Digitally Preserving Old Photographs

Digitally Preserving Old Photographs (and other items)

Following are procedures that served me well. I hope you find something useful. Rick Summary (details below) 

1. Use a flat-bed scanner (not a smartphone)

2. Clean scanner glass/remove photo dust/do not repair photos

3. Scan at 600 dpi/8-inches output width

4. Scan in TIFF format

5. Scan in color mode

6. Scan back of photo if it has info

7. Use de-screening for certain items

8. Use post-scanning software like Photoshop

9. Devise a naming/filing scheme

10. Consider a commercial scanning service

11. Backup your digital image files

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1. Use a flat-bed scanner. A suitable one will cost $100-$250 and should come with useful software.* Some multi-purposes devices, such as a copier/printer/scanner, may be suitable. However, most are not. A smartphone is not recommended. But, there may be circumstances when a smartphone is the only option. Do it. I have.

2. Keep the scanner surface clean using a microfiber cloth. Do not use a paper towel or tissue. Remove dust from photographs using compressed air, which is available in small cans. Do not rub the photograph with anything. Do not blow on the photograph. Do not attempt to repair any damage to a photograph, such as creases. If taped or has corner tabs from being in an album, leave all of it. Damage can be addressed using the software described below.

3. Scan the photograph at 600 dpi and 8-inches output width. This is a minimum for precious photos. You may have only one chance. Note: output size (or print size) refers to size of the final scanned image if you were to print it. This setting has nothing to do with the physical size of the original print that you place on the scanning bed. Nor does it have anything to do with how you can choose to share the file. Resolution of 600 dpi and output width of 8 inches will result in capture of sufficient digital information to allow the photograph to be blown up, cropped, enhanced, modified, repaired, etc. These files will, however, be very large, and result in slower scanning time. Experiment.** See what is right for you.

4. The file format should be TIFF with no compression. TIFF files easily can be converted to JPEG or PNG for casual use (such as posting to the Internet, including Facebook).

5. Scan all photographs, even the black-and-white ones, in color. Why? The color setting will capture the most digital information, and easily can be converted to grayscale or black-and-white using software such as that described below. Again, this will result in slower scanning time.

6. Scan the reverse (back) if information has been recorded there. This can be at a lower resolution as image file size is not that important. But do not ignore information of the obverse (front). This may include a date in the border. However, remember this is not the date the photograph was taken. It is the date the film was developed. Ever take your roll of film to the Drug Store in Yanceyville?

7. If you are scanning preprinted items like postcards, yearbooks, newspaper clippings, advertisements, etc., select the de-screening filter built into the scanner. Without de-screening most printed items will appear with a moiré pattern when scanned. While this can be addressed using post-scanning software, it will result in loss of clarity.

From Forest Dalton: Hint for scanning newsprint photos. The higher the DPI, the better. I use 600 to 1200 DPI. Also, when processing in Photoshop or editor of choice, use the Blur filter to remove print dots.

8. Align, blow up, crop, repair, rotate, and otherwise adjust the image using software such as Photoshop. Save the modified image as a separate file. From Forest Dalton: Old black and white are fine to leave the white border, if you are not going to further process the image, but for further processing, crop the border.

9. If you are scanning a large number of photographs think through your file-naming and file-storage systems. How will you record names, dates, locations, sources, etc. How will you store images on your computer? What folders will you create? Without giving all this some thought you may end up with what amounts to a digital shoe box of photos -- captured digitally but not properly identified and sorted. 

10. If all the above seems way too much, consider a commercial scanning service. However, for most this will require mailing your photographs, with the obvious attendant risk of damage/loss.

11. Think about backup storage. After investing money and time in capturing images digitally, multiple storage sites are recommended, including cloud storage. Not only does cloud storage provide an insurance policy against loss, it makes it easy to share images with family and friends. I use Flickr Pro. 

I recommend two means of physical storage backed up by cloud storage. I use my main PC drive, an external SSD drive, and, as mentioned above, the Flickr Pro online service. Back in the day, I used DVDs, but no longer.***

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*However, my current scanner is a Canon 9000F (which cost a bit more than $250). But, it is awesome. Others prefer Epson scanners.

**Note: If the image being scanned is very small you should use a higher resolution, such as 1200 dpi. ***Not addressed here, but something that may be important, is how to store original items. Archival materials are readily available.