General FAQ
What type of equipment is used by The Photo Archival Company™?
What is your copyright policy?
Is my material confidential?
How do I ship my material to you?
How long does it typically take you to process my order?
Where are my submitted material processed?
Is my material secure while stored in your media vault?
Do I pay sales tax?

Do you return my originals?

DVD/Video FAQ

What format are my DVDs returned in and can they be edited on my computer?
Can you combine more than one videotape onto a DVD?
Can you repair broken videotapes?
Do you support NTSC, PAL and/or SECAM conversions?


Photo/Slide/Negative FAQ
What does DPI or resolution mean?
Can you place my scanned pictures in folders on disc?
What format are my digitized photos returned in?


What type of equipment is used by The Photo Archival Company™?

The Photo Archival Company has several franchised locations operating throughout the United States according to our exacting standards.  Each franchise is operated using a uniform set of approximately 150 distinct items.  Our proprietary combination of hardware, software and workflow is essentially our confidential formula for success. 

Each day, people call us to ask how we do what we do.  Just as franchised pizza chains and cola companies won't share their secret formula, neither can we.  Thanks for respecting the investment made by existing franchises by not asking for our intellectual property.  Franchises are available in some areas, you may check for availability at Persist Media.

The Photo Archival Company is a registered trademark licensed to Persist Media, Inc.
 

Where are my submitted material processed?

We process all of your material in-house.  We realize this is your legacy.  Once received and inventoried, your material is sealed in its own container.  We have technicians whose sole job function is to image and transfer your original material.  They are only permitted to work on one container at a time.  Once imaged, your materials are sealed back up and stowed away for restoration and production services to complete your project.  Your originals remain sealed until your shipment is returned at the end of our process.   Every single audio, video and photo we have received has made it home safely. 

Our lab technicians are specially trained, wear lab clothing and most-importantly use specialized gloves so as not to contaminate your originals.  Cleanliness and organization spells efficiency.  We are a smoke free environment.

What is copyrighted material?  What is your copyright policy?

In general, a copyright is a form of protection provided to creators of original material.  Copyright owners dictate how their material is reproduced.  Copyright owners can grant permission, in written form, that allow their work to be duplicated, mimicked or reproduced.  The Photo Archival Company abides by copyright laws.

Videos and photographs are just a  few examples of original material that may be copyrighted.   If we receive material that is copyrighted, we will not process the copyrighted items.  We will send them back to you along with the portions of your order that we can legally fulfill.

Without exception, The Photo Archival Company will never process anything that is thought to be copyrighted.  As an individual, you may not authorize anyone else to duplicate or transfer a copyrighted item for you.  You may own the videotape proper, but that does not mean you own the copyright to it.

The industry and the regulators have made their position clear.  The following text is printed on most videotape shells and sometimes appears in the movie itself with current US and European notices.

Please note, we can duplicate copyrighted materials if you are the copyright owner and sign a release, which is subject to our validation.  Please consult the original author of the material if there is any doubt or seek a professional consultation.  Take comfort, we are as vigilant about protecting your privacy as we are about abiding by copyright laws.

How do I ship my material to you?

You should carefully package your materials in a sturdy, crushproof box filled with material to protect it during shipment, such as bubble wrap or shipping peanuts.  Actual photos, negatives and the like can be sealed in locking plastic storage bags.

We encourage you to ship your materials through leading shipping companies such as FedEx or  UPS.  These companies offer a shipping number to track your shipment's progress.

Click here for expert advice on packing your shipment

Do You Return My Originals (Original Materials)?

Simply, yes.  By default, we send your original material and digital material back in the same shipment.  We also offer a Dual-Ship option.  With Dual-Ship, we return your new digital material first.  When you have received that shipment and give us a green light, we will mail all of your original material back.  

We have never had a single video, film feel, slide or photograph lost or damaged in the inbound shipments to us or return shipments from us, but we do recommend you obtain a tracking number for anything mailed to us.  This is automatically given with private carriers, but you will need to opt-in on a tracking number with the USPS.

What does DPI or resolution mean?

