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 digitising 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. 

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, digitised, 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 digitising 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 digitisation. 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, photo albums and slides. 

Finally, check out customer reviews, photo quality, and extra services that some options offer when turning your old photos into digital images. 

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 ensure your precious memories are never lost or damaged. 

With more than 1 billion users worldwide, Google Photos has become the most widely-used and popular cloud-based photo and video storage and sharing app. We’re also one of the partner with Google Photos. We can scan photo prints and Polaroid pictures as well as Super 35 mm, 110/220, 126, 127, and 127 Superslide photo slides. 

Not only that, but we offer glare removal, professional cropping, and colour correction for all scanned images and all orders regardless of size within 28 days. 

Plus, we offer the first-ever touchless photo album scanning service, which allows us to digitise photos without removing them from the album. This ensures the highest quality scans without risk of smudges or damage. 

Regardless of the photo size, we charge HK$2.5 per photo. Each order can choose between USB flash drive or Google Photos cloud as the output format.

In addition to photo digitisation, we can also digitise VHS tapes and other formats of videotapes.

Fotomax

Fotomax, with over 40 years of establishment and more than 50 branches across Hong Kong, provides convenience to local residents. While Fotomax specialises in printing physical photos and creating personalised products, they also offer photo scanning services. The turnaround time for their scanning process depends on the quantity of photos.

When you compare Fotomax with Capture, several differences stand out, notably in the accepted formats. Fotomax only accepts print photos within the A3 size range (29.7cm x 42cm), whereas Capture accepts photo sizes up to 55cm x 35cm.

One significant concern is the pricing for photo digitization. Fotomax's pricing is relatively high, starting at HK$45 per photo without any colour correction service. They require a minimum order of 3 photos, which will be digitised into JPEG files.

However, despite these pricing concerns, Fotomax remains a top choice due to its long-standing presence and excellent services and products offered to the local community.

Hong Kong Recording Studio

Hong Kong Recording Studio not only offers photo scanning, slide scanning, and negative scanning services, but they also provide exceptional photo restoration services. However, these restoration services come at a steep price, starting at HK$250 for a 30-minute restoration session. Nonetheless, they excel in retouching.

In terms of their standard photo scanning services, they offer competitive pricing starting at HK$2.5 per photo. They provide scanning at 300, 600, or 1200 DPI.

Their turnaround time is impressive, with small orders completed within a few business days. However, bulk orders may take longer compared to Capture.

Regarding reviews, there are not many available specifically related to photo digitisation services.

Good Time Photo Services

Good Time Photo Services was established in 2012, offering a discreet and high-quality professional photo scanning service for photos, negatives, and slides. 

However, the main drawback lies in pricing and the time it takes to complete the scanning process, especially for customers with large orders. For instance, a box of 1000 photos incurs a fee of HK$5000 without bulk ordering. Only orders exceeding HK$10000 are eligible for a 5% discount. Additionally, they offer professional photo restoration, editing, and other related scanning services, but these come with additional charges. The turnaround time is unknown on their website.

When comparing pricing between Good Time Photo Services and Capture, customers may find significant savings of up to HK$2500 for 1000 photos with Capture. Good Time Photo Services only provides USB flash drive as the output format for storing photos. 

Moreover, there are specific requirements before digitising photos, such as removing photos from albums, ensuring they all face the same direction, and grouping photos in a bag for handling together. In contrast, Capture does not require customers to remove photos from albums to prevent any potential damage.

Despite the expensive services, they are still one of the top choices because of the high-quality results. However, for customers seeking to save both time and money, they may not be the optimal choice for bulk photo scans.

To select the best service for large-scale image digitisation, 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 incentivises 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, colour 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. 

A bulk photo scanning service can turn your physical photos, photo albums, and slides into eternal digital memories. While there are plenty to choose from, some like Good Time Photo Services offer photo restoration while Fotomax 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 digitise the photos within 28 days. Plus, your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed or we’ll process your order again for free. Click here to start your first bulk order today!