Do you have hundreds or thousands of photos sitting in shoe boxes, closets, attics, and old photo albums? Not only do they take up a lot of space, but physical family photos are prone to water, light, and heat damage, which is why it’s a good idea to seek the help of a bulk photo scanning service to turn them into digital copies that will last forever.
Capture has been digitizing memories for over 20 years and it’s our goal to help you preserve your memories. That’s why we put together this guide to the top professional photo scanning services so you can make the right choice for your photos.
Keep reading to learn about bulk photo scanning services, what to look for, and different pros and cons of the top options including cost, speed, quality, customer service, and more.
Jump to:
- Understanding Bulk Photo Scanning Services
- Top Bulk Photo Scanning Options Reviewed
- How to Choose the Right Service for You
Understanding Bulk Photo Scanning Services
Photo scanning services will turn your original photo prints into digital copies. Many of them will also scan negatives and photo slides. Bulk photo scanning services are able to handle large orders, so you can send all your photos to them at once to have them scanned, digitized, and shipped back to you.
Not only do bulk orders save you time and money, but digital copies offer several advantages. First, unlike physical photos, you can share digital photos on social media and email. Additionally, digital copies are preserved forever, which means even if the original physical photos get water damage, start fading, or get lost, you have precious memories.
Unfortunately, not all digitizing services offer high-quality scanned images or above-and-beyond support, which is why it’s essential that you choose one of the best companies for high-volume photo digitization. To do so, there are a few factors you should keep in mind.
First, make sure they can handle your bulk order without it taking months before you get your digital copies and original family photos back. Some companies offer fast turnaround times regardless of whether you send a few photos or an entire box.
Second, compare the costs between different options, because the pricing structure can vary greatly from one to another. You should also make sure the pricing is the same for print photo, slides, and 35mm negativs.
Finally, check out customer reviews, photo quality, and extra services that some options offer when turning your old photos into digital images.
Top Bulk Photo Scanning Options Reviewed
Now that you know what to look for in a bulk image scanning service, let’s check out some of the best photo scanning service options that you should consider, what makes them good, and what might make you consider another option.
Capture
Capture offers over 20 years of experience scanning family memories into digital format and our state-of-the-art facilities not only ensure the highest quality results but monitor your precious memories through every hand to ensure they are never lost or damaged.
We’re also the trusted mass photo digitization company for major brands like Costco, Walmart, CVS, and Sam’s Club as well as a great photo scanning alternative to Costco. We can scan photo prints and Polaroid pictures as well as Super 35 mm, 110/220, 126, 127, and 127 Superslide photo slides and 35 mm, APS film, 110 film, 110/220 film, 126 Instamatic film, and large negatives.
Not only that, but we offer glare removal, professional cropping, and color correction for all scanned images and all orders regardless of size within 30 days.
Plus, we offer the first-ever touchless photo album scanning service, which means you can send us your photo albums and we’ll scan the individual photos without anyone ever needing to remove them. This ensures the highest quality scans without risk of smudges or damage.
Finally, our prices start at a competitive $29.99 for the first 50 photos, slides, or negatives. Then, for bulk orders beyond 50 images, we only charge $0.50 each. Then, we can create a USB flash drive copy or DVD copy for you.
We also digitize VHS tapes and other videotapes, Super 8 film reels, and more. No wonder customers say things like, “Capture’s conversion of some old 35-mm slides exceeded my expectations” or “Great price, easy instructions, fast turnaround.”
ScanCafe
ScanCafe has been around for more than 15 years and has scanned over 150 million memories, which means they can handle bulk orders without compromising high quality. Their scanning process is very good and will deliver digital memories in 4 to 6 weeks.
When you compare ScanCafe vs Capture, there are some distinct differences, including the accepted formats because ScanCafe only accepts print photos, 35mm and APS negatives, and 35mm color slides. Additionally, you will have to pay an extra monthly fee for private cloud storage.
