10 Essential Tips for Digitizing Your Old Photos

The big day is approaching—your parents' 50th anniversary—and you've found the perfect gift: a heartfelt slideshow featuring their wedding photos and memories from over the years, accompanied by their favorite songs. But there's one challenge: you need to transfer countless faded photographs from long-forgotten boxes and albums to your computer, then restore them to a presentable state by fixing scratches and imperfections.

How do you begin? One option is to hire a company that specializes in scanning and restoring photos, delivering a perfectly digitized collection on a DVD. But these services can be costly: You might pay 39 cents or more per photo [source: DigMyPics].

Alternatively, you could purchase a scanner and handle the task yourself. With modern, affordable scanners and photo-editing software, anyone can scan and enhance old photos—even without being an expert in photo restoration.

Time to dig out those old photos, fire up your scanner, and give your memories a fresh start with these ten helpful scanning tips.

10: Choose the Right Scanner

A scanner is a must-have if you plan on bringing those cherished family photos from the attic to your computer.

All scanners work in a similar fashion—converting photos into digital images. Unless you're preparing for a grand exhibition or a museum show, there's no need to splurge on an expensive high-end scanner. Your family won't notice the difference between a 1200-dpi image and one at 6400 dpi (dots per inch, a measure of image resolution).

The most common scanner type is the flatbed. You place the photo face down on a glass surface, and a scanning head moves across it, capturing the image and sending it to your computer. There are other options too: A film scanner works with slides and negatives, while a wand scanner is a small handheld device that you move across the photo yourself.

If your primary goal is scanning photos, a flatbed scanner is likely your best option for optimal image quality. You can find a fast, high-quality flatbed scanner for under $100. If scanning isn’t a frequent task, consider an all-in-one machine that also prints, copies, and faxes, making it a more versatile purchase.

9: Organize Your Photos

Unless you want to spend hours scanning a mountain of old photos and filling up your hard drive, it might be wise to narrow your choices. That fading photo of your great-great-step-grandfather playing golf might be a cherished memory, but is it really one you need to preserve on your PC?

Avoid scanning photos that are too damaged to repair. Over time, photos can deteriorate, and not all of them can be saved. If you still have the original negatives, use them instead of the prints, as negatives are less likely to fade or suffer damage.

Don’t try to fix your photos before scanning them. Scrubbing or attempting to clean them can worsen the damage. Instead, gently brush off any dust. You can address scratches and imperfections later in a photo editing software. Also, avoid cutting your photos—crop them digitally after scanning.

8: Review Your Scanner Settings

Placing your photo on the glass and simply pressing 'scan' won’t bring out the best in your images. It’s essential to experiment with your scanner’s settings, such as contrast, brightness, and sharpening, to see how each adjustment affects the final scan.

Most scanners offer automatic settings, providing a convenient shortcut. These settings allow the photo to be scanned at the highest resolution, but this might not always be necessary. Adjusting the settings is key, especially for images that will be shared online or via e-mail. For archiving purposes, a resolution of 300 dpi is typically sufficient. You can even use 200 dpi for web or e-mail use. However, if you plan to enlarge the photo or need higher resolution for a more professional result, opt for a setting of 600 dpi or higher.

Select the appropriate color option. If your photo is black and white, you can scan it in either grayscale or color. Scanning in color provides more flexibility for editing, and you can always convert it back to grayscale later. For sepia-toned photos, choose the color scan setting. Many scanners also have specific presets for different types of documents like newspaper clippings, illustrations, and negatives.

Always use the "preview" or "prescan" feature after making adjustments. This tool is invaluable for giving you a final look at how the image will appear before you proceed with the scan.

7: Time to Scan

Now that your scanner is set up and your photos are prepped, it’s time to start scanning. But before you do, make sure to clean the platen — the glass surface where you’ll place your photos. Use a soft cloth and a little glass cleaner to wipe it down. Clean the platen periodically as you work, especially when scanning older photos that may have dust on them. We’ll dive deeper into why keeping your scanner in good condition is crucial in a later tip.

Place your photo face down on the glass. As mentioned earlier, you can press the "prescan" or "preview" button to ensure your photo is positioned correctly and free of debris before scanning. After the scan, save the image in either TIFF or JPEG format. TIFF offers higher image quality, but JPEG is more convenient for emailing. Be careful not to over-compress the photo, as reducing the file size too much can result in a blurry image.

One of the handy features of modern scanners is the ability to scan directly to your e-mail account. This eliminates the hassle of digging through folders to find your image. Simply input an email address, and the image will be sent directly to your inbox. This is just one of many time-saving tips for scanning old photos.

