Laptops, tablets, smartphones – digitization has now found its way into our everyday lives. But the time when photos or films as well as documents or plans were still created in analog format is not that far back. Generations before us have captured real treasures on data media that hardly anyone can play back today. Memories such as baby videos on VHS tapes are in danger of being forgotten – and the ravages of time are also gnawing old books. In this guide you will learn how you can transfer your memories into the digital age and secure them.
When memories fade – digitization of photographs
Who does not know her? Until well into the 1990s, slide evenings were the highlight after every vacation trip, and every amateur photographer tried his or her own photo laboratory in the basement at some point. Nowadays hardly anyone has a slide projector, the films from the old cameras are slowly fading. In short: your own archive is in danger of being lost.
Digitization of slides: from the screen to the computer
Full shoe boxes or drawers with slides are still stored in our basements or in attics. In order to preserve these memories, there are now a multitude of options for digitizing the images on slides. One of them is the REFLECTA 64560. This multi-format scanner allows you to read in and save both slides and negatives.Within a few seconds, images with a resolution of up to 22 megapixels are saved on an inserted SD card. Thanks to its brilliant display, selecting and displaying the scanned images is a real pleasure. If the display diagonal of 10.9 cm is too small for you, the scanner can also be connected to the television via an HDMI connection. So the whole family can indulge in memories.
Before digitizing your own pictures, however, a few things must be considered. Anyone who has already organized a slide evening knows that dirt or dust particles on the surface have a significant impact on the image quality. It is exactly the same with digitization. Clean dirty images with a microfiber cloth before placing them in a scanner. In order to avoid reflections in the digitized material, you should also remove slides from annoying glass frames.
Get the colors of your photos – digitally
Printed images – regardless of whether they are produced with film or a Polaroid – fade over time. So that the photos stay as colorful and lively as in your head, you can digitize your photos with ease with photo scanners such as the Rollei 20681. Simply place the image in the scanner and immediately check the quality of your scan on the integrated display. With the push of a button, the image is saved on a memory card.Even pictures of a smaller format from the early days of photography can be scaled up to a suitable size thanks to the high-resolution scanner. So you can also add the pictures to your digital photo albums, for example on social media – or you can build a digital picture frame especially for this. Whatever you decide, with your digital copies you can beat the ravages of time and save valuable memories.
Digitize moving images before the roll breaks
They always contain a touch of nostalgia, but just like analog photographs, they threaten to be lost in the long term: analog films. The Super 8 reels in particular are popular with fans of retro technology. And almost everyone born before the invention of the first video-capable cell phone has a VHS cassette with a baby video of themselves.
A touch of cinema: the Super 8 scanner
If not so long ago you had to consult special companies that digitize Super 8 films, now you can do it yourself from home. Simply place the roll in a scanner such as the REFLECTA 66040 and within a few seconds you can start digitizing your treasure trove of moving images.Frame by frame and at two frames per second, this standalone device automatically scans your film and converts it to mp4 quality. You don’t even have to connect the scanner to a computer to do this. The videos are saved on a memory card and can be played back without any problems on any PC, tablet or smartphone. You can also connect the REFLECTA 66040 directly to your television and enjoy the film on the big screen.
Save video treasures into the digital age – with the video digitizer
Regardless of whether it’s a baby video, a vacation trip or the children’s school performance: There are videos that must not be lost under any circumstances. With the Video Card, Grabber, USB 3.0 Type B., digitizing your favorite videos is child’s play. As long as the analog video source used has a composite output (CVBS / FBAS) or an S-video output, you can connect the video digitizer to almost any device, from video recorders (VHS, Video 8, Betamax) to camcorders to cameras. There are no limits to you.The dnt Grabstar AV guarantees you maximum ease of use: You have the choice whether you save your files on a memory card or via the USB connection on a stick or even on a USB hard drive. Just note that, depending on the duration of the video and the resolution, very large files can be created and you will need a corresponding data carrier for this. In addition, the digitization can be conveniently controlled at the push of a button on the front of the device.
Rescue music from tapes
Do you have musical treasures that can no longer be found today, but only have them on cassette? Thanks to the LOGILINK UA0156, this is no longer a problem either. Simply insert the music cassette into the player, connect the device to the PC and start the software supplied. The digitization of your cassette can already begin.Digitization of analogue print products
If you want to archive books or magazines, this can sometimes turn into a lot of effort. Private libraries in particular can quickly get out of hand. But everything in public libraries, at research institutes in schools or community archives is all about digitization: ancient originals such as books from the 16th century or building plans from the German Empire must be spared without making them public. With book scanners you can digitize such originals as well as your private library.
Digitize easily and efficiently – with the SCANSNAP SV600
It has never been easier to digitize entire books. The SCANSNAP SV600 from Fujitsu enables you to scan double pages in next to no time at the push of a button. Thanks to the timeless overhead technology, you can digitize sensitive manuscripts up to a size of DIN A3 without contact.The scanner is stably built and yet flexible and is not tied to one place. So you can set up the all-in-one device exactly where you need it. The scanner even aligns the original so that the digital copies are all in the correct format. Thanks to linear sensor technology, the device scans your documents or books from front to back, guaranteeing that the image is sharp right up to the edge.
When it has to be done quickly
However, one does not always have the time and the space to digitize existing print products in an overhead scanner. With the mobile book scanner IRIS 458742 you can scan books and magazines in seconds without tearing out pages.To do this, slide over the corresponding template and save it with a resolution of up to 1200 dpi on the supplied microSD card. You can immediately transfer the files to a device via WLAN without having to connect them to one another. You can either save it on a computer or transfer your digitized material to a mobile device. Thanks to the free IRIScan Book app, you can access it anywhere.
Never lose analog treasures again
Regardless of whether it is a picture, video, music or print: Thanks to today’s possibilities, you never have to worry again that the ravages of time will gnaw at your analogue memories or lose important documents. Rather, you can now digitally save them at the push of a button and thus transform your archive into the age of digitization – you will find everything you need for this in the reichelt online shop.
Image: Adobe Stock
