Photo Repair Services - Questions

Q. Can you scan my photo for me if I send it to you?

Yes : We prefer to scan the photos ourselves for a number of reasons.

• We use professional high resolution scanners capable of revealing details missed by common scanners
• Any prints taken from the scanned photo will be of the highest quality possible
• To ensure enlargements of the photo are possible without compromising on quality

Q. Can I scan the photo myself ?

Yes : Please see the scanning guide for details on how you should scan your photo.

Q. Can you enlarge my photo ?

Yes we can, though we would need either a high resolution scan (600PPI) or your original photo so we can scan it ourselves in order to complete this. Enlarging a lower resolution image will produce a poor result. See the scanning guide for details on scanning resolutions.

Q. How long does a repair take ?

Once we receive your photo or electronic scan of the photo, we generally aim to have your restored photo available to view online or returned via email within 8 working hours. Obviously larger orders will require a longer period of time.

Q. How do I arrange a repair ?

Simply contact us using the online form, or send us an email. If you don't have a a high resolution scan of the photo and don't have access to a scanner, you can post the original photo to us. We will then scan your photo and provide a repair quotation directly to you along with details on how to access your online account.

Q. How do I log into my account ?

Once you complete the online form, your account is automatically generated and an email is sent to your email address containing your password. You can then use this password along with your email address to access your account in the future. If you contact us by email or post, we will create an online account for you.

Q. I can't log into my account

When you completed the contact form you should have received an automated email containing your password. If you havn't received an email, then please check your junk or spam folders as some email clients may treat our email as junk. If you still havn't received an email you can request a password reset on the login page, this will reset your password and email a new one to you.

Q. Why do I need a password for my account?

Although your account does not contain any banking or credit card information it does contain your contact details. We therefore need to keep this secure by restricting access to your account.

Q. Can I see the repair before I pay you?

Yes, we complete all the repairs before you pay us a penny. Once the repair is completed a preview will be made available for you to view online, this can be accessed through your account pages on this website. We can also email you back the repaired photo if required.

Q. How do I pay?

Simply log into your account at any time to see the status of your order and the balance of your account.
You can also pay for any outstanding services securely from within your account page. To ensure a secure transaction, we use PayPal and Google Checkout as our secure payment providers. We do not have access to your specific banking details and cannot handle telephone payments.

Q. Can you fix jpegs ?

Yes : Photos taken with a digital camera will be in jpeg (or JPG) format. These can be used for any repair or printing, though enlargements will be restricted depending on the resolution, or megapixels, of the camera that was used.

Q. Can you repair photos that have been underexposed or overexposed?

Normally we can fix these problems to a certain degree, though if the image is extremely overexposed or underexposed then this may not be possible. If the details were not originally captured by the camera then we will not be able to retrieve them. We'll let you know if there is a problem.

Q. Why do you do only give a free print and CD to orders over £7.00?

The cost of producing a print, a CD, the protective envelope and associated postage mean that it is simply not economically viable to do this for under £7.00. For orders under £7.00 you will have the option of purchasing a print and CD during checkout. Orders that remain under £7.00 will be subject to a small delivery fee.

Q. Do you need the original photo ?

No, but we prefer to scan the photo ourselves, but if you are scanning or having the photo scanned for you by a friend or a high street store, please ensure the photo is scanned at a resolution of at least 300dpi. If you require the photo enlarging, then a higher resolution of at least 600dpi would be required. See the scanning guide for details on scanning resolutions.

If you cannot get the photo scanned then you can send it to us, we will happily scan it for you.

Q. I'm worried about sending my precious photographs to you.

This is understandable, but be assured that we keep all photos in house. Unlike some other companies that send them on to a 3rd party for processing, we process all the photos ourselves. Once we receive your image, it is scanned and the image uploaded onto our server for processing. The original is then stored securely until we despatch your repaired photo.

Q. The colours in my photo have faded, can you restore them ?

Depending on the amount of fading in the photo, most faded colour photos can be restored and brought back to life. Cases of extreme fading may call for manually colouring of the photo in order to restore the colours.

Q. My photo is sepia, can you convert it to black and white?

Yes we can, but only if you ask us to. Normally we will return your photo to the same colour tones it was when you sent it to us, i.e. Black & White, Colour or Sepia.

Q. Can you convert a black and white photo into colour?

Yes, we offer a colouring service. Please note: The colouring service will only perform minor repairs to an image. If your image requires restoration then you will also need to purchase the Photo Restoration service.

Q. Can you repair photos that have fallen apart into two or more pieces?

Yes, just make sure you send us all the pieces, or include all the pieces in the high resolution scan if you are sending the image electronically, and we will put it back together again for you.

Q. Part of the photo is missing completely. Can you replace this?

We can replace certain details so you wouldn't know it was ever missing, such as backgrounds, hands, arms etc, though replacing someone's head or face would only be possible if you had a suitable donor photograph that we could use. We simply cannot guess what a persons features would have been.

Q. Can you remove someone or an object from a photo ?

Yes we can remove any unwanted people or objects from a photo.

Q. My photo is oval, will it still be oval when it is repaired?

Yes, unless you specifically request us to extend the image into a standard 3:2, 5:4 or 1:1 ratio, depending on the ratio of the original photo.

Q. Some people have their eyes closed. Can you open their eyes for us?

Yes. But only if you send us another photo showing their eyes as we will use this to repair your image.

Q. Some of the faces in the photo are badly faded and not recognisable, will I be able to see it when you have finished?

This all depends on the level of damage that the photo has sustained. If the damage is too great, then we will not be able to restore the faces for you. We'll let you know if there is a problem.

Q. My photo is badly blurred; will it be nice and sharp when it comes back?

Unfortunately this is one thing that we cannot fix. Poor focusing when the photo was taken cannot be "fixed" as the details are not there to be restored. So, if it is blurred to start with it will most likely be blurred when the damage is repaired. We'll let you know if there is a problem.

Q. Can you restore old documents or certificates ?

Yes, we can restore any paper based documents, certificates and newspaper articles etc. If it can be electronically scanned, we can restore it. However, you must ensure that you have permission to make a copy of the document, as certain documents are sometimes covered by copyright laws.

Q. What happens if I'm not satisfied with the repair work?

Once the photo has been repaired, we will notify you by email. You will be able to view a small watermarked version of the repaired photo online from the "My Account" page. If we haven't done the job to your satisfaction then we'll do it again for FREE. If we don't think we'll be able to give you a great result we'll let you know.

Q. If you cannot repair the photo will I still be charged?

No, though the majority of photos can be repaired to some degree but if we cannot repair the photo to a certain standard we will let you know.

If you can't find an answer in these Frequently Asked Questions then please e-mail your question to info@exposure22.com