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frequently asked questions

General Questions

Questions about scanning

Questions about Videography

Questions about Video Greeting Cards

Questions about Media

General Questions

What is Digamation's film handling policy?

It is important to understand that although the scanning process does not alter the film -- film of any type is a volatile medium -- temperature, abrasion (scratching and rubbing), handling, humidity and even light can and will damage film.

Digamation takes every precaution to ensure that your film is handled with the utmost care. We only use compressed air to gently clean films as needed and our technicians wear special photographic gloves so their hands never directly touch the photographs.

Digamation uses Nikon Coolscan film scanners that emit little heat which greatly reduces the chances of damaging the film. We only use factory components designed specifically for the film type and scanner.

Digamation takes no responsibility for lost or damaged goods as a result of the shipping process or acts of nature or man (e.g., floods, fires, theft, vandalism, etc...) as these are out of Digamation's control.

Your satisfaction is paramount to Digamation, so if Digamation damages your photographs as a result of inappropriate handling you will receive 10% off the price of your next Digamation scanning service.

How do I send digital images?

Digital images can be sent in the following ways:

  1. The easiest and quickest way is to upload your photographs to Digamation. Digamation provides a simple to use interface for uploading your images once you have purchased a movie package.
  2. Or, send your photographs on DVD or CD. 
  3. Or, Digamation can read the following types of memory cards:
    • CompactFlash - Type I
    • CompactFlash - Type II
    • Microdrive
    • Secure Digital (SD) Card
    • MultiMediaCard (MMC)
    • SmartMedia Card (SM)
    • Memory Stick
    • Memory Stick PRO
    • Memory Stick Duo
    • Memory Stick MagicGate

Remember, with all digital images you save 15% on Digamation movie packages as well as free return shipping.

What is Digamation's shipping policy?

Shipping to Digamation is the responsibility of the sender. Packages sent to Digamation requiring COD (cash on delivery) will not be accepted. Packages that appear tampered with or have been damaged in transit will not be accepted.

All shipping charges are now included for:

  • Orders of $25.00 or greater,
  • Or, all digital images are provided to Digamation.

Otherwise, applicable shipping charges apply.

Digamation is not responsible or liable for items lost or damaged in transit. This is the responsibility of the shipping company.

How do I package my film for shipping?

  1. Select the film you would like scanned.
  2. Place the selected film (slide, strip or print) in a shipping envelope or shipping box.
  3. Address the shipping container to:
    • Digamation
    • 9551 Woodlawn Drive
    • Huntington Beach, CA. 92646
  4. Lastly ship to Digamation.

If you have any further questions please call or email.

How will I be billed?

Digamation accepts checks and credit cards and bills as Digamation. Typically, Digamation charges prior to starting the service; in some cases this may occur after work has started or is completed. When scanning is required, your credit card may be credited back in cases where the photo count is less than the actual number of scans or Digamation is unable to capture a quality scan.

Does Digamation offer pick-up and delivery services?

Digamation realizes that your photographs are important so we offer free pick-up and delivery service to the Orange County Area. This is a one time service Digamation offers as a courtesy to our customers with orders larger than $35.00.

For additional pick-up and delivery Digamation charges a round-trip fee of $25.00.

To find out if you are eligible for this service click here.

Does Digamation do all work on-site?

Yes, we do all work right in here in Orange County, California - USA. Your film is not sent to a third party for processing.

Questions about Scanning

What is scanning?

Scanning is the process of converting a photograph into its digital representation. At Digamation this process is handled by a technician who cleans and scans each photograph.  During the scanning process defects in the films such as color fading, scratches, red-eye and other aberrations are removed.  Digamation does not batch photo enhance your films; each photograph is orientated and photo enhanced individually.  Once scanned the digital image is cropped and any fine enhancements are made.  The finished scans are placed on an archive quality CD or DVD in TIFF and/or JPEG format.

How does Digamation clean film?

