Scanning Tips

For the best results I recommend that you,

1. Check your photos for dirt or smudges. Gently remove surface dust and dirt with a soft brush or lint-free photo wipe.

2. Check the scanner glass for hair, fingerprints, or smudges. Household glass cleaner can be used to clean the scanner glass.

3. Specify the type of scan. Always scan in RGB 24 bit color, even if the source photo is black & white. This will have more manipulation options; I can easily change a color photo to black & white (grayscale), but not the other way around.

4. Resolution, to assure the quality and usefulness of your digital photos 600dpi is best for enhancement and restoration.

5. Scan the original image. Once you scan the photo, you can save it in a variety of formats. Scanning for restoration purposes requires a JPEG format.

Common Terms:

Resolution:
In scanning, resolution refers to the number of dots per inch (DPI) that your scanner produces when “looking” at your photos. The higher the resolution, the more dots per inch your scanner uses to reproduce your picture. A low-resolution image will have less detail, and a high-resolution image will be more distinct. When scanning photos for restoration purposes, high resolutions are necessary. Set your resolution to 600 DPI. If your original photo is very small and you want it enlarged, Never scan at the highest resolution just because it has a higher number. Nearly all scanners have a "fake" high-resolution setting that is interpolated (created by fancy guesswork). Scan at 600 dpi.

Pixels:
One way in which digital images differ from photographic ones is that they are made up of pixels; squares assigned specific colour s. Photographs are continuous-tone images made up of an infinite gradation of tones. Digital photographs are simplified translations made up of a fixed number of colour s appearing as a fixed number of squares or pixels. These pixels are arranged in a grid. The pixel is the smallest indivisible unit of a digital image.

Jpeg's:
Also called Jpg, and pronounced "jay-pegs," are images that have been stripped of some of their detail in order to make smaller files. They're fine for most purposes.