The following testimonial is based on the first generation photo scanning system from Kodak. The KODAK Picture Saver Scanning System is the second generation and affords these benefits as well as an expanded portfolio that includes the PS410 (direct replacement for the s1220) as well as the enhanced productivity afforded by the PS810.

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Wayne Welch, President, Oregon Photo and Digital

Scanning pictures to DVDs helps customers preserve and share memories

As digital cameras became more and more prevalent, many photofinishers bemoaned the demise of their traditional film and processing business model. Digital posed a threat because it slashed film sales and, as finishers soon discovered, consumers would make far fewer prints from digital cameras. But to Wayne Welch, President of Oregon Photo and Digital in Tualatin, OR, the advent of digital photography was an exciting time. “I saw that we would be able to do with digital what we’d always done as a specialty photo retailer,” he says. “We’d offer more personalized service, greater photo expertise and higher quality than our competitors. And that’s exactly what we’ve done digitally, and our KODAK s1220 Photo Scanning System is one of the new ways that we exceed customer expectations every day.”

Scan several or several hundred photos in a snap
The KODAK s1220 Photo Scanning System allows a photofinisher to take from several to several hundred (even thousands) of photos and other types of memorabilia, scan them quickly and safely with high quality, and then provide the digital images to customers on CD, DVD or flash drive. And while high-volume photo scanning solutions like the s1220 Scanner are a fairly recent trend, Welch discovered the advantages of capturing pictures with KODAK Scanners years ago.

“We’ve had KODAK i30 and i40 Scanners and used them very effectively for the same concept,” he notes. “When the s1220 Photo Scanning System was introduced, we were aware of it and what it could do, and purchased one through a reseller of KODAK Document Imaging Products, Brooke International in Seattle. The s1220 Photo Scanning System comes with some very useful software dedicated to photo scanning that delivers beneficial workflow and productivity advantages for us.”

Thinking back to the days of making copy negatives in order to duplicate prints, Welch views the archiving process with the s1220 Photo Scanning System as straightforward and efficient. “We did an experiment awhile back with a high school student who works for us,” says Welch. “ We sat him down in front of the s1220 Scanner. He’d never scanned before. Within 15 minutes, he’d learned how to operate the system and scanned 150 prints and the resulting files were all gorgeous.” Welch appreciates that training time is minimal, thanks to a very friendly user interface and the automatic features that the supplied software provides.

While the scanner offers output resolutions of 300, 600 or 1200 dpi, Welch scans most photos at 300 dpi. Most people, depending on the volume they bring in, receive their digital images on a DVD. “People are impressed with both the quality of the files and how quickly the archiving service is completed,” Welch states. “And that no harm is done to their photos and everything is returned in the condition it arrived in.”

In addition to prints, Oregon Photo and Digital also sees historical postcards and unique documents in a variety of forms and conditions. “We receive some black-and-white photos on cotton rag paper that date back to the turn of the twentieth century,” says Welch. “And when something very fragile or oversized comes in, we scan it with the Kodak A4 Flatbed Accessory, which is a great value… providing outstanding quality for the money.”

Promoting add-on sales and exploring new markets
Oregon Photo and Digital offers an array of photo-specialty products, and these are suggested to customers when they pick up their CD or DVD of scanned images. “Generally, people who bring in a large collection of old photos, such as black-andwhite photography, are doing it for archival reasons. They want to preserve and share their valuable photos,” says Welch. While this customer is not the ideal candidate for photo specialty items, those bringing in more recent memories are more likely to purchase. The store creates photo books, albums and calendars in-house, while also offering mugs, T-shirts, holiday ornaments, photo tiles and other items through an outside supplier. As has been the case for years, items like calendars are the most popular during November and December.

The store will also create DVD slide shows from scanned (and supplied) images, adding music, text and graphics to create a multimedia presentation that customers can then display on their television or computer monitor.

One archiving market that Welch has approached with success is area law firms, running a regular ad in two of the local bar association newsletters promoting his volume photo-scanning service. In cases of divorce, for example, there is often disagreement over who gets to keep the family photos. Now, each party can receive a DVD with every photo on it and then make prints when desired.

Delighting customers, staff and management
In terms of service, Welch’s s1220 Photo Scanning System requires little maintenance. An operator cleans the platen every morning and when older or cotton rag images come in, cleaning frequency is increased. They’ve operated the s1220 Scanner for a year and a half without need for any service calls.

“Our customers are very impressed with our archiving capabilities and the quality we deliver,” says Welch. “I like to say we do things that no one else can do and do them better than anyone else. This scanning system is one component of going that extra mile to consistently surpass what the customer expects.” While some online retailers, especially, focus on accepting a large volume of prints for a fixed price, Welch maintains pricing in line with the store’s vision of offering outstanding products at a fair price. Scans cost from $1.59 each for low volumes to 75¢ each for more than 1,000 prints scanned as a single batch.

Welch notes that older customers, those over 60, are absolutely amazed to get such a great number of pictures back on a CD or DVD and to have them protected and preserved digitally. Younger customers—who are more computer-savvy and understand the idea of digital storage—are delighted with the sharing aspect.

The store promotes the photo archiving service on their Website (“Save your memories digitally”) and experiences very strong word of mouth recommendations for the services they offer.

“Our KODAK s1220 Photo Scanning System pays for itself again every month,” says Welch. “We’re extremely pleased with the quality, performance and speed of up to thirty (30) 4 by 6-inch photos per minute. It’s a very profitable part of our digital picture.”

KODAK Picture Saver Scanner System (Current model, replacing the previous KODAK s1220 Photo Scanning System)