What is Capture Australia?

Capture Australia is a photo digitisation service that scans printed photos and albums using proprietary glare-removal technology. We work with a network of partner shops in Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. Customers drop off their albums or loose prints at a local partner shop, and the shop handles the scanning before returning the originals safely.

Where do I get my photos scanned?

Capture Australia operates through partner shops in Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. You bring your albums or loose prints to the nearest partner location, leave them for scanning, and collect them once the job is done. Visit captureaus.com/where-to-scan to find your closest shop and its opening hours.

What technology does Capture Australia use to remove glare?

Capture Australia uses a proprietary 8-layer glare-removal process. The scanner captures multiple exposures of each photo through the album plastic sleeve, then processes those layers to strip out glare and reflections. The output is a clear, detailed digital copy, produced without ever removing the photo from the album.

Do my photos need to come out of the album?

No. The scanning technology works through album plastic sleeves and pages, so your photos stay exactly where they are throughout the process. There is no risk of tearing, bending or damaging the originals at any point.

What sizes of photos does Capture Australia scan?

Capture Australia scans printed photos across a wide range of sizes. Small wallet prints, standard 4x6 inch and 5x7 inch photographs, 8x10 portraits and larger prints up to and including large format scanning of framed portraits and artworks, with a capture area of up to 45cm x 70cm. The proprietary scanning equipment is physically installed at each partner shop, built specifically to handle this full size range without removing photos from their sleeves, albums or frames. The same 8-layer glare-removal technology applies at every scale, so the digital output is sharp and consistent whether the print is a pocket-sized snap or a large framed portrait or artwork. Slides, negatives and film require different equipment and some partner shops like Photoland, Camera House and Retromedia offer these services. The wider Capture group covers those formats outside of Australia at capture.com and capture.hk.

How are my digitised photos delivered?

Once scanning is complete, your photos are delivered as high-resolution digital files on a USB drive or via a secure online downloadable link. Confirm the delivery method with your partner shop when you drop off your photos.

Is Capture Australia listed in Google Photos?

Yes. You can find Capture Australia in the Google Photos app import function. In the Google Photos app or website, tap the '+' button, select 'From other places', then choose 'Digitise physical photos' to find us. After we deliver your files via USB or downloadable link, you upload them to your Google Photos account yourself through the app on your own device.

Is the scan quality consistent across all partner shops?

Yes. Every partner shop uses the same Capture Australia proprietary scanning workflow and glare-removal technology, so the output quality is consistent regardless of which location handles the job. Each photo goes through the same multi-layer processing at every shop.

How much does photo scanning cost in Australia?

The cost depends on your situation: the partner shop you use, the size of your collection, whether you need express turnaround, and whether any additional manual steps are involved, such as archival full-page captures or handling unusually fragile prints. Our semi-automated scanning workflow keeps the baseline cost low, because the technology does the heavy lifting on each photo rather than requiring hour-by-hour manual labour. Different partner shops run their own promotions from time to time, and larger collections can qualify for better rates. The best way to get an accurate figure is to contact your nearest partner shop with a rough count of your photos and albums.

Digitise Old Photos Stuck in Albums Safely in Australia

Can You Scan Photos That Are Stuck in Albums?Magnetic albums bind photos, risking damage. Capture Australia safely scans and digitises your stuck photos without removal. Preserve your precious memories.

Yes. In fact, that's exactly the situation Capture's technology was built for.

Stuck photos are more common than most people realise. Magnetic albums from the 1970s through the 1990s used adhesive pages covered by a clear plastic sheet. Over time, that adhesive migrates into the photo surface, binding the print to the page. Attempting to remove those photos manually risks tearing the front surface of the print, which cannot be repaired.

What magnetic albums are

The term "magnetic" is a bit misleading. These albums don't use actual magnets. The name refers to the self-adhesive pages, which hold photos in place without corner mounts or sleeves. You pressed the photo down onto the sticky surface and smoothed the plastic sheet over the top.

Millions of Australian families used these albums throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and into the 1990s. They were sold under various brand names through department stores and chemists. The format was convenient at the time. Decades later, the adhesive is the problem.

Why you shouldn't try to remove them

A photo stuck to a magnetic album page has typically bonded at the paper and emulsion level. Attempting to peel it risks removing the emulsion layer, which contains the actual image. The result can be a blank white print and a damaged page with part of the image stuck to it.

Heat and solvents are sometimes suggested as solutions. Both carry risks: heat can cause the photo to warp and the emulsion to crack; solvents can dissolve dye layers. Both require specialist conservation knowledge to use safely. For a family collection, that's not a practical path.

The safest approach is not to remove the photo at all as the other problem exists as well; the photos not being able to be put back! One you remove the photos, if successful, there is no good or easy way to reattach and reposition the photos after you scan them in loose form. This really "destroys" your album in it's original format, and that is definitely not the ideal outcome at all.

How in-album scanning works

Professional in-album scanning uses overhead imaging systems designed to photograph the page as it sits in the album, without requiring removal of any photo. The glare from plastic sleeves and protective overlays, which would otherwise bleach out the scan, is handled through specialised lighting and software processing.

Capture Australia's proprietary glare-removal technology was developed specifically for this. Albums are scanned page by page, with the photos in place. We simply turn the pages, and with one click of the mouse, we can capture and extract the images. The original albums come back in the same condition they went in.

If your albums have photos stuck to adhesive pages, photos behind deteriorating plastic, or pages that are fragile or warped, they can still be scanned. Bring them as they are, and we look forward to helping you.

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