Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials

Teaching you fun and interesting things to do with your digital images. Whether it's highlighting a new app, or a tutorial on how to edit a photo, we want to help you make the most of your memories.

Featured Thought

Visit our blog every Thursday when we will post a brand new thought or quote! What's the point of our 'Thursday Thought' feature? Because everyone could use a good one every now and then.

Customer Feedback

Want to see your raving reviews here? Comment on one of our social media sites, or email us at customerservice@larsendigital.com. We love hearing from you!

Digital Photo Makeover

Your old film and photos can go through a lot. Whether they are extremely discolored, torn or ripped by a child, involved in a flood or accident, we want to fix it!

Check This Out!

The world's very first photograph! We wouldn't have a business if the photography industry never progressed. It's amazing how far we come, and how advanced we continue to get.

We pride ourselves in our track record since we started business back in 1995. We have always made sure that each and every one of our customers is treated with professionalism along with a personal touch. We're proud to be the most trusted source of slide and negative scanning in North America. We are located beneath the snow-capped peaks of Mount Ben Lomond in Pleasant View, Utah. Pleasant View is 45 miles north of Salt Lake City, host of the 2002 Winter Olympics. All work is done in house here in Utah. We do not outsource any work out of the country like many other companies do.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Father's Day Photo Gifts: Office Slideshow

"I will always remember how much my father played with me.  He was never afraid to be goofy or awkward in public as long as he was making us happy." -Christa, Marketing

"If there was a problem in our house, my dad was always there to take care of it and solve it.  I knew I could always depend on him to be there when I needed him." -Mike, IT

We all have memories like these of our fathers, and photos and videos only expound on the emotions felt  when pondering out past.  Father's Day is fast approaching, so give him a gift that we will never forget by converting all his film to digital.

One thing you could do with the digitized film to put the cherry on top of it all, is to give him a gift that will constantly remind him of the great life he's lived and the people who love him.  A SLIDESHOW!  First, you need to convert all your dad's videos, photos, and film to digital.  Then, pick the most iconic or favorite image and videos from your past, compile them, and you've got magic on your hands!  One thing we love the slideshows for is for dad's work computer screen saver!


You could also create a slideshow with his favorite songs in the background and have a "movie premier" party with your family where the laughter, the tears, and the smiles will keep rolling in.

Haven't converted your video tapes, photos, slides, negatives, movie film feels, audio tapes, an other film to digital yet?  Well it's time to bring the into the digital world!  Digitizing your old film gives you the freedom to do whatever you want with your memories, whenever you want, wherever you want.


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Father's Day Photo Gifts: Classic Mousepad

Our fathers work extremely hard for us, and more often than not, they are sitting for many hours in front of a computer.  The great idea we have for you today is a personalized mouse pad customized with images from your past.  That way, your dad can be reminded of precious memories on a daily basis.

        


We ordered this mouse pad from Personalization Mall.  Their website was extremely easy to use, and they had a lot of templates to choose from.  Their production and shipping time was impressive, as it took less than a week to receive the product.  The mouse pad is of very high quality, and we like how thick it is.  The print job was really decent as well, considering the images were printed on a fabric mousepad!  Overall, we wold recommend getting a mouse pad from Personalization Mall.

Your dad deserves a great gift with a lot of meaning and emotion behind it.  Giving him the gift of memories and a piece of your past will top any gift from the past or future.  To create a photo gift for your father, you will need to make sure you convert your film to digital, giving you the freedom to do what you want for you dad.  The possibilities are endless when you digitize your photos, movie film, photos, negatives, video tapes, slides, and other film to a digital form.

Need to convert your film to digital?  Larsen Digital specializes in preserving memories and making them last forever.  With our prices and the level of quality we output, you can be assured that your priceless past is in good hands.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Father's Day Week of Photo Gift Ideas!

