The Digitisation Insider: July’s Digitisation Highlights

What we worked on in July 2026

In July, we have been working on several exciting projects, including the Museum of Scottish Railways and Nick Hutt’s Honeymoon History. We have also continued our work with The Fusilier Museum, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and Unilever.

We have worked with a wide range of materials this month, from loose letters from the Museum of Scottish Railways to oversized maps from The Fusilier Museum. I’m also excited to share an interesting scrapbook that we received from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Project Spotlight

I have been scanning a batch of handwritten letters from the Museum of Scottish Railways. I found these letters particularly interesting to scan as they date back to the Second World War. They appear to be personal wartime family correspondence, possibly from a railway employee or someone connected with the railways. The letters provide a fascinating insight into everyday life during the war.

As these were loose documents, I was able to scan them using a board underneath the cloth and the Vanguard glass. This helps ensure the letters are scanned as flat as possible, with no curling or distortion.

This video shows me scanning the material and cropping the final scans in Capture One.

Favourite items scanned

One of my favourite items that we have digitised this month is a scrapbook from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. This scrapbook includes information and images of performances, along with updates on specific events. Inside, there are newspaper clippings and photo prints showcasing this information.

Every page in the scrapbook is covered with a plastic sheet, which may have been added to help preserve the material and protect the pages from damage. As the scrapbook is very delicate, we scanned it with extra care.

In the video below, you can see our digitisation technician, Toni, carefully handling and scanning the scrapbook. As each page is opened, Toni gently lifts back the plastic sheet so the material can be scanned correctly. We remove the plastic because it would otherwise create light reflections that obscure the information on the pages. Once each page has been scanned, Toni carefully places the plastic back over the page, leaving the scrapbook exactly as it was before scanning.

We also had the privilege of scanning a personal scrapbook documenting Nick Hutt’s honeymoon. This beautiful book includes anniversary cards, photographs, and moments that tell the story of their honeymoon. As the client requested double-page scans, we used our large format scanner to ensure the entire opening could be captured in a single image.

When we have several items that require the large format scanner, the same digitisation technician will usually stay on that scanner until all of the priority material has been completed. This helps improve our workflow and keeps the scanning process running efficiently.

Here are some behind-the-scenes images of Toni scanning Nick Hutt – Honeymoon History.

Guess the year challenge

Can you guess the year of this written letter we scanned from The Museum of Scottish Railways? The answer will be in the next monthly blog!

New and upcoming projects

In August, we are continuing work with The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, we will be receiving a new batch of slides from them. Other projects include Sarratt Local History Society, Photographer’s Gallery and the Royal College of Surgeons of England!

New services and improvements

In July, we made a few small additions that have improved our workflow and day-to-day tasks. We received a new piece of glass for scanning oversized items on top of our Guardian scanner. We rarely need to use this glass, as it is mainly intended for extremely large items such as maps. Using the glass on top of a board can sometimes be easier than using the scanner’s glass itself, as it allows us to move the material more easily when capturing multiple scans that will be stitched together. The high-quality glass produces the same excellent results as the scanner’s glass.

We have also stocked up on a few other useful items, including back support cushions for our chairs to help keep us comfortable while working at our desks. In addition, we have received new cleaning cloths for the studio. These are used to clean the scanner glass, so it is important that they are replaced regularly. Over time, the cloths collect dust, making them less effective for keeping the scanner glass clean.

If you have materials that need digitising, then please reach out to our team for a friendly chat.