Some of the best photos are the vintage ones. It can be nostalgic and heartwarming to look through parents’ and grandparents’ photos from their childhoods and their young adult years, exploring their lives and getting to know them better through the images captured in the photographs. Vintage photos are relics from the past, featuring moments that are frozen in time for us to observe today. Each photo is unique and represents a memory that was special to the people in the picture and continues to be special to the individuals it is passed down to. Although each photo is one of a kind, there is a common factor amongst many of these older photos, and that is a glossy finish.
If you look through some of the photos you have saved over the years, you might notice a glare when the light hits the pictures at a certain angle. This means your photo has a glossy finish, which was a very popular look for print photographs in decades past. A glossy finish will make a photo’s colors pop, enhancing the image and giving it a detailed, curated look. It’s obvious why glossy photos were a hit! However, this type of finish makes damage, such as smudging, highly visible and the glossy surface collects dust easily, giving photos a dirty and unattractive appearance.
Many folks have assumed that the glossy finishes on their photos may prevent them from being “scan-able” for digitization purposes. The good news is that whether your glossy photos are in pristine condition or if they have collected some smudges over time, Southtree can scan them! Our digitizing experts work with photos of all kinds and are very familiar with scanning photos with glossy finishes. No need to worry about losing your photos to the test of time - Southtree has got you covered.
If you want to prepare your photos for digitization, the best thing to do is to clean them. To clean your photos and remove any dust or smudges, use a lint-free cloth and gently rub the photo until the dirt is removed. You can also use compressed air to remove loose dirt from the image.
Are you ready to get your glossy photos digitized? Check out Southtree’s photo digitization packages and get your scanning process started! We will pay for shipping and handling, and give you step by step tracking notifications of where your photos are in the digitization process. Let Southtree take care of preserving your most important memories for you - check out Southtree today!