Most father's were behind the camera when it came to taking pictures and videos of the family.  Even though he may not be in all the images and photos, your dad loves to show his kids off!  Go into any man's office, and we will bet you there is something in there that represents his family.

Most people save the photo and memory driven gifts for mom, but dad loves them too!  That is why this week we are highlighting gifts that are perfect for your dad featuring YOU and your FAMILY!



From slides, negatives and photos to movie film reels, video tapes, audio tapes and more, Larsen Digital is the most experiences film conversion company in the industry to help you take care of your memory preservation needs.  Film will degrade, so show the man in your life how much you care about him and the way he raised you by helping him re-live what a great life he's helped you have!

Check out our Father's Day Sale Prices and save today!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Larsen Digital Being Featured on Fox 13 News Business Now!


If you didn't have time to catch our segment this afternoon have no fear!  We will be back on Fox after the 12:00 news for their Business Now segment to talk about the importance of converting your old film to digital, as well as to give you some specials for Father's Day!

We had the opportunity to have the Fox 13 Business Now crew at our office to interview our very own Kristin Harding about what we do and why it's important!  We love spreading the message of preserving your memories before they are literally gone.  Film is so prone to being damaged, destroyed, discolored, etc.  When those problems occur on your film it can ruin it!  
"Over time all of our old memories will degrade.  In our movie film, the dyes in the film will degrade, video tapes will degrade over time, slides, negatives, and photos- Everything degrades over time.  It’s not meant to stay in its original format, which is why it’s so important to convert it to digital so it stops degrading." -Kristin Harding
Our memories help keep us entertained, happy, and close with our loved ones.  If those memories get lost or are destroyed while still in physical film form, there is no way to re-create them. The best thing to do is to gather up all your movie film, slides, video tapes, negatives, photographs, and all your other film and send them in to be converted to digital.  Not only does the degradation and discoloration stop when your memories are in digital form, but you are able to create lots of back-ups of your memories to ensure they that they will be around for lifetimes to come.

Need a great gift idea for Father's Day?  Skip the tie this year and convert your father's old film to digital.  It's a gift that will keep on giving, and that he will never forget!  Check out our Father's Day specials today!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Memories Are Like a Box of Chocolates...


Whether it was in times of good or times of bad, we fall back on our memories to smile, to cry, and to grow better as a person.  Our past has shaped who we are today, and while some moments may not be ones we look back on fondly, they taught us lessons and made us stronger.

Have you ever been sitting in a room with family or friends and thought of a past moment you've shared with them, followed by laughter or tears?  Immediately afterwards, another memory usually follows, and another, until you are immersed in a "remember when" hour.  

To top it off you bring out old photos or videos of you together, which brings the nostalgia to a whole new level.  The mind has a pretty good memory, but seeing the visual or hearing the audio just puts the last piece of the puzzle together.  Smile at the past.  Look towards the future.  With one life to live there is no better choice than to take what's happened in our lives and learn from it!

Have old photos and videos that you reminisce upon often still in film form?  Larsen Digital Services converts movie film, slides, negatives, photographs, video tapes, audio tapes, and much more to digital so you can easily call upon those memories anytime, anywhere.  Don't let your film fade into the past- bring into the present and into the digital age.


Monday, May 13, 2013

All About Scanning Your Film: What You Need to Know About Resolution

What is Resolution?  No, it has nothing to do with the New Year or making goals.  Resolution is one of the biggest factors determining the quality of your end result when scanning your old film to digital.  The higher the resolution you choose to digitize your film with, the higher the quality.  

The resolution amount is stated numerically.  For example: 400 DPI, 2000 DPI, etc.  Notice, the number is followed by three letters.  D. P. I.  This stands for Dots Per Inch, which makes up the resolution.  Think about a mosaic made up of little squares all over the image.  Each square is one color, and the more little squares of color you have to make up the art, the easier it is to tell what it's of.  It's exactly the same concept with DPI.  The more dots you have in your image, the clearer the picture will be, the clearer it will be, and the more detailed it will be.


