, the university has been eagerly reclaiming and preparing a vast treasure of important archives and extraordinary content dating back to the 1880s.

As part of these efforts, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations engaged FotoBridge to digitally convert and unlock fovever over 17,000 pages containing more than 70,000 images from yearbooks dating back to 1927. The project included preparing legacy yearbooks for digital capture, creating full-resolution, reusable JPEG images, fully searchable pdfs and optimized, searchable digital yearbook portfolios. The effort also included off-site backup and recovery services for digital content.

EXPIRED- Now through April 28th is the time to save big time!

12% OFF All Photo Prints, Slides, and Negatives Scanning Packages including options and upgrades. Simply enter coupon code AAPR12

15% OFF Gift Cards for Moms, Graduates, and those special spring giving occasions. Enter coupon code GAPR15

20% OFF MemoryMiner Award-Winning digital story telling software (for Mac users only) with purchase of any FotoBridge Scanning Package by deadline. (request coupon  in online order comments field)

Not ready to send your photo collection quite yet? No problem! Lock in the savings by entering your order online before the deadline and send your photos anytime up to 90 days later.

Preparing and organizing your Photo Prints for shipment to FotoBridge is simple and straight forward.

Gather and organize photos into groups of 100 to 200 photos. Generally, a stack of 100 photo prints will be about one inch high.  If possible, group similar size photos in the same group.  While this is suggested to provide maximum protection against the possibility of corners bending during shipment - it is not required.  Adding stiff cardboard together with larger prints is an alternative.

Each group of photos should be placed in a plastic utility bag and sealed.  Original photographic prints may range in size from 2 in. x 2.5 in. to 8.5 in. x 12 in. and must be free of any backing or mounting materials (original photographic paper only).  Pack tightly in larger box(es) while protecting from moisture with a single layer of bubble wrap or plastic inside the shipping box and additional packing material as necessary to protect during shipment.  Please DO NOT use packing peanuts as they will introduce dust into our dust-free environment.

If maintaining sequence is required, be sure each group is arranged so that the top is the first photo and each group is tagged with a sequence scheme (e.g. A, B, C.. 1,2,3, etc).  You may further organize your collection by placing a titled index card, as the first of a group (1 for every 100 photos will not be counted against your scan total quantity).  The sequence and groups, along with the title index cards (e.g. "1975 Grand Canyon Trip", "50th Anniversary Party", etc.) will provide organization by position.  Be sure to request we maintain order in your online order comments field.  There are no restrictions on the JPEG image files you receive from FotoBridge - you can duplicate, edit, reorganize, folder, tag etc. once the files are copied to a computer.  See here for additional information about files.  Also see here for file size and storage guidelines.

(Opportunities Philadelphia Metro/southern New Jersey based, marketing northeast USA)

• Do you live Photography and Digital Imaging?

• Are you a "digital citizen" that really "gets" it when things move online?

• Can you distill meaning from a firehose of data, when few can?

• Do you have an ever expanding web reach, getting things done with social media?

• Are you a writer, journalist or digital content creator that lives to produce and share engaging content?

Got at least 3 items covered?  Read on... there is more!

More because where we are going, at the speed we are moving requires it.

• Do you have the energy and drive to move forward at 90mph, when others are happy to go 55mph?

• Can you energize a team to deliver for your cause and accept responsibility for outcomes?

• Are you a supportive, positive, competitive type?

• Are you an executer that understands the difference between activity and productivity?

Still reading? OK, then if have the ambition to join a fast-moving startup company because you can contribute - contact us, we need you.

EMail us at Careers@FotoBridge.com

Positions:

Operations (Managers, Specialists, Associates)

- Capture & Processing

- Quality Assurance

- Fufillment

Marketing (Manager, Specialist)

- PR, Branding, content creation

- Online integrated campaign execution

- Social Media & EMail marketing

CVs, resumes, links received will be retained for 6 months. FotoBridge response limited to indications of FotoBridge interest.

Preparing and packaging 35mm Slides for shipment to FotoBridge can be simple and fast.

If you are sending slides in carousels, keep in the original boxes and pack tightly in larger boxes while protecting from moisture with a single layer of bubble wrap or plastic inside the shipping box. See here for additional information about our Carousel & Tray Service and be sure to select this option when placing your order online.

Removing slides from carousels, trays, slides pages and cartridges allows for effective  organization, safety and efficient shipping. But prior to packing, we suggest you determine if image file sequence and ordering are important on the media (DVD/CD/Mobile Drive, etc.) you receive from FotoBridge. Keep in mind, once you receive your newly digital photos you can copy them to your computer, make multiple backup copies and rename, re-sort and reorganize your digital images using a variety of methods and tools (see here for additional info on files).

