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Photo albums tell the complete story of your family's life — but they're fragile, bulky, and impossible to share. Scan5 digitizes your albums without removing a single photo, using our overhead scanning system to preserve every image and every page layout.
Albums with photos stuck to sticky pages, bound tightly, or printed directly into the album can't safely go through a flatbed scanner. Forcing them flat risks damaging both the album and the photos. At Scan5, we use a professional overhead DSLR copy stand system that photographs album pages from above — no pressure, no risk of damage.
Our system produces high-resolution images that capture every photo on a page, along with any handwritten captions, dates, or notes your family wrote. Each album is handled with care and returned to you in the same condition we received it.
We scan magnetic/sticky-page albums (the most common and most damaging type), traditional pocket albums, bound photo books, scrapbooks, and albums where photos have been glued or taped directly to pages. If photos are removable, we'll scan them individually on a flatbed at higher resolution — producing sharper results for each photo.
You don't need to remove photos or disassemble your album before bringing it in. Just bring it as-is and we'll determine the best scanning approach for your specific album type.
We offer two approaches to album scanning, depending on your album type and how you'd like the final images delivered.
Each page of the album is captured as a single image, preserving the layout, captions, and context of every spread. Great for scrapbooks and albums with a narrative flow.
Each photo is cropped and delivered as a separate file, making it easy to share individual images. Available when photos can be safely identified and separated in the scan.
If your photos can be safely removed from the album, we'll scan each one individually on a flatbed at up to 1200 DPI — producing the highest possible quality for each image.
Old albums require special care. We never force pages open or remove photos that are adhered to pages — we work around the album's condition to get the best result safely.
If photos are stuck to sticky album pages, we scan them in place using our overhead system — no risk of tearing or damage. We'll never attempt to remove a photo that isn't clearly safe to remove.
We organize your scanned images by album and page, so your digital collection mirrors the structure of the physical album you brought us.
Once your albums are digitized, choose how you'd like to store and share your images.
From single cherished albums to entire collections spanning decades, we've helped Chicago families preserve their visual history.
Wedding albums, baby books, vacation scrapbooks — we digitize them all so your whole family can share and enjoy them, no matter where they live.
Schools, churches, businesses, and historical societies trust us to digitize their institutional photo albums with care and consistency.
We understand how personal your memories are, and we treat them with the utmost care. Your photos, tapes, and videos are always secure with us, and we never share them with third parties. Your physical items are kept safe in our climate controlled inventory room at our office building with 24/7 monitoring.
No. Bring your album as-is. We'll assess the best scanning approach when we receive it. If photos can be safely removed, we'll scan them individually for better quality. If they're stuck to the pages, we'll use our overhead scanning system.
Very common with magnetic/sticky-page albums from the 70s–90s. We scan these albums using our overhead DSLR copy stand, which photographs pages from above without any contact or pressure. We'll never attempt to forcibly remove photos that are adhered to pages.
We scan magnetic/sticky-page albums, traditional pocket albums, bound photo books, scrapbooks, and albums where photos have been glued or taped to pages. We also scan albums where the photos are printed directly into the book.
Yes. When scanning pages with our overhead system, all handwritten notes, captions, and dates that appear on the album page will be captured in the image. This preserves the full context and storytelling of your album.
Images are organized by album and by page, numbered sequentially so the digital collection mirrors the structure of the original album. You'll receive either a cloud link or a USB/hard drive with clearly labeled folders.
Drop off at our Chicago studio (4001 N Ravenswood Ave Suite 502-B), schedule a courier pickup, or ship your albums to us with a prepaid UPS label we'll provide on request. We recommend shipping albums in a rigid box with padding.
Turnaround depends on the number of albums and pages. Most projects are completed within one to two weeks. Contact us with a description of your collection for a more specific estimate.
Your family's history deserves to be shared. Let Scan5 turn your albums into a digital collection everyone can enjoy.