You can also relate resolution to the megapixels of a camera.  Here are some comparables to help aid you in your decision of which resolution to scan your film at:



2000 DPI - A 2000 DPI scan is equivalent to 4.6 Megapixels. This is a medium resolution scan that we recommend for customers who only want to create printed photographs of up to 5"x7", post online, e-mail to friends or view on their TV. If you want to make larger printed photographs, crop out portions of the image, or have a higher quality image, we would recommend a higher resolution.

3000 DPI- A 3000 DPI scan is equivalent to 9 Megapixels. This is a high resolution scan that we recommend for customers who want to create larger photograph prints up to 11"x14", post online, e-mail to friends or view on their TV. If you plan to make larger printed photographs, use in a professional capacity such as publishing, or want a higher quality image, we would recommend the 4000 DPI.

4000 DPI- A 4000 DPI scan is equivalent to 18 Megapixels. It is the highest scan resolution scan for transparent film. This will allow you to crop out portions of your image, create large photograph prints, upload online, use professionally, pretty much whatever you want. If it fits within your budget we always recommend going with the highest resolution, because you are capturing more data, which means you are getting a higher quality image.

As with most things, the higher you go, the better.  While you may not need the highest resolution to accomplish your photo needs, make sure you take into account the information given in this article to make sure you get what you need!
Larsen Digital Services offers the best quality scans with several resolutions to choose from when converting your precious family memories to digital.  We scan photos, slides, negatives, and we transfer video tapes, movie film, audio tapes and more to digital so you can enjoy and share them for the rest of your life, and even pass it on to your posterity.
Don't have the time to scan your own film?  Send it in to Larsen Digital where your memories come first!  Take advantage of a special going on right now where you can get your slides scanned at ANY resolution for just 35¢ each!  Use coupon code SOCIAL35 and save your memories today!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Why You Should Scan Your Film to Digital

<Scene> Your daughter brings home a young gentleman to meet the family.  The relationship is getting serious.  You had always dreamed of the day when your little girl would bring someone home for the mere fact that you could embarrass her with a photo from her past.  It was a photo from her childhood when she had a style and opinion of her own.  You couldn't wait any longer to show the photo off, so you run to the basement to grab the photo album that holds this treasure.  As you run downstairs you hear a drip dripping of water.  Upon nearing the location of the album, the sound of water drops gets louder.  You find that the box containing the photo album sits nicely below a water leak, and has slowly been storing inches of water for who knows how long.  You grab the album to find the pages soaking.  <End Scene>

This is a story we hear all too often.  People store their precious film in places where they don't think any harm could occur.  Then... one of the four D's occur.  Damage.  Disaster.  Deterioration.  Discoloration These are the reasons it is so important to get your film converted to digital format!  Once your memories are in digital form, the D's stop, as digital images and videos will not degrade or deteriorate over time. 

Damage:  Over time, our favorite photos can take a beating; leaving us with partial photos or badly damaged ones. Luckily, we can digitally repair the damage.  With our digital photo restoration services, we can take your damaged photos, whether your pictures are torn, colored on, bent, wrinkled, or other scenario, our talented graphic artists will make that photo look new again!  




Disaster: One of the hidden dangers of leaving your photos & film boxed up in a closet, the attic or basement is that you forget about them. Not only is that sad because you are not enjoying a lifetime of memories, but it's terrifying when you realize they have been lost due to flooding, fire, mold or mildew damage.
prevent disaster, safely store your slides, negatives on digital

When a person's home is on fire, obviously getting the family out of the house is the first priority- but what do people run back for next? 
THEIR PHOTOS & VIDEOS.

