High Tech Misery

While I was back in Dublin I looked out my old photo album from the loft. I though I had moved it over with me years ago but obviously didn't.

It was nice to look back at those old pictures. One thing is obvious now though - quantity. I took over 120 pictures in Dublin last week, most on one day. I have 9 pics from our first year trip to Kilkenny in 1983, 6 from Paris in 1985, and less that 20 from a week in Normandy in 1986, and that includes a failed funny hat picture with a church steeple!
At some point I seem to have moved up to larger film sizes as I have rolls from things like Engineering Balls (but only one portrait from my Debs) and uni trips. Once I moved to Scotland there are lots of photos and typically double sets as well (but i don't have a lot of those any more)

So I had a brainwave to scan all the photos I currently have. Of course the scanner I have is pants (why I'm keeping it in the loft I really don't know - I think I just bin it). As my printer is a bit on the old side, I thought about an all in one affair. Thing is, I'm particular. I want a laser printer since I don't print that much and toner doesn't dry out. Also I don't want the paper to curl over. No suitable one was in my range so i decided to simply keep the printer I have and borrow the office scanner for the weekend.
Once I got the scanner home and its software was installing I stared to look at all the pictures I had to scan. I certainly wasn't going to be done this weekend, and thats without rotating or cropping.
Of course once the software installed and i rebooted the scanner didn't work. So i followed the obvious troubleshooting steps and tried again, and again. afer many attempts and web hints it seems that you, or me anyway, can't get a scanjet 4400c to work under vista.

So, what now? I looked at scanning services and they looked expensive though fast. As ever, a lot of cost is added via postage, so I decided to simply buy a new scanner. so a visit to the various web sites to make an informed choice (spoils impulse buying doesn't it?) and find out that tesco sell the one I want cheaper, plus I have a coupon for money off if I'm over a limit, which the scanner is by itself. So now I have my new scanner, plus points for Christmas and a coupon for next week's petrol.

So that was last night. Today, amid the Tour de France and F1 qualification, I started scanning.

Not so bad. This was the worst lot as they were in the album from Dublin, and the oldest photos I have. The plan is to scan the rest as and when i get time and even to scan Ciaran's drawings to save me some storage space here and he constantly drawing.

Once I play about I may even be able to use either the Hugin or the Microsoft stitching software to re-assemble larger items like my degrees...