Gift cards

Say you'd like to give your dad his home movies back, but you've no idea whether the box in his garage holds VHS tapes or reels of cine film. You can't order a transfer for something you haven't seen. A gift card gets round that.

He doesn't need to open the box or work out what's in it first. He brings it in just as it is, and we work out what it is with him at the counter.

There's no need for an appointment, and nothing needs sorting first. We do all the labelling. Every job is labelled with a unique four digit sticker, so nothing from one family can end up with another's.

Each tape, reel or print is assessed at the counter, and they're told the expected outcome, time frame and cost before any work starts. Prices are fixed and agreed at the counter, with no hidden fees. Video tapes are charged per tape, with cleaning included, and they're welcome to bring their own USB. Cine film is quoted on the reels once we've seen them. If a tape turns up broken, we can usually fix it for a small fee, and any mould is talked through at the counter before we go further.

Old discs often sit in the same box. Converting existing DVDs and CDs to USB is a job we do a lot of now. Transfers and our other services vary in how long they take, depending on how many items there are, how busy we are and the condition they're in. That's why we'd rather give a time frame once we've had a look. The VHS to digital in Melbourne page and the 16mm, 8mm & Super 8mm Transfer and Conversions page go into each in more detail.

The card isn't only for tapes. It can go on prints, enlargements, canvas, framing or anything else we make, and on a shoebox of photos to be scanned, which the Photo scanning in Melbourne page covers.

For prints, we colour adjust every single image before printing. Order prints online before 11.00am and they're usually ready a few hours later. If a favourite photo deserves a frame, the Custom Picture Framing page explains how that works.

You buy it on our Digital gift cards page, where you choose the amount and say who it's for. We email it to them with your message as soon as you've paid, or on the morning you pick, so it can land on a birthday. If you'd rather print it and hand it over in person, put your own email address in and it comes to you instead.

They type the code at the checkout when they order online, or read it out at the counter. It can be spent over several visits, and whatever is left stays on the card. It's good for three years, and there's never a fee for using it. Because it's emailed, there's nothing to post and no postage to pay.

We're at 605-607 High Street, Kew East, opposite the Harp Hotel. We're open Monday to Thursday 10.00am to 5.00pm and Friday 10.00am to 4.00pm, and closed on weekends. Tram route 48 stops right out the front at stop 39, and there are public car parks in Valerie Street and Strathalbyn Street as well as parking on High Street.

The card arrives by email, so you can buy it from anywhere in the country for someone who lives close to us. If they live further away, we take orders Australia-wide by post. We post all around the country, many of our repeat customers are interstate, and we post and express post every day.

If they'd like to post their tapes or photos in and put the card towards the job, ask us about it before anything goes in the mail. Anyone still holding a gift card from our old Order Photos Online frame shop can ring or email us with the last four characters of the code, and we'll swap it for a PhotoQ gift card with the same balance.