Digamation uses compressed air to gently remove dust from the film. Nothing but air ever touches your film.

What does DPI mean?

Dots Per Inch (DPI) is the measure of the resolution of a printer. It properly refers to the dots of ink or toner used by a printing device to print your text and graphics. In general, the more dots, the better and sharper the image. Although, DPI (technically) refers to printer resolution, Digamation uses it to refer to image resolution as well.

To choose the best DPI click here.

What types of films do you scan?

Digamation scans all types of film. For more information click here.

What scanners do you use?

Digamation uses the Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED and 9000 ED scanners for slide and strip film scanning. Digamation uses the Microtek Scan Maker 1000XL flatbed scanner for print (non-transparent) scanning.  These are exceptional and well proven scanners.

What is the sRGB color space?

Digamation uses sRGB as our default color space.

sRGB stands for Standard Red Green Blue and deals with the colors you see on your computer display which are made up various mixtures of red, green, and blue light. While this works great for individual displays, the same colors are often displayed differently on different screens. For example, dark red on one screen may look like red-orange on another. When you add printers, scanners, and digital cameras.

To help achieve a greater color consistency between hardware devices, the sRGB standard was created in 1999. It defines a gamut of colors that represents each color and is now used by CRT monitors, LCD screens, scanners, printers, and digital cameras. It also has been incorporated into many Web browsers to make sure the colors on Web pages match the color scheme of the operating system. Because of the color consistency sRGB creates, most hardware devices that work with images now use it as the default setting.

sRGB gives you the most vivid color reproduction and it is recommended as the standard color space for web authoring. However, it may be too saturated in places. Digamation allows you to choose from other color spaces, but it is only recommended for individuals who are very familiar with color space management.

What is a TIFF and minimum compression JPEG?

TIFF stands for Tagged Image File format and describes (typically) image data gathered from scanners, frame grabbers and paint- and photo-retouching programs. TIFF is not a printer language or page description language. The purpose of TIFF is to describe and store raster image data. TIFF has a number of features that make it ideal for scanned images.

JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is a commonly used standard method of lossy compression for photographic images. What this means is that image data is intentionally removed (i.e., data loss) in order to reduce overall image size. However, the "loss" is done in a way that best maintains the images overall integrity.

In general, most people can't tell the difference between a minimum compression JPEG or TIFF except to notice that the JPEG file is vastly smaller.

What is true 48-bit color?

48-bit color depth - Digamation scanners support 48-bit color, which offers the ability to identify over 281 trillion (2^48) colors. Although gradations differences may be imperceptible to the human eye, it does offer a more accurate representation of the photograph. At this time, it is the highest color bit depth available.

What is photo restoration?

Photo restoration is the process of fixing aberrations (defects) found in the original film. These aberration include color fading, scratches, graininess, over/under exposure, dust, water marks and tears. The corrections are made to the scanned picture.

Digamation offers two types of photo restoration at no additional cost: Digital Ice 4 technology and Manual retouching.

  • Digital Ice 4 Technology is the newest most complete automatic image correction technology available in film scanners. The Digital Ice 4 Technology removes surface defects (dust and scratches), restores and corrects colors, reduces film grain noise and optimizes contrast and exposure.
  • Manual retouching requires a Digamation technician inspect the scanned image for defects missed by the Digital Ice 4 Technology and make manual alterations to correct them. Digamation uses Adobe Photoshop CS2 to amend any defects. Manual restoration is only provided if Digital Ice 4 Technology is requested.

Whether you request restoration or not the entire process is always guided by a Digamation technician. Digamation does not use batch processing. The reason is that batching makes general assumptions about a group of films that may not be valid. For example, only 1 of a set may require color restoration.

Choosing the right resolution (DPI)?

To determine the right resolution for scanning the key issue is knowing how you are going to reproduce it and at what size. The following table can be used as a guide:

Remember that the higher the resolution, the larger the file will be. For TIFF based images this can be several hundred megabytes.

