Make Preserving Photos a Priority – The ScanSnap iX2500

Uncle Larry's Life Story - In photos and words

After more than a decade of designing funeral programs and working with hundreds of families, I have learned that the most sought-after item when a loved one passes away is photographs of the deceased at various stages of life.

Determined not to leave my son with a basement full of bins overflowing with photos, I purchased a ScanSnap desktop scanner and I committed to digitizing the images for just 15 minutes each day. (Fifteen minutes a day amounts to 91 hours in a year.) I believed that slow and steady would win the race, and after about 18 months, I completed the project. The result was an external drive filled with family photos neatly organized in digital folders by each person’s name and various events.

With that task finished, I passed on my expertise to my cousin Garry, who began

My Uncle Larry and Aunt Janet – This is Aunt Janet's favorite photo!

coming over weekly to work on his family photos. The payoff came several months later when his father passed away. I had a folder ready to go that included Uncle Larry at all stages of life. In just a few days, I was able to design an 8-page keepsake program for his funeral. Uncle Larry was well-loved in the Kearney, Nebraska area. His career was selling farm equipment, and he was always the first to lend a hand to a neighbor in need, always carrying his toolbox wherever he went! The response from the 300 attendees at his funeral regarding the booklet was overwhelmingly positive, with many saying, "I've never seen anything like this!" I was delighted to have designed it for my uncle, and I couldn't help but think that it would never have happened if we had started sorting through basement bins of photos the day he died.

While there is a place for large flat-bed scanners, my ScanSnap allowed me to load in a stack of 4"x 6" photos and press 'go', digitizing at a rate of 40 photos a minute. When publicly speaking on 'funeral readiness,' I'm asked what scanner I use. My version is an oldie, but this brand is a 'goodie'!

Key Notes:

• Always scan your photos at 300 dpi or more.

• Never say, "That photo is in terrible condition!" The magic of Photoshop and chatgpt.com can restore that 100-year-old photo of Pops and Gigi.

• Back up your photos in more than one place. I have an external drive, but I'm also backed up on other services in the cloud. In addition, I've shared all the folders with family who live in different states, etc.

Happy Scanning!

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