16mm Film to Digital Service
Description
Heirloom's 16mm film to digital service makes it easy to preserve your priceless home movies, educational films, church films, and historical recordings before they fade or deteriorate. We professionally scan 16mm motion picture film, including both sound and silent reels, into 480p standard-definition MP4 videos that are easy to stream, share, and preserve for generations.
Whether you're sending 16mm film, photographs, slides, negatives, videotapes, or other media, simply send everything together. Heirloom specialists carefully inspect every item, identify exactly what you've sent, verify it can be digitized, and prepare a detailed, itemized quote.
There is no counting, measuring, or guesswork—and no obligation. You don't need to know how many feet of film are on your reels. During our free inspection, Heirloom specialists inspect every reel and classify it as either a Small, Large, or Damaged reel, then email you a detailed, no-obligation quote. We begin scanning only after you've approved the quote and submitted payment.
Why Use a 16mm Film to Digital Service?
16mm film has preserved family memories, documentaries, educational programs, and professional productions for decades, but film naturally deteriorates with age. Colors fade, scratches accumulate, film becomes brittle, and repeated projection increases the risk of permanent damage. Professional 16mm film scanning preserves every frame as a 480p MP4 video before those memories are lost.
Why Choose Heirloom?
Most film scanning companies expect you to identify your film type, estimate footage, and determine its condition before sending anything.
Heirloom doesn't.
Simply send your film, and Heirloom specialists will:
- Identify every type of media you send
- Inspect every reel for vinegar syndrome
- Verify if every reel can be digitized
- Classify every reel as Small, Large, or Damaged
- Determine if your film includes synchronized sound
- Prepare a detailed, itemized quote
- Answer any questions before work begins
Only after you've reviewed and approved your quote do we begin digitizing your memories.
What types of 16mm film does Heirloom digitize?
Heirloom digitizes regular 16mm movie film, including both silent reels (the majority) and 16mm film with sound. Each reel is inspected so the correct handling and capture method is used.
What’s the size of small and large 16mm reels?
Small 16mm reels are 3 inches or less in diameter, while large reels are anything over 3 inches. Reel size affects handling and scanning time, but you don’t need to measure—Heirloom identifies and classifies each reel for you.
Can Heirloom digitize 16mm film with sound?
Yes. When sound is present on a 16mm reel, Heirloom preserves the original audio along with the video whenever possible. Silent and sound reels are both digitized using film-safe, professional workflows.
What if my 16mm film smells like vinegar?
A vinegar smell usually indicates vinegar syndrome, a form of acetate film decay. Heirloom can often recover degraded 16mm film affected by early or moderate vinegar syndrome, but reels that are actively falling apart cannot be safely digitized.
Choose How To Send Your Media
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Shipping Kit
Box, Pre-Paid Shipping Label, Packing Materials.
(Safest)$20.00 -
Shipping Label
Buy a label & ship instantly with UPS Drop-Off.
(Quickest + Safe)$14.99 -
Self Shipping
For those who like to do all their own shipping.
(Do-It-Yourself)FREE -
Drop Off
Near the Charleston area? Drop-off media in person.
(Walk-in anytime)FREE
Heirloom is a mail-in digitizing service. Choose shipping to ship your media.
How It Works
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Ship Your Media
Ship or drop-off your media to our digitizing center.
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Approve Quote
We send your quote via email; You approve, we work.
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We Deliver
Receive your new files, Cloud account, & old media.
Invoice for services sent after quote approval.
Service guaranteed complete under 2 weeks, with average wait time only a few days.
