Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need this service? Does this question really need an answer? These are photos that can not be replaced in most cases. By making digital images of your old photos it prevents loss against fire, floods or other nature disasters. But there are many other reasons to transfer your old photos. Digitals images wont ever become degraded over the years such as paper photos, slides and negatives. Digital images allow for easy family sharing. Send them in an email to family members all over the world. Send them to a photo sharing site so everyone in your family can enjoy them. Surprise family members at your next get together with a DVD slideshow. Make multiple prints over and over without fear of loss of quality.

Stuff WE WILL NOT scan - butterflyimaging.com will not knowingly scan any copyrighted material without written consent from his rightful owner. butterflyimaging.com will not, scan or distribute  materials depicting child abuse, pornography or cruelty to animals .

Why not do this myself? That's fine too. You can go ahead and buy a scanner, DVD/CD burner, blank CD-R's and DVD-R's set it up and convert the photos, slides and negatives. Although there are more steps to it than just that. Software gets expensive. To achieve the level of quality we supply you with your going to need applications such as Adobe Photoshop to name just one. Then there's also the software that's needed to created DVD slide shows (video editing).

But is it really worth your time. money and effort to convert? We make it simple to use our services and have been in the imaging business for 9 years. Trust the true imaging pros to your most treasured memories!

What file format will I get in return? We scan all photos, slides & negatives to TIFF and then convert them to JPEG with minimal loss and full compression. Your final product will contain JPG images stored to either a CDR or DVD. We take other request please see here for more info on the formats that we can output. Talk about service!

What is need to play back my CDR or DVD? Most modern DVD players can support JPG playback if you are unsure e-mail us your make and model number and we will let you know. These type of slide shows will NOT include transitions effects, music or menus. If you would like a DVD slide show in a mpeg2 format which does include Menus, Chapters, Transition effects, Music please select it on our order form. Additional fees do apply to DVD slideshows.

Do you adjust the exposure and color correct my photo's, slides & negatives? Of course that's why your paying us. Every slide, negative, and photo is scanned individually and manually never batch feed. They are then reviewed, analyzed, and manually corrected. We will do our best to restore color balance, color saturation, brightness and contrast.

Will you clean the slides or negatives before you scan them? We will clean them manually with compressed air and a wipe it with a lint free cloth. Want to help us speed up our process? this is something that everyone can do at home before shipping your photos to us.

What DPI is best for me? We scan most photo's at 300 DPI and have printed many images from our scans. We feel this provides a terrific picture sized at 6x4. If you plan on enlarging prints you might consider using higher DPI resolutions such as 600, 1200, 2400. More on DPI can be found right here. Talk to us before hand we will guide you every step of the way. 

Where does the process take place? This is in my opinion the single most important question you can ask to ANY photo imaging company. ALL OF OUR SERVICES TAKE PLACE IN OUR BUILDING LOCATED IN NEW YORK ! We will never send your pictures to India, Mexico, Guam or any other foreign country. All of our scanning and editing takes place in our location your photos, slides and negatives will never be given to a third party for processing or editing. You might see other imaging companies on the internet offering prices 25-50% lower. Odd's are they are shipping them out of the country. And NOT using a professionally trained imaging staff.

Our services are completed by us and us only. We are highly trained Photo Imaging professionals. We are trained in some of the most popular Imaging applications. Would  you really trust your irreplaceable memories to a company that's going to ship them out of the USA? I wouldn't. Even if you choose NOT to use our services look and ask where your images are going to be converted, the answers might surprise you!

How long will this take? Our turn around time will vary at times, although because we are located here in the USA we normally turn project around in 5 business days. If your project is very large over 2000 photos we may require a few extra days. You can always view our turn around time by looking right here. If you have more questions or require next day service (other fees apply) feel free to chat with us.

How do I prepare my photo's, slides or negatives? Place the paper photo's and slides in an order that suits you best. Please number your photos or slides with a pencil on the back. Otherwise we WILL scan your photo and slides in the order in which we receive them.  Once you have the order in which you want them scanned place them in a plastic bag such as a zip lock bag. Negatives should be placed also in plastic bags. We don't suggest using things like paper clips, rubber bands or binder clips to secure your photo's and slides.

Ship your items in something secure and sturdy. The USPS, UPS & Fedex offer various sizes of envelopes and boxes that should fit your needs. If you have further questions either use the live chat button or contact us.

What is the best method to ship them? We prefer any method that supplies you with a tracking number. Again USPS, UPS & Fedex all do this.

Will my pictures be sitting on your door step in the rain? Never we are open for deliveries 8am-5pm est.

Can I drop off my order? Sure if your located in the NY area feel free to walk in. We love meeting new people.

Do you accept credit cards? Yes, we take all common credit cards. We process our credit card payments via Paypal. You do have the choice to pay via e-check although all checks must clear and can take up to 10 days to do so. Please do not mail your payment. All payments are due after the project is complete and never before. Once your order is complete we will notify you via email with an invoice. After payment has been received your order will be shipped out using either Fedex or UPS. You will then receive a tracking # via email. 

Can I see samples of some scans? Yes, here.

   Can I see a sample of a DVD slideshow? Of course feel free to go here.