


ScanDigital tries to simplify the ordering process by asking you to make a number of binary decisions via friendly radio buttons. That said, I did notice some minor gunk (that’s the technical term) on the slides that I would have expected the service’s Digital ICE noise- and scratch-removal process to eliminate during scanning. The color rendition is also superb, with natural and realistic colors throughout. There’s significantly more detail to work with. I took advantage of DigMyPics’ 4000 dpi scanning option for slides and negatives, and the higher resolution is evident when zooming and cropping the images. I suspect they’d pack a large volume of photos differently. When returning my images, DigMyPics carefully packed the slides, negatives, and prints in three separate zip-lock bags, but the whole order came in a soft FedEx envelope rather than a rigid box. All in all, DigMyPics turned out to be quite costly.

DigMyPics charges you $8 for each CD or DVD onto which your images are burned, while the other services in this roundup throw those in at no additional cost. If you choose the highest-resolution output available, your order is likely to become quite pricey. You also don’t get any indication of what the shipping will cost prior to ordering. The order form is a bit overwhelming, which means you’ll probably need to fill it out for the less technically inclined photographers in your family. GoPhoto doesn’t insist that you organize your photos in any particular way you can even send your slides still loaded in trays or carousels.ĭespite all that, DigMyPics is rough around the edges. Don’t worry about Draconian shipping rules, either. You review your images online, select the ones you want to keep, and then pay when the order is ready to be returned. GoPhoto is somewhat unique in that you don’t pay for anything until the order is complete. If you’re sending hundreds or thousands of slides, negatives, and prints, the cost of each scan adds up, and the shipping costs become relatively insignificant in comparison. When you need just nine images scanned, as we did for our testing, the lion’s share of the expense will be in shipping. Keep in mind that our quoted shipping costs are a bit misleading. As with most of these services, you print the outgoing label as part of the ordering process. Shipping charges are a flat fee of $20 per order for a round trip, regardless of how many images are in your order. That’s about average in terms of price, but slides and negatives are scanned at 2000 dpi, which is the lowest maximum resolution of all these services. GoPhoto, for example, charges 44 cents per image. (For very large orders, you can also have your photos delivered on a hard drive.) I was also disappointed that all the images arrived in one folder instead of separate locations for slides, negatives, and prints. We can only assume that if your order includes 1000 slides, they’d pack the box with more care. While ScanCafe returned the order in a rigid box packed with foam, the original slides and prints were loose. Overall, ScanCafe took the prize for the best image quality. One print in particular, a 1990-vintage 3-by-5 print of a Christmas tree that was originally processed to look more brown than green, popped with natural color. Any other concerns disappeared when I reviewed the scanned images: ScanCafe did a superb job with breathing new life into old slides, negatives, and prints, thanks to excellent color adjustments and tasteful saturation.
