A records project begins with identifying the medium
Microfilm and microfiche can hold images of documents that need a reader to view. Digitise Film explicitly names these media in its website heading. That is useful evidence if you have inherited filmed records, but it does not tell you which sizes, arrangements or conditions the business can currently handle. Describe what you have, including any labels, before arranging to send it.
For paper material, separate bound books from loose sheets in your inventory because the published price table treats them differently. A family history project might include a bound notebook alongside loose letters. Count them separately, describe any fragile pages and ask whether the proposed handling suits the originals. Avoid removing pages from a binding simply to match a cheaper category.
Read the scanning prices in their proper context
Digitise Film publishes black and white book scanning at 10p per page and loose sheet scanning at 5p per page. Full colour is listed at 20p per page for books and 10p per page for loose sheets. The table states a minimum order value of £100. These are book and document figures, not prices for microfilm, microfiche or VHS conversion.
Use that table to frame an enquiry, then request a current written quote for your actual collection. The quoted details do not specify VAT, additional preparation charges or the counting method for pages. Colour may be worth discussing where ink, annotations or illustrations carry information that a black and white image could lose. Ask about a sample before committing a large or delicate collection.
Choose access that survives beyond the delivery disc
The website says the final format is up to the customer and describes CD/DVD and web style Intranet/Internet versions of material with indexes. In this context those are ways of delivering digitised material. A mention of DVD should not be read as proof that the company converts video tapes or supplies playable home movies.
Ask what the individual files will be, how the index connects to them and whether you can retain a complete independent copy. A disc alone may be awkward if your current computer has no disc drive. For a document project, test whether a sample opens comfortably, remains readable when enlarged and preserves the page sequence. Agree a naming scheme that helps relatives understand the collection without specialist equipment.
If VHS is part of the collection, make a separate enquiry
For VHS digitisation enquiries in Chilmark, near Salisbury, this profile is a place to enquire rather than confirmation of provision. Digitise Film’s published wording supports microfilm, microfiche and document work; it does not establish VHS transfer. Ask directly whether the business accepts your tape type, and request video specific pricing and output details before handing over tapes.
Prepare a short tape list with the labels, likely dates and any known playback problems. Do not play a visibly damaged or mould affected tape to identify it; ask about assessment and handling first. If video conversion is available, agree an output you can open on your own devices and upload to your chosen archive. Keep the original tapes and a separate backup of the delivered files. Check the beginning, middle and end of each video for picture, sound and completeness.
The published order page gives an address at West Wing, Manor Farm, Chilmark, Salisbury, SP3 5AF, under S&N, and a UK telephone number of 01722 717004. Confirm how to arrange delivery or a visit rather than assuming the address operates as a walk in counter.
Bring relatives into the digital memories afterwards
Once photos or home videos are digital, Memrial offers a separate private family archive. It stores and shares digital memories; it does not convert physical tapes and is not part of Digitise Film. The free plan provides 2.0 GB of shared archive storage with no card needed. Invite relatives to help identify people, places and occasions, while keeping your own backup outside the archive.
Timeline accepts exact or approximate dates, so a video remembered only as a summer holiday in a particular year can still be found by year. Live Watch Parties synchronise an uploaded home video, with the host controlling play, pause and seek and relatives joining through voice and text chat. The free allowance is 3 hours per month with up to 6 participants.
For a family anniversary, Event Memories provides a secure occasion contribution link. Contributors sign in but do not need archive membership to add photos or videos. Uploads collect in the event album, and closing the link retains the memories. This gives relatives near or far a practical way to add their own perspective after the conversion work is finished.