Disclosure: I was provided with a Flip-Pal mobile scanner to review. But all opinions, as always, are my own.
There are some things that put life into perspective.
If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you know that we lost Ryan’s grandmother last week. She would have been 90 years old in February. (You have met her a few times – like when she turned 85.)
This reminded me of how precious family is, how fast a lifetime can go, and the legacy one person can leave behind.
I was lucky enough to be sent a Flip-Pal mobile scanner in December to try. Ryan and I actually planned to visit Grandma Duke over the holidays to scan some photos and hear her stories. We knew she was getting older and her memory was going, so it was the perfect opportunity to spend some time together and download some memories.
But you know what they say about making plans? She was taken to the hospital right before Christmas and ended up in a memory care unit by the first of the year. She went downhill quickly and soon was placed in hospice care, where she was treated with great kindness and made comfortable. We had the opportunity to visit often in the last month. Henry really enjoyed seeing his great grandma, playing with the blocks and flirting with the other ladies. She seemed to really enjoy Henry’s company, too. She even remembered his name, which surprised us.
I had actually used the Flip-Pal around the house to try it out for a review on the blog and was really impressed by the ease, quality and speed. But then Ryan and I spent an evening with his parents sorting through boxes and albums of photos in preparation for his grandma’s memorial. I sat with the Flip-Pal and scanned and scanned and scanned. For over an hour. We laughed and shared stories and grieved. We pored over old photos when his grandma was our age.
In the end, we were able to put together a lovely photo slideshow that paid a small tribute to a full and happy life. She was loved by so many and we’ll always remember her fondly. In particular, she always treated me like a “real” granddaughter. She always gave me big side hugs. She taught us how to play bingo at the VFW. She brought us to the boat on my 21st birthday. She glowed when Henry hopped up on her lap.
Here are a few photos that I scanned of Helen last week with the Flip-Pal.
(That’s Ryan with his grandma.)
I am so happy we could scan those memories to keep.
In case you are interested in the Flip-Pal, here are a few of my favorite features:
- Size – It’s compact – only 6×10 inches by my measurements. It’s also light and battery-powered, which makes it simple to take with you on the go.
- Portability – One of my biggest pet peeves is having to hook devices into my computer. It’s cumbersome and makes me want to avoid the process. The Flip-Pal is battery operated and saves the scans onto an SD card (like a camera). This means you don’t even have to have the computer with you when you are scanning.
- Ease of use – It truly took me less than a minute to set up the Flip-Pal. Once it’s out of the package, you activate the AA batteries, turn it on, and set the date and time. Then, you scan. Bing. Bang. Boom. It’s so fool proof, I truly think anyone could use it.
- Quick – Some scanners I’ve used in the past take forever to scan one image. On average, it took about 5 seconds to scan a photo. We were able to scan nearly 200 photos in just over an hour (with plenty of time for reminiscing in between).
- Simple download – When you plug the SD card into your computer with the USB drive provided, my computer pulled the photos right into my iPhoto like it would photos on a camera. Then, I could crop and edit photos to my liking. No special software was required.
The size of the scanner does make scanning larger documents more of a process. You can scan the parts of a larger photo or document and then combine them when you download to a computer. So, I found using the Flip-Pal for small 4×6 or 5×7 photos simplest.
(Check out the Flip-Pal side-by-side with other types of scanners.)
I didn’t intend to use the scanner in this way when I agreed to review it. But, it was really nice to have a simple way to scan and share these photos with friends and family of Ryan’s grandma.
And if you have photos or documents you would love to scan, today is your lucky day. Flip-Pal is giving one mobile scanner away ($149 value) to a NewlyWoodwards reader. You have several opportunities to enter. See the handy widget below for details and to enter.
Good luck!
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Heather B says
So sorry for your loss. That is a good thing to be able to scan photos in and you have those precious memories. I have some old photos that I need to scan too and this would be perfect.
Jessica says
I’m sorry for your loss!