Output Minimum

DPI

Max

DPI

Comments
Screen - - For on screen, focus on the total pixel dimension of an image, since it's not output. 
Inkjet 150 600 There are diminishing returns on your inkjet after about 300 dpi.  Our advice, test print the same image at a few different sizes to see what works best.
Large Format Inkjet 25 400 Large format inkjet printers are used for billboard sizes.  Typically, you will need to speak with the printing company.  Printing companies can use every pixel you can give them, but they can also go quite low.
Offset Printing Press 266 400 The standard is 300 dpi, but quality of paper and printing press can affect what's required.  Here again, you will need to talk to your printer.
News-Paper & Magazines 150 300 The lower quality of newsprint generally means less demanding image resolution.  Magazines will require at least 150 dpi.
Print Archive 600 3200 Archiving is attempts to capture the maximum detail from every image.  Depending on the size (1x1 up to 12x17), quality of the print and intent of the scans will help determine the dpi. 

For print film, deeper scanning (higher dpi) does not necessarily mean a better scan, in fact, noise from the paper or screening begin to interfere with the viewability of the image.

Transparent Archive 600 4000 Archiving attempts to capture the maximum detail from every image.  The format (35mm, AFS, 16mm and Medium Format), the quality (overall condition of the film), and the purpose of the scans will determine the best dpi.

Unlike print film, transparent film tends to produce significantly better scans especially at higher resolution.  If fact, it is ideal to have the original slide or strip film when scanning.

Questions about Videography

What is videography?

Videography is a discipline directly related to cinematography, but focused on the digital aspects specifically on the capture of moving images on digital media (video tape, solid state storage and hard discs) instead of film stock. Digamation uses this discipline to take photographic media and put it into motion by using various videographic tools and devices to produce movies. A Videographer is a person who works in the field of videography.

What is the Kenneth Burns Effect?

Kenneth Burns pioneered the technique of zooming-in on subjects of interest and panning from one subject to another. For example, in a photograph of a sports team, he might slowly pan across the faces of the players and come to a rest on a player the narrator is discussing. This technique has become a staple of documentaries, slide shows, presentations and even screen savers; this technique has come to be known as the Kenneth Burns effect.

Digamation uses the Ken Burns Effects as a part of our video graphic services.

What are video transitions and image effects?

Video transitions and image effects are special effects that are applied to video to help transition and liven a movie. A video transition allows, for example, two images to appear to be blended. This is most often referred to as a dissolve effect. Other common effects include iris, slide and wipe effects along with a multitude of variations.

Video effects on the other hand are effects that are applied (typically) to a single image in an effort to change a viewers perception of that picture.  For example, panning and zooming is often used to give still images an allusion of movement. Other effects include blur and sharpen, distortion and image adjustments to name a few.

For example, a traditional slide show moves from one slide to another. Where as video with appropriate transitions and effects are more lively and thus more interesting to watch.

In general, special effects can make viewing much more interesting than a simple slide show (one picture after another). However, too many effects can overwhelm the viewer making the presentation just as unpleasant; thus moving the pendulum from visual monotony to visual frenzy. In other words, too many visual effects overwhelms the viewer and detracts from the important stuff -- your pictures.

Digamation attempts to compose a movie that balances the photographs, music, titles and special effects. Naturally, in the end it is your choice and Digamation will work very hard to make sure you are satisfied with the end product.

Will my DVD movie work on my DVD player?

Yes. We use DVD-R formatted DVDs, which is the most popular format and plays on about 95% of all DVD players. If however it does not work, we will work with you to solve the problem.

Please be aware that you will not be able to view your scanned image DVD or CD on your DVD player. This must be viewed from a computer using appropriate imaging software.

What is music choreography?

