How To Scan Photos

If you have the original slides or negatives available, it is highly suggested you scan those instead of their corresponding paper photos. Scanning slides and negatives will always produce better quality scans than those resulting from photos.

1. Flat bed scanners look and work similar to copy machines. Open the lid, find the correct corner for orienting your images, and organize your photos accordingly.
2. Make sure you've installed all the proper scanning software and any image editing software included.
3. Set the scanner to scan at 600 dpi. Scanning at this resolution gives you the option of printing the original photo at double the size.
4. Prepare your photos by cleaning them with a lint free cloth. Hold them by the edges when placing them in the scanner, to avoid fingerprints.
5. Preview and crop your images before you do the final scan. This is because most scanners have an automatic brightness and contrast setting, which means that they can sometimes adjust incorrectly.
6. Be sure to use your scanning software to remove scratches, particulate matter, red eye, and restore color that has faded.

Black and white photos can be especially hard to scan. If your project contains a large amount of black and white photos you might want to consider using a service like Scan Cafe. They are professionals who implement manual restoration to get the best out of your black and white images.