- Why should I digitally preserve my photos, slides, documents, and videos?
There are so many good reasons to digitally preserve your photos, slides, documents, and videos.
We won't cite lots of statistics (even though we could) because that tends to be boring and doesn't sink in too well with a lot of people.
But just imagine how heartbroken you would feel if, by some chance, your house was engulfed in flames, swept away by a landslide, or under 10 feet of water from a flood.
Your precious family memories would be gone forever!
The fact is, disasters, both natural and man-made, happen everyday and threaten your photos, slides, documents, and videos.
While raging wildfires, 100 year floods, tornadoes and hurricanes get most of the attention when talking about disasters, a photo disaster could be as simple as a misplaced box while moving, a pipe that bursts in your bathroom, a family tiff over an estate, or a faulty light switch that catches fire.
Shoebox 911 offers protection for your photos, slides, documents, and videos from all of these unfortunate events, but it only works if you are proactive and save your memories before disaster strikes!
- Can't I scan my photos, slides, documents, and videos myself?
You certainly can scan your own items in at the same 300 or 1200 DPI that we use.
Shoebox 911, however, is designed specfically for those people that have a lot of memories to preserve.
While we can scan your 1,000 photos in a day, it would take you about 21 days without a break to do it yourself!
And don't forget that Shoebox 911 includes disaster-safe storage of your digital scans for one low price!
- What is DPI?
DPI is an acronym for 'dots per inch.'
It is a way of measuring the quality of a digital scan.
The higher the DPI, the more information you can gather about the photo.
More DPI means that you can produce larger reprints, zoom in closer without fuzziness, but it also means slower scan rates and larger file sizes.
- Should I use 300 DPI or 1200 DPI?
For most people 300 DPI will be a suitable choice.
300 DPI will allow you to reprint your photos at the same size as the original with little or no quality loss from the original photo.
1200 DPI should be selected when you would like to make enlargements of photos, or you simply want the best scan possible of your photos.
1200 DPI is usually used for digitally archiving photos.
- How will my digital scans be protected?
The digital scans of your photos will be stored on archival quality DVD(s) in two separate disaster-safe locations for the term of your Shoebox 911 agreement (5 years, 10 years, or lifetime).
This storage agreement is backed by a $5000 guarantee and will protect your precious memories for years to come!
- Will my photos be safe during shipping?
We understand that shipping your photos can be scary.
When you receive the shipping box from us, it will arrive with detailed instructions on how to pack your photos.
If you follow the directions carefully, your photos will be protected on their journey to our facility.
We use sturdy USPS approved shipping boxes, and always use delivery confirmation to give you a record of receipt.
And, as long as you package your photos properly, your package is backed by a $1000 guarantee!
- What kind of equipment do you use?
Your photos will be scanned by professional Kodak scanners and cameras.
This equipment is designed to process thousands of photos and slides and handle them with the utmost care.
Video tapes are digitally captured using professional Sony video equipment. This equipment makes your old videos look as good as possible on DVD.
- I have some fragile photos, can you preserve them?
Yes, we can! However, if a photo is extremely fragile, we insist that you ship it individually with plenty of reinforcement to protect it during transit.
Unfortunately, fragile photos that are included in the standard Shoebox 911 box that we send to you will not be protected by the $1000 shipping guarantee.
Please contact us at sales@shoebox911.com for special handling procedures.
- Can you fix photos that are torn, stained, burned or water damaged?
We can digitally scan photos that are damaged, but the scan will continue to show the defects of the original photo. If you have damaged photos, please contact us before placing your order to discuss the extent of the damage and what you should expect from our service for those photos.
- Can you colorize my black and white photos?
We cannot colorize black and white photos.
- Can you make my color photos black and white?
We can convert your photos to black and white if you prefer, however, your digital scans will not retain any color information, so it will be impossible to return the digital scan back to the original colors.
We recommend scanning all photos in color and then using photo editing software to alter as needed.
Please contact us at sales@shoebox911.com for special handling procedures.
- What do I do if my photos, slides, documents, and videos are destroyed?
As long as you maintain your disaster-safe storage agreement, you simply need to contact us at recovery@shoebox911.com and request a copy of your DVD(s).
Each DVD copy will be subject to the current copy rate listed on our site as well as the current USPS Priority Mail shipping rate.
- Why do some of my digital scans have a 'speckled' appearance?
Photos with special finishes can cause odd reflections while being scanned.
This is sometimes seen with matte finishes.
While we make every effort to limit the 'speckling,' we cannot guarantee that all photos will scan flawlessly.
- I have too many photos to fit in one box, what do I do?
Purchase another Shoebox 911 package!
Seriously, though, if you find that you have a few extra photos that don't fit, please contact us at sales@shoebox911.com.
- How can I contact you for questions, sales or service?
You can contact us by email (preferred), mail, phone or fax for any Shoebox 911 needs:
Email: sales@shoebox911.com
Mail: Shoebox911.com
Mosquito Productions
1041 109th Ave NE
Blaine, MN 55434
Phone: 763-390-5700
Fax: 763-390-0442