If initial image sequence  is important, organize slides in groups of 50 to 100 slides and assign a value and/or a short description to each group. We suggest the values and descriptions you select naturally sort to the order you desire. For groups of 50 or more slides, FotoBridge will create the image file name based upon the values/descriptions (25 characters or less) you assign. For example:

"01 1969 Grand Canyon 001",    "01 1969 Grand Canyon 002", ..........    "01 1969 Grand Canyon 051"

Tagging groups and indicating a start slide (or "top") for each group is all that's required. Groups can be bundled with rubber bands and placed in plastic bags or loosely placed in plastic bags with a tag per bag. Empty foil or wrap cartons can also be used to easily sequence and tag slides. Sequencing and file naming requires documenting the request in your online order comments field when placing your order online.

50 FREE Slide Scans with Slides 1000 Package or larger for the month of April, ending April 30 (11:59PM PT). Go to the FotoBridge Facebook page to become a fan and then enter your name, as it appears on Facebook, and “April Promotion” in your online order comments placed prior to midnight April 30, 2010.

100 FREE Print Scans with Print 2000 Package or larger  for the month of April  ending April (11:59PM PT). Go to the FotoBridge Facebook page to become a fan and then enter your name, as it appears on Facebook, and “April Promotion” in your online order comments placed prior to midnight April 30, 2010.

Call it the biggest photo-op ever or the largest gathering of Photography and Imaging Industry professionals on earth, PMA 2010 has come and gone. The 86th annual event included massive trade show floor displays, high-caliber educational sessions with 300 speakers and the opportunity to connect with industry leaders. The Photography Marketing Association (PMA) is not one organization, but a community of many Imaging Associations.

The rapid pace of transforming change, new technologies and social engagement focused this years product announcements, sessions and discussion on new ways of doing business, better products and  innovative services. Especially exciting for FotoBridge, and many other organizations, was the increased awareness and discussion about the opportunities in the areas of image preservation, permanence and sharing of memories. Clearly transforming traditional legacy media to digital is vital for many in the Photography and Imaging Industry. Not only does conversion unlock  highly-valued personal content for a huge swath of commercial products and services - but most critically, facilitates essential preservation for generations to come.

"IDC believes that consumers' interest in converting their photo prints to digital will rise as their digital experience expands" said Ron Glaz, IDC Program Director, Worldwide Digital Imaging Solutions and Services.

PMA provided the perfect backdrop for the charter meeting of a core group of imaging professionals and organizations dedicated to preservation and permanence of visual and other forms of captured information. The group, led by Lasting Links CEO Robert Dunford, worked to refine the groups primary mission and strategies and included representation from the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), Association of Personal Historians (APH), International Imaging Industry Association (I3A),  and Alinari (the world's oldest photographic archive).  Also participating were representatives from commercial ventures focused on digital conversion services and products. These were Kodak, FotoBridge, ScanDigital, Digital Pickle, iMemories, and Creative Memories.

I3A's Consumer Photo Preservation Group also conducted a workshop to gain input and feedback for it's updated SaveMyMemories.org online resource site. The site is a rich resource for anyone with digital images and is the place to discover and learn about new photo preservation tools, tricks and techniques.

100 FREE Slide Scans with Slides 2000 Package or larger for the month of February, ending February 28 (11:59PM PT). Go to the FotoBridge Facebook page to become a fan AND enter your name, as it appears on Facebook and “February Promotion” in your online order comments placed prior to midnight February 28, 2010.

200 FREE Print Scans with Print 3000 Package or larger  for the month of February  ending February 28 (11:59PM PT). Go to the FotoBridge Facebook page to become a fan AND enter your name, as it appears on Facebook and “February Promotion” in your online order comments placed prior to midnight February 28, 2010.

Already a FotoBridge Facebook fan? Just enter your name as it appears on Facebook and “February Promotion” in your online order comments placed prior to midnight February 28, 2010.

It's that simple.

As discussed in our previous post Image Files - Formats and Uses, JPEG image files are the most commonly used digital image format. They are universally compatible with just about every usage and storage medium imaginable, allowing for high quality photographic images at manageable sizes. Digital image files including JPEGs are often stored, transfered and used directly from today's most popular digital storage devices and mediums. These include memory cards (such as those found in cameras), memory sticks, cards, portable hard drives, internal hard drives, network storage devices, as well as DVDs and CDs.

So when converting traditional photographic prints, slides and negatives to digital - what are the factors and options impacting digital file sizes and storage requirements? Generally, image size is a result of original media size, scanning resolution (dpi or dots/pixels per inch), image content, image processing(including compression) and file type.

The tables below (one for each scan resolution) show estimates of how, on average, various prints scans will be sized and the resulting storage requirements.

Now through January 20th (11:59 PM PST), save 10 % on any Prints, Slides, or Negatives Scanning Package of $200.00 or more. Digitizing your prized photo collections has never been easier or more convenient.

Simply enter coupon code JATEN when entering your online order (prior to January 20th, 2010) and save on your entire order, savings extend to all options and upgrades.