old photos Archives - Blog

You or your parents probably have a bunch of photos that you haven’t looked at in months (maybe even years) piled up somewhere at home. For Ralph, a resident of Marlboro, New Jersey, that was certainly the case. He and his family had already displayed a lot of their photos around their homes, but they would need several more picture frames to accommodate all the memories they have immortalized in print.

When Ralph, his mother, and his sister each got Nixplay Frames, part of their dilemma was solved: They can now display multiple photos on a single frame, saving space and reducing clutter. However, they also wanted to see some printed images that were yet to be digitized.

“My mother gave me a box of like 300 pictures to scan and to put on a picture frame,” Ralph recalls. What seemed like an arduous task turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable. Watch Ralph’s story below to learn why:

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

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5 Reasons Why You Should Start Using Google Photos Right Now (If You Haven’t Done So Yet)

By Mars Salazar

On August 12, 2018

In From The Nixplay Team, Photography

If you love taking pictures, you need Google Photos handy on all your gadgets. This app lets you back up, edit, and share your images and videos with ease, making it the perfect companion of your Nixplay Wi-Fi Cloud Frames. If you’re not yet sold on Google Photos, here’s why you should start using it ASAP:

1) It organizes your photos for you.

Google Photos automatically sorts your photos, such as the ones you took during a recent vacation, into albums by using machine intelligence. These albums are created when you back up new pictures to your account.

Now you can show off these albums, too: During the 2018 Google I/O Developers’ Summit, it was announced that Nixplay has joined the Google Photos partner program to help you securely access your priceless memories. And with the latest Nixplay app update, you can choose to stream your Google Photos albums to your Nixplay Wi-Fi Cloud Frame.

Google Photos is now integrated with the Nixplay mobile app.

When a new image is added to a Google Photos album, it will also appear on your Nixplay frame. It’s never been easier (and more fun!) to stay up to date on your loved ones’ lives. Update your Nixplay app now so you won’t miss out!

2) It lets you share your photos easily.

Want to have all the pictures your family took during your Europe trip in one place? With just a few clicks, you can create a shared album on Google Photos where you and your loved ones can easily upload your snapshots for everyone to see, whether they have the Google Photos app or not.

3) It helps you free up your phone’s memory.

Photos and videos can easily eat up a large chunk of your phone’s memory. Google Photos lets you back up your priceless memories and free up space on your phone in one go, hitting two birds with one stone.

Once your phone’s done backing up your pictures, just select the “Free Up Space” option under the menu. The photos and videos that have been backed up to Google Photos will be moved to your “Trash” folder, where you can permanently delete them from your phone’s memory. This simple action frees up precious space on your phone.

4) It lets you create photo books (in the U.S. and Canada).

Whether you’re tech-savvy or a technophobe, you have to admit that nothing still beats the experience of leafing through a printed photo album. Once you’ve set up your Google Photos account, you can have up to 100 pictures printed in a photo book for a reasonable fee. Easy, right?

5) It helps you digitize old photos.

PhotoScan is a nifty Google-made app that lets you scan printed photos using your phone’s camera glare-free. It also automatically crops and enhances your images, so your 20-year-old grade school pictures and your parents’ 40-year-old wedding photos stay vibrant during their online migration. You can choose to back up your scanned PhotoScan images to your Google Photos account so you can view them anytime on your Google Photos library.

What’s your favorite Google Photos feature? Let us know in a comment below!

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

Need To Digitise Your Old Photos?

By Beatrice Bisais

On August 15, 2017

In Photography

Quick and easy solutions to scan your old photos

Everyone has photos in that shoebox under the stairs or in the attic. In the days before Facebook & Instagram we used to capture those precious moments, have them developed… and then store them in the aforementioned shoebox. Now that times have changed, we are increasingly relying on our online tools to preserve those memories and experiences.

(source: jarmoluk)

So the next question is, how can you digitise those old pictures? Those first steps? Mum and dad’s wedding? Or those embarrassing school photos?

Use a Scanner

The first solution is a little obvious. Using a scanner used to be the standard method of getting images digitised. Many modern printers have a built-in scanner. However, if you don’t own a Scanner, picking up one will set you back around $60USD.

But isn’t there an easier, faster way to upload your photos?

Yes! There’s an app for that

We have selected our favourite photo scanning apps below. We find this is the fastest way to digitise your photos, with specific features to help preserve the quality and details.

Google PhotoScan: Available on iOS & Android, with easy-to-scan feature, Automatic glare removal, cropping and rotation capability.

Photomyne: Also available on iOS & Android, Photomyne converts old prints into digital photos ready for posting on social media and allows for multiple photos to be uploaded in one go.

Shoebox: One of the most popular apps on the market, this App is available in iOS or Android but gives you the additional option of tagging information with your photos. You can add locations, people, captions, and dates.

(Image source: Jarmoluk, Pixabay)

Beatrice Bisais

Bea is Nixplay’s Social Media Manager. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading about wars, and writing stories. Send her a message at beatrice.bisais@nixplay.com.

Tag: old photos

Haven’t Scanned Your Old Photos Yet? Here’s Why You Should Stop Putting It Off.