Does anyone know if it is possible to get a good quality reprint of a photograph from the original photograph. (i.e I have no negative, just the picture).

I am desperate to get a reprint of a picture of my Grandparents, taken by a professional photographer some 20 years ago.

Needless to say I would not want to harm or damage the original which is a treasure to my mum. I wouldn't want to risk scanning for instance in case it damages the print.

Is there anyone in the know who could advise?

Thank you.

I can't think of any reason why scanning should damage the print - there are loads of professionals who restore old photos in this way.

You could always try photographing the print with a high resolution digital camera, and use photoshop to tidy it up - it won't be quite as good as a high resolution scan, but if you find someone who is good at processing digital photos they coul do a very good job of it.

scanning cant harm the pic, but if you dont want to do it your self, i had some reprints done at boots last year!:thumbsup:

Yes with regular (or free) software and a scanner you can copy and reprint a colour photo with no problem at all. I have done it a few times. There is no risk to the Photo. Once you have it scanned on the computer your digital copy is archiveable too. And you could print it in 20 or 100 years, by which time the original photo may have been damaged or faded. And your printout will be much better than the original.

try-
www.peak-imaging.com
they can scan it,tidy it up,manipulate it ect.

Have you tried Harrisons on London rd? I think they might do that sort of thing! We had some done somewhere and that's the only place I can think of that we would have taken them, hope this helps!

Originally posted by leddi
Have you tried Harrisons on London rd? I think they might do that sort of thing! We had some done somewhere and that's the only place I can think of that we would have taken them, hope this helps!
See above:D

the issues would be:

1. scanning heats the photograph. old photos are often on less resilient paper. i sacnned some old pictures and one or two curled slightly from the heat. this reversed when they cooled

2. the intense light may destroy the photo pigment. this is the reason you aren't allowed to use flash cameras in museums, etc.

My advice would be to go for it. Scan them yourself using a clean flatbed scanner. I very much doubt you will do any harm, and you will have permanent copies of the pictures. Of course the original is always nicest.

DO NOT, as some have said, hand them over to the likes of Boots. Not only could you entrust them to an incompetent thicko (absolutely no offence to Boots staff meant), but the printing is often sub-standard (poor quality paper, machines, colour reproduction). Bigger Jessops can be good, but expensive.

Davie

Thank you all for the advice. I have learnt that scanning will not harm the original, so that's all good.

DO NOT, as some have said, hand them over to the likes of Boots. Not only could you entrust them to an incompetent thicko (absolutely no offence to Boots staff meant), but the printing is often sub-standard (poor quality paper, machines, colour reproduction). Bigger Jessops can be good, but expensive.

Davie
Bit harsh wasn't it!!!
Nobody mentioned boots or jessops,
The only two places mentioned employ highly skilled staff,staff who treat all images with a high degree of care and professionalism!!!
And yes i do speak from experience!:rant:

This is one of the services I offer, if you want a slightly more personal service than one of the high street stores - I'm in Hillsborough and could probably scan the photo while you watched if that would reassure you. Have a look at the link in my sig (I'm sure you can guess which one ;)) and feel free to PM me with any questions. A simple scan and basic image correction usually only costs a fiver (a little more if there is any physical damage to retouch) and I always supply whatever image files people want, so that you can make your own prints in the future.