Film prints/Negatives to my cpu, best way?

Not really sure if this is right but spot for my issue but it seemed to fit so here it goes. I've been out of photography for about 5 years now. I'm finally getting my 20,000 digital pictures orgainzed. Now comes the film pictures. I'd like to get them on my cpu somehow, and curious the best way to do this. Scan them in? If so which scanner to buy? Is there a company out there that will do this? Would it be best to scan in all the negatives also or instead? I think I have most of the netagives. Any helpful information will be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Scanning can be quite a laborious process, especially slides and negatives. For prints, any flatbed scanner will do. For slides and negatives you'll want a flatbed that's setup to also handle film. These flatbeds will have a built in backlight in the lid, and come with holders for slides and negatives. Even better, but pricier, is a dedicated film scanner. Here's a couple of links to check out. This one's for basic scanning info. http://scantips.com/. This one has a lot of in depth reviews. http://www.scandig.com​/index.html

Film scanning can be a serious pain, as crn said. The best bang-for-the-buck option I know of for an actual scanner is the Epson V500 or its newer version, the v600. Both cost under $200 (the V500 can be had as cheaply as $140) and are very well-reviewed. They're not dedicated film scanners (so you can use them for anything else a scanner does), but that's their main function and they do it better than any other similarly-priced device.

My own method at the moment is a setup I constructed using a lightbox and my 5D2 with a macro lens. I'm still trying to find a gentle way to keep the film flat without investing in a (gasp!) $13 film carrier though!

One of these is a good idea if you don't mind spending the extra money, too.

By the way, successfully inverting color negatives can be hugely obnoxious, even with the software that comes with the scanner!