I like photo prints just as much as anybody, without prints we wouldn’t have a major chunk of our business which is indeed scanning prints for people. But I do like the idea of sharing photos and scanning is very much about being able to share - often across continents.

Prints are there to be enjoyed, yet all too often they live in obscurity at the back of a drawer. I really liked this idea and I’m not too proud to admit I came across it on an American website - using glass jars as photo frames. So I dug out an old marmalade jar, thankfully it had been through our dishwasher (Brentwood Council won’t recycle dirty glass) and just slotted a print inside it. I was lucky as the print immediately slipped neatly into the flat side of the jar, no scissors and trimming needed. I put the jar on the window sill and it took on life with the light behind it.

I then took the photo out and turned it round, of course you want the opening of the jar down to stop it trapping the dust (don’t you?). I was quite pleased with the result, for no cost and about five minutes time. I think if I’d dug out three or four photos I could have made a nice family group. Perhaps if your could line a jar with some protective plastic you might be able to make a decorative and useful present.

When the children were younger I think they’d have enjoyed making cheap but appreciate presents for grandparents, or perhaps this could be one of those primary school projects for Mother’s Day.

Tags: jpg,glass,jar,display,print,photo