Digitals By Diane Specializes In Saving Memories

Old photographs don't last forever.

They could tear, crease, fade, get soggy or turn yellow.

That is where Diane Cusimano comes in. She makes sure your photos are stored in a safe place - on a digital disc.

Digitals by Diane is her newest business. She can scan and save hundreds upon hundreds of photos on a disc and accompany them with music. It is like having your own personal slide show to go with your wedding, graduation, birthday or family reunion.

"It started out as a hobby with me," said Cusimano, whose business experience includes owning a store and managing a gym. "I really enjoy the sharing aspect of it and I try to make it so they can enjoy it like I do."

She wanted so much emphasis on the sharing part of her business that she flirted with the idea of naming it Share the Love. Upon further consideration, she thought it would send off the wrong signal.

People often have photographs and negatives that are decades old. Perhaps they are stashed away in a junk drawer in the guest bedroom or stored away in the attic inside several shoeboxes.

"Even if you're not doing a presentation, you need to get your photos on a CD," Cusimano warned. "You have to ask yourself, 'Do I want to keep these pictures? Yes or no?'

"They're not going to live for ever," she continued. "We live in Florida, "Anything can happen."

Cusimano has a personal Web page. Her sister died years ago and her brother, who visited Cusimano's site, noticed she had photos he had never owned. He asked for some of them.

She realized then it would be easy to download all of her photos onto a disc and send them to her brother. That was how the idea for Digitals by Diane came about.

Her first customer was a woman who wanted 45 photos from her 1996 family reunion on a DVD. The slide show was shown at her birthday party. Cusimano sold 11 copies.

Original discs cost $20 and additional copies are $10 each.

She does home delivery, but orders can be mailed anywhere.

In addition to photographs, Cusimano can take old slides and negatives and transfer the images to a disc. The slide show music is chosen by the customer.

Her work space in her Spring Hill home is a dichotomy of technology. She has a record player and a bookshelf stacked with videocassettes. But she also has digital devices and computer hardware fit for any tech specialist.

Cusimano is convinced the demographics of Hernando County and the demand for such photo-storage system will ensure the success of her business.

"We have a lot of baby boomers and older who live here," she said. "Those are the people who will be looking to do this."

Biz at a glance:

Name of biz - Digitals by Diane

Owner - Diane Cusimano

What she does - Creates disc presentations with music, photos

Get in touch - 352-584-4205 (call during business hours)

E-mail - dcusi1432@yahoo.com