One of the greatest aspects of ScanCafe, though, is their photo restoration services. While you will have to pay extra (around $3 for each high-resolution image), they will restore the photo with Digital ICE digital image correction and enhancement to create higher quality JPEG files.
Their pricing is decent as well, starting at $0.44 per scanned image and they have lots of good reviews, but their Better Business Bureau F rating is a concern. ScanCafe customers praise quality scans and helpful customer service. Some concerns include having to ship memories all the way to India for processing and missed photos with bulk orders.
Still, they made our list of the top brands for a reason: they have been around a long time and offer great prices for fast photo scanning services.
ScanMyPhotos
ScanMyPhotos is one of the oldest photo scanning services, being founded in 1990. Not only do they offer photo scanning, slide scanning, and negative scanning, but they also offer photo restoration services. Plus, unlike ScanCafe, they promise all photos will be scanned in the USA (similar to Capture).
Their photo restoration services are exceptional but are also very expensive starting at $45.50 for a single restoration. Still, they can perform retouching, crop images, remove objects, and even colorize black and white photos.
As far as their typical photo scanning services are concerned, they are extremely well-priced starting at 13 cents per scan, without bulk orders of around 1,800 or 11,000 photos available for $240 and $995 respectively. They can scan at 72, 150, 300, or 600 DPI.
Turnaround time is also fast, getting small orders done in 5-10 business days. That being said, bulk orders can take longer, unlike Capture which always promises 30 days or less.
As far as reviews go, they are mixed with many people praising all the things we’ve mentioned above as well as great customer support. However, negative reviews condemn the complex ordering and checkout process, hidden charges, and even one reviewer thought they could get better results with their own photo scanner.
LegacyBox
If you’re wondering, “What is LegacyBox?” they are a company that manages Kodak Digitizing Box and offers shipping boxes so you can easily ship your bulk photo orders for scanning. They can scan print photos, 35 mm negatives, and 35mm/126 slides.
While their slow turnaround time of 12 weeks might be a concern if you need to create a scrapbook or photo gift, the digital files are generally good quality. Plus, all you have to do is ship a box and they do the rest.
The simplicity of shipping and easy-to-use website is great, but the biggest downside is the price, especially if you need cost-effective scanning services for large orders. For a box of 50 photos, you’ll pay $65.98, but for bulk orders you could pay $599.68 or even more.
For example, when you compare pricing for LegacyBox vs Capture, you’ll find that you can save as much as $300 less for 500 photos. Even worse, that doesn’t include a USB thumb drive, DVD, or even access to the cloud storage like Capture includes free with every order.
Still, many LegacyBox reviews praise the convenience of the process and the high-quality results. However, there are also lots of LegacyBox complaints including lost media or photos, dreadfully long turnaround times, and poor customer service.
Despite the lengthy turnaround time and expensive services, they are still one of the top choices because of the convenience and high-quality results. However, if you want to save time and money, they might not be the best choice for quality photo scans in bulk.
To select the best service for large-scale image conversion, there are a few factors that you should consider. First, consider the cost, especially as it relates to your order size. Many services offer pricing that incentivizes high-quantity orders, so that’s something to check as well.
If you have an extremely large order, then you also want to make sure it will not change the turnaround time. Some businesses will take longer with bulk photo scanning services. You should also think about the quality of digital photo archiving solutions. Is the resolution good, according to the website as well as reviews?
Finally, do they offer additional services that you might want, like a value kit for a discount, photo restoration, color correction, or anything else? Consider how you want your digital photos delivered as well. Many only offer upload to Google Drive or another cloud service, but other conversion services will include a hard drive, USB flash drive, or DVD copies.
Conclusion
A bulk photo scanning service can turn your physical photos, negatives, and slides into eternal digital memories. While there are plenty to choose from, some like ScanCafe offer photo restoration while LegacyBox focuses on convenience.
We’re likely biased, but we believe that Capture is the best professional photo scanning service. Regardless of the size of your order, we offer efficient photo digitizing that delivers your order in 30 days or less. Plus, your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed or we’ll process your order again for free. Click here to start your first bulk order today!
