Mail-In Media Digitization
Ship Your Tapes, Film, and Slides to Us for Free
Professional Media Conversion With Free Shipping Both Ways
No matter where you are in the United States, we make it easy to have your media professionally digitized. We'll send you a free prepaid USPS shipping label, you pack up your tapes, film, or slides, and ship them to our lab at no cost. When your project is complete, we carefully pack everything and ship it back to you at no added cost.
At Archival Works, every project is handled individually by the same person from start to finish. We use broadcast-grade equipment and a fully lossless capture workflow to ensure your files are the best quality they can possibly be. There's no assembly line, no barcode queue, and no mystery about who is handling your media or how it's being processed.
How Our Mail-In Service Works
Step 1: Get in touch. Fill out our online order form or call us at 651-366-0906. Tell us what you have and we'll help you figure out the best approach for your project. There's no pre-purchased kit to buy and no barcode system. Just a straightforward conversation about your media and your needs.
Step 2: Ship it to us. We'll email you a free prepaid USPS shipping label. Pack your media in any sturdy box with some padding, stick the label on, and drop it off with your mail carrier or at any post office.
Step 3: We get to work. When your media arrives, we inventory everything and send you a confirmation. Every tape is inspected and cleaned before transfer. Every reel of film is checked for damage and repaired if needed. Every slide is physically cleaned before scanning. We'll keep you updated throughout the process.
Step 4: We ship it back. When your project is complete, we carefully pack your original media alongside your new digital files on a flash drive. We also offer digital download delivery if you'd prefer to receive your files electronically.
What Makes Us Different
When you search for mail-in digitization, you'll find a lot of large national companies with big advertising budgets and promises of convenience. Many of them do fine work for basic needs. But there are real differences in how your media gets handled, and those differences show up in the final result.
Most large services process thousands of orders at a time. Your tapes move through a facility on an assembly line, handled by different people at each stage, with limited quality control on any individual tape. The output is typically a compressed MP4 at the minimum viable quality, and if something doesn't look right, you may not find out until weeks later when the package arrives.
At Archival Works, your project is handled by one person from start to finish. We transfer every tape in real time on professional Sony, JVC, and Panasonic decks with time base correction, through a professional AJA capture card, into a lossless 10-bit recording. Film is scanned frame by frame in DCI 4K. Slides are scanned at 5300 PPI with color correction included. If we notice a problem during a transfer, we can stop, address it, and redo it on the spot. You won't find that level of attention at a facility processing 10,000 orders a month.
There is also always a real person you can talk to. When you call our number, you reach someone on our team who will be familiar with your specific project. If you have questions about a specific tape or want to discuss how a particular format should be handled, you're talking to someone who knows the answer, not a call center reading from a script.
Formats We Accept by Mail
Pricing
Our pricing is straightforward and based on what you're having digitized. There are no hidden fees, no surprise charges, and no pre-purchased kits to buy.
Video tapes start at $19.95 per tape. Film scanning starts at 45 cents per foot. Slide scanning starts at 99 cents per slide. Shipping to us is always free. For detailed pricing and package options, visit our individual service pages listed above.
Are you local? No Problem. Drop-off is available by appointment.
If you're in the Twin Cities metro area, we also offer drop-off and pickup services by appointment. Just fill out an order form to get started, or give us a call at 651-366-0906.
Ready to Preserve Your Memories?
Fill out an order form and we’ll send you a prepaid shipping label. You can also use our instant estimate tool to get a quick price. Have questions? Call us at 651-366-0906 to talk through your project.