Larry,
 
About a month ago, we (the Hanford Cultural Resource Laboratory) acquired a
slide/negative scanner that we use to import scanned photos onto archaeological
site forms, historic property inventory forms, and other reports.  It works
great.  Like you said, though, this type of equipment is not cheap, and there
are many peripheral expenses that also must be addressed.  We have also used the
 
color copy method that you currently employ and that does a good job as well,
though less convenient.
 
It wouldn't surprise me if scanning the image at Kinko's costs as much if not
more than a color copy, and the quality is probably similar.  A scan, as you
probably know, converts your photos into digital information that can be read by
 
a computer.  I'm not current on what scanning services Kinko's offers, but
offhand I can't see any advantage to scanning the photos if you don't have the
computer equipment at your office with the memory capacity to handle the
information.  I would recommend staying with the color copy method if you are
happy with the results, until you are ready update your computer equipment.  Let
 
me know if you want specific cost information for scanning equipment, hardware,
software, etc.  Good luck.
 
Ian Lindsay
 
I am seeking some advise on how best to reproduce photos for photocopied
interim/summary reports.  I've had some success with using color photocopies
of black and white prints in a small number of "master" copies (since they
cost about a buck a piece) and then using the color photocopy as the source
for a regular photocopy in the rest of the 50 or so copies produced - this
seems to work better than a straight xerox of the B&W's.
     I know there are some elaborate scanning systems that are starting to be
more affordable but the operation here is a long way off from buying such
hardware.  Places like Kinko's and other self-serve copy centers are starting
to have scanners available for customer use, but I'm pretty far behind in the
vocabulary and the knowledge of where to start, and how far to go with it.
     Can anyone provide a quick tutorial on their successes with this or
recommend a published source on the clearest and cheapest way to reproduce
photos for photocopied reports?
                         Thanks
                             Larry McKee