F.A.Q. - Digitizing Images

Q. How do I get my images digitized?
A. Today, there are a myriad of options: shoot digitally or scan film, slides, or prints.

Q. What type of digital photo files can I publish?
A. PhotoManager can publish the following digital photo files:

TIFF, JPG, JIF (JPEG File Interchange Format)
Reads 8-bit grayscale and 24-bit JPEG.

Q. What's the best file format for transferring images?
A. Any file format listed above can be imported into PhotoManager. When images are being uploaded to the web, they are converted into a .JPG file and compressed to about a 26K file.

Q. At what resolution should I scan?
A. For web display, it is generally not necessary to scan images at resolutions lower than 600 dpi. Scanning at lower resolutions creates smaller file sizes but has a noticeably poor display quality.

Q. How big can the file be?
A. The software used to upload images to your website is called PhotoManager. PhotoManager reads each image in a folder, makes a copy of it, and then resizes that copy to 600x600 pixels (1200x1200 pixels if using the zoom feature) maintaining the aspect ratio of the image. Therefore, the source image can be any reasonable size.

Q. What dimensions should the image be?
A. Imported images are used to create two files: a thumbnail, and a full size. Ideally, uploaded files should be no larger than 5,000 by 5,000 pixels. Pick the resolution that yields the highest quality picture, and PhotoManager will do the rest.

Q. Do I need to crop the image?
A. If the picture needs any cropping, this should be done before importing into PhotoManager. What you upload should resemble what you are selling.

Q. Can I use your system if I shoot traditional film?
A. Certainly. Our system is designed for traditional photographers, as well as digital photographers. However, your photos must be digitized in order to be published to your Internet storefront for sales.