The Photo Archival Company | Frequently Asked Questions

	General FAQ Do you offer gift certificates? What is your copyright policy? Is my material confidential? Are you a member of the Better Business Bureau? 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/NegativeFAQ What does DPI or resolution mean? What format are my digitized photos returned in?

	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. We cannot process copyrighted materials.

	Do you offer gift certificates?
	Yes. We do provide gift cards in various denominations. These make great gifts for parents, friends, teachers and more. They come in a stylish envelope for best presentation.

	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 insurance and a shipping number to track your shipment's progress.

	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". 300 DPI means there are 300 small points of detail in once square 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.

	Are you a member of the Better Business Bureau?
	The Bureau is a fine organization to be sure. Membership for a company of our size would run hundreds of dollars per month. Companies do not have to be a member of the bureau to have a compliant filed against them. Our record is impeccable. It is impeccable on our own accord; we are an upstanding organization because we hold ourselves to a higher standard. Our latest satisfaction survey indicated about 98% of our prior customers were totally satisfied with our product and service.

	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 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.