Boxes Full of Memories

For the last few years, as Scott and I have traveled to family history conferences around the country with Family Photoloom, we’ve talked to hundreds, maybe thousands, of people about their family history pictures. We’ve learned that one of the biggest challenges folks face is getting their photos and documents digitized. Some don’t know the first thing about how to scan photos, but most simply lack the time or resources. Many note that they are looking for someone they can trust to do the job professionally, but are reluctant to mail their priceless memories across the country, or, heaven forbid, halfway around the world.

Enter iPreserve. We were first introduced to iPreserve when we met McKay Murdock, the manager of the St. George iPreserve, at the St. George Family History Expo last March. As he explained to us, iPreserve is a national chain of independently owned franchises, dedicated to digitizing family history.

iPreserve is a localized service, so there is no need to mail anything anywhere.  They come to you.  They sit down with you, explain your digitizing options for whatever media you have, and take the time to find out exactly what you want done. Then they convert everything onto DVD or CD, either in your home or in their labs.  They have the most awesome equipment for doing the best possible job, too.

It took Scott about a minute (and me a minute more) to decide that iPreserve was the answer we’d been looking for.  Within the month, we had made the decision to expand the scope of Photoloom LLC – and signed the papers to purchase the first iPreserve franchise in the Pacific Northwest (which we ingeniously named…get ready….iPreserve NW).

We are really excited about this new adventure!   iPreserve dovetails perfectly with Family Photoloom, and provides a solid, viable solution to an important, but often overwhelming problem facing family historians – or anyone really – who has media that predates the digital world. (Isn’t that just about everyone?)

We’ve always been in the business of preserving memories. Now we have a practical way to address that process from start to finish. We knew going into this venture that it would be rewarding, and though our iPreserve franchise has only been up and running for a short while, it’s already clear that even we underestimated both the need and the rewards of such a service.

It seems like the moment I broach the subject with someone, a misty look will inevitably cross their face, and then they’ll say something like, “I’ve got this box of slides that used to belong to my Dad…” or “I have all these old movies in a box in the basement…”

Just yesterday, I had that experience myself.  I watched an 8mm movie of my seven-year old self from Christmas 1970.  I’ve never seen it before – I guess it got tucked away right after being developed, and it didn’t see light of day again until Scott converted it. It has the best footage of my cat, Shelia, on it.  And a moment where my Mom is really, truly happy.  That probably doesn’t mean much to you, but it means a lot to me.

And that’s the thing – these memories, they are precious reminders of a life well-lived. All people want to do is see them again, and save them for their families. We do that for them – both iPreserve NW and Family Photoloom – and it’s great.  I couldn’t ask for more.

If you live in the Portland area and would like to contact us about converting your media, please contact us at (503) 628-2228, or visit our iPreserveNW Facebook page and leave us a message.   Or check out the iPreserve website to find a location near you.

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Book Review: "Digitizing Your Family History"

Digitizing Your Family History
By Rhonda R. McClure (Family Tree Books, 2004)

In her introductory acknowledgment, author Rhonda McClure invites the reader to “Remember to grasp technology.”

This resonates well. Computers have revolutionized genealogy research, and in this excellent guide, McClure extends the boundaries of this revolution to encompass the larger circle of family history.

Digitizing Your Family History offers an easy, interesting read; McClure weaves relateable personal narrative and relevant technical information, and the reader receives an education and appreciation for the way things used to be (and how far things have come) while getting up to speed on the latest technology.

Beginning with a chapter focusing on the new horizons that digitizing offers to the family historian, this practical how-to reference provides a good introduction to image editing, working with vintage photos, and digitizing audio and video tapes. Chapters are logically sequenced, and well thought out icons in the margins call attention to tips, techniques, and online resources.
Scanning photos, paper documents, slides, and negatives are covered in great detail, and an entire chapter is dedicated to helping the reader choose the scanner or digital camera that is optimal for his needs. Another chapter focuses on the “Imaging Road Warrior,” and provides all the essential information needed for digitally preserving history on the road.

A highly-experienced genealogy researcher, McClure takes pains to emphasize the importance of keeping research journals, and offers practical advice for doing this with the tools at hand. She also addresses the challenges of organizing, printing, and sharing digital family history, and provides insightful tips and advice for meeting those challenges. All in all, Digitizing Your Family History is an excellent choice, particularly for beginning and intermediate “Digital Family Historians.”

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No More Fuzzy Faces, Part 2

Digital Pictures 101: Part 2 – Compression

Awhile back, we explored “resolution” in digital imaging, and discussed tips on how to choose optimal scanning resolution. We also identified the problem that optimal scanning presents, especially in the case of creating a digital archive: image files can be huge – and can easily fill up your hard drive. And although hard drives are getting larger and cheaper every day, the limiting factor might be your backup media – which in this day and age tends to be CD’s DVD’s or online internet backups. Image compression can significantly reduce this burden. As the name suggests, “compression” technology results in smaller file sizes. There are two major types of compression: Lossless and Lossy:

LOSSLESS compression (PNG, TIFF, BMP file formats)

• Reduces file size with no loss in image quality.
• Does not compress to as small a file size as lossy. (See Table)
• Use when archiving and editing images.

LOSSY compression (JPG or JPEG file formats)

• Reduces files size with some loss of image quality.
• Allows for variable levels of quality (compression) to be
• selected by the user.
• Use when sharing images.

