original or digital coppy

[oldhippyone]

when you order a copy of a marriage for 1780 what is the best to get a copy of the original or a digital copy ?

[BumbleB]

A marriage in 1780 will be from the parish register.  If the registers have been digitised and are available on-line, then just download the image.  If you are ordering from the relevant Archives, then you will probably receive a photocopy of the entry.  You will NOT receive a marriage certificate as we know it, post-1837.

[oldhippyone]

the was at st andrew auckland durham , i have spoken to durham records on line and they said they do have the original document but asked do i want a copy of original or a digital copy .. it was for a marriage between moses lamb and ann greadon 17 may 1780 auckland st andrew from LSD site and ancestry , i have found info on moses but i can not  find anything on ann greadon , as in her birth parents or infact nothing at all on greadon i have tryed greadson and groadon

[BumbleB]

Take your pick then - digital copy you can store on your computer, or print it off at home.  Vice versa for the "original" which come as a paper copy, which you can then scan and put into your computer.

[oldhippyone]

will the digital copy make it clearer or the original copy be better as i said maybe the name greadon was misinterpreted  [ hard to read ]when it was placed on the 2 sites

[Jebber]

I would opt for the digital copy as you will then be able to enlarge the image, you could do the same with a scan of the copy but the result may not be so good.

[dawnsh]

The scanner the archives use will produce the best copy of the original it can, depending on the state of the register. The scanner they use cannot improve the quality of the original document.

The output can then be sent to you on a cd, dvd or email as a pdf or jpg.

Or you can elect to have a paper copy sent in the post. But then you would have to make arrangements to scan the paper copy at home and save the document onto your computer. If you don't do that, the  paper copy may become damaged over time.

I would opt for the digital copy if it was offered to me.

Each time you scan a document and get further away from the original, you loose a bit of the quality.

There could also be a difference in the price which may swing your preference.

[oldhippyone]

thank you .. i think the price was £7 and £10 so not a big difference

[Jill on the A272]

Good value I reckon, I was recently quoted £6.60 for photocopies of some documents from another record office or £56 for digital!