6: Speed Up Your Process with Batching

Depending on the type of scanner you're using, as well as the age of your computer and software, you might find yourself spending days scanning those boxes of photos from your 1994 Yellowstone trip. Instead of losing weeks over the task of scanning every single wildflower and elk, try scanning multiple photos at once.

After scanning several photos together (feel free to pack as many as possible on the glass), you’ll be left with a single, collage-like image. Then, you can manually crop each photo and save it individually. Don’t feel pressured to edit each photo right away; scan multiple images in batches and then edit them later, breaking them apart as needed.

As you make your way through piles of photos, you might come across a massive panoramic shot of you and the touring cast of "Cats." Wondering how to scan that oversized photo for posterity? Keep reading to learn the tricks for preserving your memories (and "Memory") forever.

5: Scan the Big Picture

Whether it's a photo of you with the cast of "Cats" or a stunning view of dusk settling over the Grand Tetons, large photos are an excellent way to preserve grand moments. But what happens when you can only scan a small part of the breathtaking mountains or the excitement of humans dressed as tabby cats?

One solution is to scan different sections of the large photo and then combine them into a single, impressive image. When scanning a large photo, make sure there's about 30 percent overlap between each scan. For very large images, you may want to tape the edges to keep them in place. After scanning all the parts, use an image-editing program (like Adobe Photoshop or Windows Live Photo Gallery) to seamlessly merge the images together.

Speaking of editing programs, part of the fun in scanning old photos comes from the ability to enhance, repair, or touch them up. Let's move to the next page to discover some useful tips for making your old photos look as good as new.

4: Clean up Your Photos

It's time to tidy up your photos. Numerous programs are available for this task. For as little as $30, you can grab a basic tool like Microsoft Digital Image or Photo Explosion for minor touch-ups. If you’re looking to go all in and refine your skills, consider investing over $600 in a robust program like Adobe Photoshop.

To focus on the main elements of the photos, crop out the unnecessary edges using the Crop tool. Then, fine-tune your images by manually adjusting the hue, saturation, and contrast. If you're not familiar with photo editing, use the program's automatic settings, such as Auto Levels (Photoshop), Instant Fix (PhotoDeluxe), or Enhance (iPhoto), to clean up your photos quickly.

To remove blemishes from your photos, employ the "clone stamp" tool. This tool replicates details from other areas in the image, allowing you to cover up imperfections like creases, tears, or any other damage.

Some flaws may not be due to the original photos themselves, but rather to the equipment you're using. Check out the next page to learn how consistent maintenance can save you time on scanning and help you focus less on the tiny flaws your scanner might leave behind.

3: Clean Your Scanner

You scan your pristine sunset photo from a Thai beach, only to discover a line cutting through the image just as your beach hammock appears. Is this an unnoticed flaw in your photo? Don’t panic yet. A picture of the most beautiful scenery will be ruined if your scanner glass is dusty or scratched.

It may seem obvious, but remember that regular maintenance for your scanner is a must. Clean the glass frequently with a damp washcloth and mild soap, and ensure the documents you scan are dust-free to avoid scratches. Be cautious with cleaning fluids containing ammonia or isopropyl alcohol, as they may leave streaks. Many scanner manufacturers also provide detailed cleaning instructions online, which can be helpful for resolving frequent paper jams.

2: Organize Your Scanned Photos

Now that you've moved your collection of old photographs to a folder on your desktop, what’s next?

Start by creating a system of organization that you'll remember. Your parents' beautiful wedding photos won’t be useful if you can’t find them a year down the line. Set up a folder (or multiple folders, depending on the number of images) to store your photos. Label each photo with descriptive names (such as "Mom's wedding dress, 1969") so you can easily locate them when needed.

Once everything is organized, here are some additional ideas for making use of your old photos:

1: Upload to Edit and Store

Not all of us are equipped with advanced tools to perfect our appearance or straighten our teeth. However, once you've scanned your photo, you might notice that your old elementary pictures could use a little improvement, which you might not have the right software for.

Thankfully, several online platforms let you upload and edit your pictures after scanning. Picasa, Google's free online photo-sharing site, lets you not only share and organize but also edit your photos. Another option, Picnik.com, provides online editing through Flickr.com, though its services will soon be integrated into Google+ in April 2012.

While these websites provide an online version of your images, it's still advisable to back them up in multiple locations. In addition to keeping the originals on your hard drive, save copies on DVDs or an external hard drive.

Now that your old photos are safely scanned, edited, stored, and uploaded, dive deeper into exploring more about photography technology.