Clothing, electronics, and furniture can be replaced, memories can not. Not only do we recommend scanning all your photos, slides, negatives and movie film and converting them to digital, but we also recommend getting an extra copy and keeping it in a safety deposit box or at a family members house. This way, in times of tragedy, you can know that not all has been lost.
The majority of all homeowner claims are due to flooding, and the potential of having your photos, slides, negatives and movie film damaged in that flood is pretty high. Once those items are damaged by water, some, if not all, may be damaged beyond repair. Don't take the risk of losing a lifetime of memories to a faulty pipe. Once your family memories are scanned and saved digitally, you know they will be preserved.
Deterioration: We all have them - home movies from our childhood.
Video Tape VHS Tape Deterioration
Some people have boxes full of them, but don't actually own a VCR to watch them. The unfortunate part about video tapes is that they were never intended to last forever.

Over time, video tapes lose their magnetism, which causes deterioration in the picture you see.

Other things that cause damage to video tapes is humidity in the air, the number of times you have watched your video tape, the number of times you recorded over a specific section and general damage of the tape. All these things will result in the loss of video quality and it will eventually lead your tape to be un-playable.
Luckily, you can convert your video tape to digital and stop the natural deterioration.
Discoloration: 

Fading & Discoloration example and digital correction

Don't lose your family memories to the effects of time, convert your film and photos to digital.

Over time, the dyes in your film and photos will begin to fade. This fading will essentially make it appear as if your photographs, slide film and negatives are slowly disappearing. Making matters worse, light speeds up the fading process. We have all seen photos that are prominently displayed in someone's home that has faded over the years. Eventually, the picture will fade away to the point it is no longer usable.
Fading and discoloration, Digitally color corrected images
The most common discoloration you will experience is film that turns red or has a yellow hue to it.

Luckily, with today's digital technology, you can convert all your photos, slides, and negatives to digital and repair the years of fading.




Movie Film discoloration, color correction, fading dyes
Movie film is similar to slide film, as the film ages, the dyes will begin to deteriorate leaving the film discolored or faded. We have had great success in converting your old 8mm, Super8 and 16mm movie film to digital. We even offer color correction to help correct the years aging.


Beat the clock on your old movie film, slides, negatives, photos, video tapes, audio tapes, and other formats!  Convert them to digital today and sleep soundly knowing that the new D: DIGITAL is the best way to store your life's many stories!  Order today and make sure to take advantage of our Mother's Day Sale ending May 15th!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

What's Your Favorite Photo of Your Mother?

Mother's Day is coming up, so we're asking you to think back on your family photos, videos, slides, etc, and recall which one of your mom is your favorite!


Now look or think about the photo and ask yourself a few questions:

What were you doing the day this photo or video was taken?
What moment was captured by the picture?
How did you feel?
How did this photo of your mom affect your life?

Photos can do a great deal of journaling for you, as you look back on a photo or home video and remember things you've done and places you've been with your mother.  Remembering past times is also therapeutic, especially in those cases where our mothers are no longer with us.

We celebrate mothers this month and appreciate the role they play in society.  We would like to wish all the mother's out there a Happy Mother's Day.

Have photos of your mother still in film or paper form?  Larsen Digital Services converts all your film, photos, and audio to digital so that you don't have to forget the moments you've shared with the ones you love.  As a family run business, Larsen Digital knows and appreciates the memories that your film holds, and will provide film conversion services with the respect that your precious belongings deserve.  Order today and preserve those memories forever!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Slide Scanning Special- ANY Resolution is Just 35¢!

Got Slides?

Get your slides scanned at ANY resolution for just 35¢ ea.!
Use coupon code: SOCIAL35 at checkout to take advantage of these savings.


Slide formats include:
-35mm Slides
-126 Format Slides
-110 Format Slides
-Super 35mm Slides
-35mm Half Frame Slides

Find out what slide formats YOU have!

Resolution Choices:
-2000 DPI
-3000 DPI
-4000 DPI

Learn more about resolution and how it affects your scans.


Friday, May 3, 2013

Dream For The Future, But Don't Forget The Past!



Dream for the future but don't forget the past!  

Convert your old film and photo memories to digital and always remember the good times so you can make the future bright!