DPI stands for "dots per inch".  600 DPI means there are 600 small points of detail in one linear inch of scanned material.  Higher DPI means higher detail, more scan processing time and a larger resulting digital file.  DPI plays no part in enhancing existing images.  It only helps preserve details that remain.

A 5x7 picture scanned at 600 DPI would create an image that is approximately 3000 pixels by 4200 pixels in size, or approximately 12 megapixels.

We scan photos at 600 DPI.   Photos larger than 8x10 are scanned at 300 DPI and slides and negatives are scanned at 3600 DPI with 48-bit color depth.

   
Can you place my scanned pictures in named folders on disc?

Absolutely. If you want your scanned pictures in specific folders, simply group your pictures together (i.e. sandwich-type bag, envelope or box) and give its container a short name.  We will name the disc folder accordingly.  In the example photo below, we would create a folder named 1999 and another one titled 1995, etc.

We will name the photos within each folder with a sequential number.

What format are my digitized photos returned in?
Your pictures are returned in JPEG (.jpg) format.  This format allows for more pictures to be stored per CD or DVD and are sufficient enough for archival and printed needs.
What format are my DVDs returned in and can they be edited on my computer?  

Want more details, click here.

We return your DVDs in the industry standard MPEG-2 format.   Just like any Hollywood movie, our DVDs may be played in your home DVD player (think DVD player for your television).   

Unlike Hollywood, we don't put copy protection on our DVDs; therefore, you may edit them with your home computer, or even make copies for yourself.

When it comes to editing our DVDs using your computer, you will need a video editing program.  Why?  For the same reason you need Microsoft Excel to open a spreadsheet file, a Web browser program to access this website or a checkbook program to balance your checkbook on your computer.

You need video editing software that supports MPEG-2 video files natively, otherwise you'll have to convert them to something your software recognizes before you can start editing, such as AVI, MPEG-4 or QuickTime.  If you wish to edit our DVD movies with your Apple (i.e. iMovie), you may need to purchase a MPEG-2 Decoder from Apple.

We don't recommend specific video editing software programs.  Some of them are basic and some are complex.  We don't want to make the wrong recommendation for your needs.

Can you combine more than one videotape onto a DVD?
Yes.   Please number your tapes 1-N and provide a written instruction sheet for us to follow.   For example, tell us to combine tapes 1,4,5 onto a single DVD in that order.

We strongly recommend that you keep the content of each produced DVD to two hours or less.

Can you repair broken videotapes?
Yes.   We charge a fee of $20 per videotape to repair it.   We can repair cracked cases, splice tape together or reattach your tape to the spindle if it came loose when it was last rewound.

The $20 fee includes one splicing if the tape has been cut.

We do not repair tapes that have been damaged beyond a cracked case or
detached as we just described.   There are likely companies that will repair flood damaged, mildewed, molded, tapes but we don't have the equipment to do that in-house.
Do you support NTSC, PAL and/or SECAM conversions?
We support all NTSC formats listed on our order page.   We can convert your PAL formats to DVD as long as they are S-VHS, VHS, VHS-C, Video8 or Hi8.  We do not currently support digital PAL formats (MiniDV, Digital8 or HDV).  We do not currently support SECAM tapes of any style.

We write to Region 1 compliant DVD players in NTSC format only.

Conversion fees are $3 per original, in addition to the transfer fee.  

How long does it typically take you to process my order?
We typically can turnaround your order within a couple business weeks.  

If you require RUSH service, please let us know and we'll make every effort to meet your request.

Is my material confidential?
Of course.  Simply stated, your personal information and materials are never disclosed to another party without your expressed written prior consent.  Our reputation and your privacy go hand-in-hand.   We have performed transfers for LA film companies, major universities, the US military, celebrities and many more.

Please do not submit copyrighted material as prior described in our copyright policy section.
Is my material secure while stored in your media vault?
Our archival service stores your processed materials in a fire-safe vault environment.  Apart from quarterly inventory audits, your actual archived media is not touched unless you have a need to recover it.
Do I pay sales tax?
We have locations in Georgia, Nebraska and Utah.  We will add appropriate sales tax if you live in one of these states.

If you don't see your answer here, please write our FAQ mailbox.  
All inquiries will be addressed.