Scanning Your Photo Albums: How to Preserve, Share, and Reprint

Very often the most precious family memories aren’t hidden away in shoeboxes or slide carousels — they’re lovingly arranged in albums. Carefully laid out pages of prints, handwritten captions, postcards and invitations glued in alongside the photographs, the family albums are time capsules like no other.

But albums present a problem. Who, a generation or two down the line, gets to keep them? They are also often fragile. Spines weaken, pages come loose, photos fade. And scanning each photo individually means dismantling something that might be impossible to put back together.

That’s why we offer a better way.

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How we digitise albums

At Vintage Photo Lab, we can certainly digitise individual prints, but we also recommend duplicating albums exactly as they are. To do this, we carefully digitise each page in full, capturing every detail exactly as it was created. This way:
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• Captions, scribbles and doodles are preserved alongside the images.
• Scrapbook extras — birthday cards, telegrams, pressed flowers, travel tickets, lift passes and party invitations — are kept in context.
• The unique layout and sequencing of the album are retained.

The result? A digital duplicate that feels like the real thing. We even include both covers.

And because the pages are saved in order, you can flip through the album digitally on your computer  — turning a fragile heirloom into a shareable experience.

Why album scanning is so popular

• Preserve without dismantling: No need to prise prints from sticky pages or risk damaging old adhesives.
• Keep the story intact: Albums often include handwritten captions and little notes that make sense of the images — and these are too valuable to lose.
• Protect fragile originals: Many albums from the mid-20th century are now too delicate to handle. Digitisation means you can revisit them without wear and tear.
• Include everything: It’s about the whole picture, beyond the photos. Old invitations, cards, menus, letters and other keepsakes glued into albums are part of the story too.

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Sharing the Story

Once scanned, albums can be shared easily with family and friends. Instead of one fragile copy hidden away, everyone can enjoy the same digital version — whether on a phone, tablet or laptop.

And if you want something tangible? We can reprint your album as a modern photobook. It looks just like the original, but with the durability and print quality of today. Perfect as a gift, especially for milestone birthdays, anniversaries, or family reunions. Or even less celebratory occasions such as a house clearance or divorce.

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A Living Heirloom

Digitising albums means you preserve the whole story. The order, the captions, those little extras that capture the personality of the person who made it.

Albums were meant to be looked at. As they were put together. By creating a digital duplicate, you ensure that those memories can keep being enjoyed, shared, and celebrated — without risking the originals.

Because sometimes the most beautiful thing is more than the photo itself, it's the way someone you love chose to place it on the page.

Ready to protect your family albums?

Call us today to discuss your albums, or order online and we’ll arrange collection straight, right from your doorstep.