Absolutely fantastic service, with a really personal touch. Nothing was to much trouble for Sharon. Pictorium definitely went that extra mile!!!   Marie Doherty

Your Photographs Expertly Restored From Just €15

Pictorium is one of Ireland’s leading digital imaging experts specialising in photo restoration, retouching and editing photos.

When TV and Radio want to talk to an expert in photo restoration, they come to Pictorium. READ our Testimonials

We work with historians, museums, conservationists, genealogists, sports and social clubs, corporates and customers nationally and internationally.

Whether you come into the gallery shop or we work together by phone / email / post you are guaranteed an unrivalled experience.

What Types of Damage

Whether it be the photos found in the attic, creased from your wallet, or a torn photo of a loved one, the family photo that’s stuck to the glass of the frame, a faded photo of your homestead or even discoloured photos in that wedding album you want to give as a gift. Yes we have seen it all!

Example of types of damage

  • Faded or dark photographs – balance and enhance
  • Discoloured photographs – colour correct
  • Cracked, creased or scratched photographs
  • Torn & ripped photos – piece together & restore
  • Photographs stuck to glass
  • Stains, smudges, water damage from photographs – remove and restore
  • Foxing – remove and restore (seen as brown spots which comes from impurities in the paper / mould activated by humidity)

What Do We Restore From

HARD COPY Photographs, Pictures, Artwork, Documents, Certificates, Historical, Letters…

SLIDES & FILM Negatives (Negs) Positives, Colour and  Black & White   Slides (photo transparencies – all sizes), Singular Film (all sizes) and Strips of Film

OLDER MEDIA Glass Slides, as well as Lithographs, Tintypes, Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes

Click READ MORE for detailed information of the Older Media Types

READ MORE

Photograph Types_A Quick Guide

LITHOGRAPHS 1796-1950s

Surface: Paper and/or backed onto canvas
Lithography was invented around 1796 in Germany by an otherwise unknown Bavarian playwright, Alois Senefelder, who accidentally discovered that he could duplicate his scripts by writing them in greasy crayon on slabs of limestone and then printing them with rolled-on ink.

It was very popular with painters who would use black chalk or charcoal. It is an original piece of artwork with the signature, usually located on the back.

Lithographs v Print
By Look A lithograph will show signs of irregularities in the dot pattern with offset lithography leaving a dotted circular pattern in rows

By Touch You can also compare a lithograph vs. print by touch. Rub your hand lightly over an original lithograph, and the surface should feel slightly raised. Prints will always have a completely flat surface because they came from a printing press.

DAGUERREOTYPES 1839-1860s

Surface: Highly polished, mirror-like silver
Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839 and was the first publicly available photographic process.

They are shiny to view and were made on highly polished mirror-like silver-coated copper plates and would come in protective cases or sleeves, often made of leather and lined with silk or velvet.

You have to tilt them at a 45 degree angle to view them. Depending on the angle at which you view them, they can look like a negative, a positive or a mirror.

They became less popular with the advent of the less expensive Ambrotype in 1860.

AMBROTYPE 1854-1880s

Surface: Glossy often behind glass
Patented in 1854s and superceded the more expensive Daguerreotypes in the 1860s.

Like the Daguerreotype they be found in hinged protective cases. They are typically housed in miniature hinged cases made of wood covered with leather, paper, cloth, or mother of pearl.

They are on glass. Backed with a dark substance (such as varnish or paper) they look positive, but when the backing starts to deteriorate, you can often see through the glass.

TINTYPE 1853-1930s

Surface: Iron, semi-glossy
Patented in 1856. They are actually printed on iron, not tin. Unlike a daguerreotype, tintypes are not reflective.

Most Tintypes are not found in a protective sleeve or case. Cased tintypes may be difficult to distinguish from cased ambrotypes.

Weight can help to differentiate, but a magnet may be used to conclusively identify the tintype’s iron support.

How To Get The Photos To Us

We work with customers nationwide on a daily basis via:

  • Appointments in our Shop (01) 284 6106
  • Drop & Go in our Shop
  • Phone & Email
  • Post

Click “READ MORE” below for full details on how to get the photos to us.

READ MORE

APPOINTMENTS Shop number is (01) 284 6106. We can scan and size the photo whilst you are in the shop. We do spend time with our customers and do not want to have you waiting (you are also very welcome to wait or Drop and Go).

EMAIL if in digital format please email.

DROP & GO Put your photo into an envelope along with your name and tel no and we will call you when we have your photo scanned in.

POSTAL ADDRESS If you post it to us, we will call you as soon as it arrives. We will then scan your photo and call you to discuss size etc.

Pictorium Photoshop
No 3 Monkstown Court
Monkstown Farm
Glenageary, Co. Dublin
A96 HK30

Tel +353 1 284 6106
Email: info@pictorium.ie

How We Restore Your Photos

We ideally like to work from an original image, but we live in the real world (!) so we know that that is not always possible. So yes we can work with what ever you can give to us.

Please do bear in mind though that you will always get far better results from an original photograph than you will get from • a low resolution scan/digital image • a photo that you have taken on your camera phone of a hard copy picture • a photo from Facebook • one that has been sent to you via Text/WhatsApp • copy of a photo/screen grab etc.

Why In short, there is a lot of key information that cannot seen by the naked eye, this is what we access when we scan and manipulate your photo. The information is lost in a low res (resolution) scan, a copy of a photo or a picture (taken using your phone) of a hard copy photo.

Click “READ MORE” for detailed information on the Restoration Process’s from Scanning, Restoration to Printing.

READ MORE

1) SCANNING

This is where we scan (also known as digitising) and create a digital / soft copy of your photo.

Scanning in photos professionally is all about getting as much detail as possible from your image. This is called resolution. We scan at 3,200dpi for slides (6,400dpi upon request), negs etc. and up to 1,000dpi depending on the size of your photo.

This ensures that we get every scintilla of information from your photo no matter how small therefore optimising your photo allowing your photo to be enlarged without it losing detail or becoming blurry/grainy.  READ about our Scanning Service

2) BALANCE & ENHANCE for faded or discoloured photos

Over the years photos tend to discolour and fade. There are a multitude of reasons that photos fade, the main being due to the interaction of sunlight with your photos.

There is no one button fix, all photos are different and so each of your photos need different levels of re-balancing.

The work we do is very image specific. We work with the brightness, contrast, tones, colour levels and hue/saturation… to enhance your photo. This will rebalance your photos whether they be colour or black and white.

The results can be amazing, your colour photos look brighter, clearer and more vibrant and your brown or discoloured photos are now a clear and natural black & white.

3) RESTORING

Over the years we have restored 1,000s of photos for our customers. What makes us different is we have a genuine passion for our work and are meticulous when it comes to restoring your precious photos.

Our attention to detail is second to none. This coupled with our photographic techniques, expertise and the state-of-the-art hardware and software, results in the seamless restoration of your photographs. READ our Testimonials

4) PRINTING/FRAMING

Once your photos are restored we can then give them to you as digital images and / or we can print them for you.

We offer a wide range of printing services. READ about our Printing Services

Printing to your preferred size • strut mounts • framing: ready-made & bespoke • canvas printing.

All from our shop in Monkstown, Dublin.