I’m glad you had this great tool for documenting these memories. I enjoyed seeing the photos you shared!
Katie says
I am intrigued! I have boxes of photos from my parents house, that I would love to scan and send to my family and friends. It is so tedious to do them on a regular scanner.
ellen casper says
I’d love one to scan all the boxes of old photos I have.
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
So sorry for your loss! It’s amazing that you have so many great photos and memories!
Amanda S. says
I definitely need this!!! SO AWESOME!!! I have six boxes of all my grandparents photos that need to be scanned and this would be a lifesaver! I’m so glad you shared it. And I’m so sorry for your loss. She was clearly very loved and missed.
Chrissie B says
I have been working on my family tree for many years and have found older cousins who do have scanners or sometimes not even a computer and had to take pictures of pictures with my camera. They sometimes came out blurry and thi would make it so much easier.
Kenz @ Interiors By Kenz says
I love that first picture of her so much. What a stunning beauty. Women had such class back then.
Sarah says
Whoops-definitely commented on the wrong post before… I would love to be able to scan all my pictures from before I got a digital camera.
Trina @ Let's Just Build a House says
I would use one of these to scan all of our photos from my childhood….my mom has boxes and boxes of them. It would be so nice to scan them and make photos books for her!
Cindy @theflippingcouple says
Oh Kim. This is such a beautiful tribute to Ryan’s grandma. Being around such an incredible person makes me want to be a better person and care less about the little things in life. Thanks for sharing a little piece of her with us.
Cheryl says
So sorry to hear of your loss – you were blessed to enjoy her company for so many years.
This sounds like a great gadget for processing a lot of old pictures – we have several shoe boxes that my husband is working his way through.
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says
I’m so sorry about his grandma! I would love a scanner like this because I always spend a huge amount of time just scanning photos at my parents house too. This is pretty awesome!!!
Tara says
How handy! I have so many photos I need to scan from my high school days (must have used my parent’s camera, so the negatives are long gone too). Thanks for the giveaway!
Justine says
So sorry for your loss. It looks like she had a great life full of people who loved her. I have started collecting old photographs of family to do a huge gallery wall one day. A scanner would help with this!
cassie says
i’d love to scan in the pics of my brother and i as kids!
Katja @ Shift Ctrl Art says
She is so pretty. I just love vintage photographs. I have some of those of my family on my gallery walls in my hall way.
Denise Z says
I’m so sorry for your loss. What a great comfort for the family that you were able to make the slide show! This sounds like a great tool! I am a scrapbooker, and while I have most of my own family’s photos and memories documented, in the years I”ve had a tub full of my dad’s photos…I haven’t touched them. This would be a great way to record them! Thanks for the chance to win!
Theresa says
So sorry for your loss!
Faith says
I have been needing one of these handy scanners to copy all of our older precious family photos. Great review!
Amber @ Wills Casa says
The quality of that scan is so great! Love all the old pictures! I’d love to have an easy way to scan old photos! It’d be great to catalog my baby pictures so I can compare them with my kids!
Liv says
So sorry for your loss. Having just lost my grandpa a couple of weeks ago, I know what it is like. I wish I had one of these scanners, to preserve the memories…that can fade like an instant.
Suzanne says
I’m sorry for your family’s loss. The older I get the more I realize how valuable these moments and photos become. They should all be captured in audio and video if possible. Thanks for that reminder- and a device that can accomplish it!
Michelle H. says
I’m so sorry for your loss, she looks like a lovely lady, and it’s clear how loved she was. These photos will be treasured for generations.
Sharon Snawerdt says
Kim, when you mentioned that Ryan lost his grandma at lunch today it didn’t register how recently it was. My sincere condolences to you and Ryan. What a gorgeous lady and a beautiful post!
Sarah says
What a beautiful lady! This post brought tears to my eyes. I’m so sorry for your loss, and I’m glad you have such lovely pictures to preserve her memory.
Kim Woodward says
Thank you, Sarah. She was a wonderful woman and we’ll miss her dearly.