Music Choreography is the process of synchronizing photograph display tempo with the music tempo. In other words, the photographs are shown (including effects and transitions) in a way that is complementary to the music and visa versa. Digamation provides this as part of our standard packages at no additional charge.

Questions about Video Greeting Cards

What is a Video Greeting Card?

It's a Greeting Card, except on DVD! For more information click here.

How do I use my address book?

Enter the required information into each field and press the 'Save Address' button. The Total entries will increase by one. When you have entered all your addresses then select 'Add to Cart ...' to complete your order. Blue fields are required.

Editing Buttons

  • New Address - clears the fields of any information.
  • Save Address - Saves the current address information. If the information is not complete a "***" will be displayed next to the field.
  • Remove Address - Removes the current address.

Navigation Buttons

  • First Address or '<<' - Opens the first address in your address book. If there are no addresses then the fields are cleared.
  • Last Address or '>>' - Opens the last address in your address book. If there are no addresses then the fields are cleared.
  • Next Address or '>' - Opens the next address in your address book. If there are no addresses then the fields are cleared.
  • Previous Address or '<' - Opens the previous address in your address book. If there are no addresses then the fields are cleared.

What is a Video Greeting Card?

It's a Greeting Card, except on DVD! For more information click here.

What are my music choices?

You may provide your own music or select from Digamation's comprehensive music library:

Music you provide can be be uploaded to Digamation for use in your movies. However, you must provide one licensed copy for each copy Digamation produces. If you request 10 copies, then 10 licensed copies of the song (track) must be purchased. Digamation will purchase a licensed copy for you at an additional 2.50$ a copy.

Alternatively, choose from Digamation's comprehensive music library, but best of all you do not have to pay for each copy; whether it's 10, 25, or 100 you only pay the production and copy costs.

Questions about Media

What CD/DVD formats does Digamation use?

Unfortunately there are many different DVD formats. The reason for this is that many a DVD manufacturer has developed specific DVD formats for their needs. Why do they do this? There are many "good" reasons, but in the end the consumer (you and I) must navigate the quagmire of DVD formats to ensure we get the right one for the job.

To start, each DVD format is clearly labeled in the ad or on the box of any DVD hardware or disc media you plan to purchase (or own). You should pay careful attention to this as choosing the wrong DVD format could result in an inability to use the DVD for its intended purpose (i.e., not as a very stylish cup coaster).

Digamation uses three media formats: DVD-R for movies and CD-R and DVD+R for scanned picture archives.

DVD-R

Digital Video Disc Reader discs are the most common format and used for home DVD players and movies. Digamation uses DVD-Rs for movies as it is the most widely available format and supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Samsung, Sharp and of course Pioneer (initial developers).

DVD+R

Digital Video Disc Reader discs are slightly faster for accessing data then standard DVD-R. Digamation uses this format for scanned images when the scanned image size exceeds ~700MB.

CD-R

Compact Disc Reader discs are the most common format in the CD-writing market. They hold about 700MB of data and can only be written to once. Digamation uses this format for scanned images in cases where a DVD data reader is not available, or the total scanned size is less than 700MB. Movies are provided on DVD only.

Writable Media

Since Digamation produces image archives and movie discs there is no good reason to use DVD-R (W), DVD+RW, DVD-RAM or CD-RW. DVD-ROM is also not used as this is a commercial grade media for mass production purposes. For example, the movies you buy or rent are in this format.

How many CD/DVDs will I receive?

Digamation provides as many discs necessary to contain your video and/or digitally scanned images. Movies and scanned image data are always provided on separate discs. If a copy is requested it will be of the disc set. This means you pay the same price for a single disc or multiple when you purchase copies.

Does Digamation use archive quality media?

Yes. Digamation is committed to using the best media available and now exclusively uses Archival Gold DVDs. Archival Gold DVDs use a 24kt gold reflective layer which does not oxidize over time. This in concert with new technologies that enhance the durability and scratch resistance of the disk dramatically increase the archivability of the disk.

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