Popular Digital Image File Formats

• JPG or JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group. Most digital cameras use this by default. Lossy compression.
• TIFF – Tagged Image File Format. This flexible image format allows for many color depths, and can use Lossless or Lossy compression
• PNG – Portable Network Graphics. Handles 24-bit (true) color, Lossless compression.
• BMP – Windows bitmap. Not compressed.

The following MB Comparison Shart is based on a sample image that is 5400×3600 pixels:
The main point to take away from all this is that JPG (pronounced jay-peg) is simply amazing at compressing file sizes with very little loss in image quality. This is especially true when scanning images at very high resolution (300 dpi or higher) and saving files with high quality settings (about 90% of the maximum setting). JPG compression allows you to store and share hundreds of high quality images on a CD instead of dozens.

In these examples, the three cropped images above, cropped from the original, shown are (1) Low-Quality JPG, (2) a High-Quality JPG, and (3) TIFF file (no compression).

Another factor to consider is color depth. Color depth is the number of bits (or bytes) per pixel. More bits per pixel result in more available colors in the final output. Color depth also effects file size, so pay attention to scanner settings.

Generally an uncompressed image will be 1/3 the file size if it is scanned in 8-bit per pixel gray scale instead of True Color— a good thing to remember if you are scanning a lot of documents or black and white photographs and need to save hard drive space.

• Typewritten or handwritten documents should be scanned with 8-bit per pixel gray scale.
• Black and white photographs should be scanned with 8-bit per pixel gray scale unless you want to preserve the subtle sepia or yellowing; then choose True Color.
• All other color photographs or color documents should be scanned using True Color.

Doing the right thing with image compression:

• Archive using lossless compression. (Please!)
• Experiment before picking a compression: Zoom way in to your compressed files to see how the lossy-compression is effecting the quality.
• Choose a compression that allows your project to fit on the media provided.
• Share excellent quality copies using compressed files.
• Use 8-bit gray scale color depth for documents and black and white photographs to save disk space.

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No More Fuzzy Faces, Part 1

Digital Pictures 101: Scanning Resolution

Do you have old family photographs that you’d like to bring into the 21st Century? Imagine the fun and excitement that would come from being able to share such treasures with your family, using today’s digital computer tools and networks.

To do this, you’ll need a scanner. But fear not; these days, a good quality scanner can be had for as little as $100. (This is fantastic, given that my first scanner, purchased in 1995, cost $1000.00!)

In order to use your scanner, you’ll need to understand “resolution,” and you’re in luck, because that’s what this installment of Digital Pictures 101 is all about.

Images scanned at low resolution (like the one on the left) often appear relatively clear and crisp when viewed as very small images or on a computer screen. Unfortunately, things aren’t always as they seem.

The reality is that printing images that have been scanned at such low resolutions will result in fuzzy faces and much frustration—print out a 5×7 copy of the photo above and all you’ll get is a sea of little gray squares (like the large image above).

So what is the best resolution to use for scanning family photographs?

Here’s a simple rule of thumb — if you are scanning an image to make a same-size printed copy of that image, scan it at 300 dots per inch (dpi). However, beyond same-sized copies, determining optimal scanning resolution gets a lot more complicated. One trick is to have in mind the final device or medium that will display your image. (See Table 1, below)

Table 1 – Suggested Resolution based on Final Destination

This works great when you wish to reproduce the item you are scanning at about the same size as the original being scanned. However, it all falls apart when you scan a tiny picture that you wish to display much larger. However, a better way of choosing the correct resolution is to have a target uncompressed file size in mind.

I like to think of my final destination medium as a storage device. Do I plan to view the image on a still TV, a computer screen, or a high-definition screen? Is the largest image I plan to print 5×7, or will I be printing a 10×14? And yes, a piece of paper is a storage medium—it holds 19 MB of color information at 300 dots per inch. Take a look at the following table:

Table 2 – Suggested Resolution Based on File Size of Popular Media*

It’s ironic that just when we’re starting to get used to the metric system, where “kilo” means 1,000, and “mega” means 1,000,000, those computer geniuses/ hackers/ nerds go and turn everything upside down!

After looking over the file size requirements listed in Table 2, you may be thinking, “Are you crazy? If I scan my photographs at the high resolutions that are needed to produce quality print images, it’s going to take up a huge amount of memory space on my computer! Where am I going to store all that image data?”

The first part of the answer is compression — which greatly reduces the amount of space needed to store a high resolution picture, albeit at some cost to quality. Compression will be the subject of the next installment of Digital Pictures 101.

The second part of the answer to the question of where to store all that image data is — Family Photoloom™ of course — the best place on the Internet to store and share your photo-history!

Coming Soon: Digital Pictures 101: Compression — A brief comparison of file types (TIFF, BMP, JPEG, and GIF); tips on scanning documents, including using digital cameras.

* Math Wiz Notes for Table 2
• It takes 3 bytes to store a color pixel (one byte for each of red, green, blue).
• There are 1024 bytes in a KB (read Kilobyte)
• There are 1,048,576 (1024×1024) bytes in a MB (read Megabyte)
• And a Gigabyte? 1GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes! (1024x1024x1024)
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Excerpted from “No More Fuzzy Faces: The Secrets of Digitizing Family History”, originally presented by Scott Huskey at the BYU Family History and Genealogy Conference, Provo, Utah, March 2008.

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