LocalArchiver.com -
Print Friendly Version
Guides to Photo and Document Preservation
and Sharing for Families and Community Historical Societies
Copyright © 2009 - Historical Images of New England LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Scanning Photos and Documents
Properly scanning photo and document collections to create digital image files is an effective way of both safeguarding the image content of originals and dramatically expanding the ways in which the images can be shared. This article describes major scanning considerations, including recommended scanner resolution settings.
The Benefits of Scanning Images for Preservation
Even when properly stored, photo and document originals are prone to deterioration and are often fragile. Therefore, capturing and preserving the image informational content of paper-based photos and documents provide a number of benefits.
● When copies of images are available,
originals can be properly stored and future damage from
handling can be reduced.
● The informational content of the image is digitally archived
and protected well into the future, and likely well beyond the useful
life of the original.
● Duplicate image sharing possibilities are dramatically
increased to the benefit of a much broader potential audience.
An existing photo collection, particularly a family collection, may already include many digital images. However, the same family, and most local historical societies, will have paper based photo prints and documents that would benefit from being part of a broader digital archive.
In certain situations, a photocopy of a document on archival paper may be a convenient choice to preserve a given image. However, scanning collections of old prints, slides, and documents allows you to create an easily stored and catalogued collection of images. The image collection, if properly organized, can be easily searched by keywords, dates, and other variables. Once your images are in a catalogued and easily accessible digital form, many easy and fun ways in which to share images will become obvious.
Scan Images Yourself or Pay to Have It Done
The decision as to whether to scan yourself or pay someone else to do the scans comes down to time, money, and equipment.. If you have a large number of images to be scanned, you want to assemble your digital library quickly, and your budget allows, it probably makes sense to have at least some bulk scans done through an online service or at a local photo shop/lab.
Keep in mind that you do not need to have all your images scanned at the same time, A project such as assembling, culling, organizing, and digitizing your images is probably best done in steps. Otherwise, it may never get done at all.
On the next page, some suggestions about having scans done elsewhere are offered. However, even if you send images off to be scanned, we recommend that you commit yourself to developing your own scanning expertise and capability. If you are serious about growing your digital image skills, and want to explore a broad range of image sharing possibilities, a clear understanding of image capture by scanning is useful. The expertise is likely to come in handy in a number of ways.
● There will be additional scans to do into
the future as you manage and grow your photo and document
collection(s).
● Knowledge of the scanning process and image
editing software will be useful in cataloguing your library, and in
preparing scanned images for various sharing projects.
● It is likely that some photos and documents
will not be suitable for outside scanning due to copyrights, unusual
dimensions, fragile condition, etc.
● Performing your own scans gives you additional control over scanner settings
and the pace at which your project is completed.
Having Your Images Scanned Professionally
If you have decided to have your images scanned professionally, there are some basic things you should consider.
►
What Pixel Per Inch (PPI) Resolution is Appropriate
Several
new high speed scanners are now on the market,
and many local photo shops are acquiring these and offering special
prices on bulk scans. It takes longer for these scanners to scan
at higher resolutions, and the local photo shop employee performing the
scans may not be proficient on a new machine. See our recommendations on
the next page.
► What
File Format and Compression Level is Best
It is likely that image files will be provided to you on a CD or DVD in Jpeg format. To save space, the photo shop may compress the Jpeg files greatly, which does impact the quality of the scans and potentially future uses. The lowest compression settings result in the highest image quality.
Prices for scans vary, and you can expect to pay between 20 cents and $1.00 for a scan of a photo print of up to 8" x 10". Slides and negatives are often priced a bit higher.
Tip: Scan pricing is normally tied to volume. If you are having scanning done locally, the quality may vary from photo shop to photo shop. Therefore, it is often a good idea to ask that you get a few samples of scans or that you start by having some scans done at the smallest quantity package price. If you have a large volume scanned on the front end, and you are not happy with the results, you have not saved anything on the volume price. This way you can check the pixel count of the initial files to confirm the scan resolution, and make sure that the image files have not been overly compressed. Remember, these are your source files for future projects, and they need to be of decent resolution and quality to provide flexibility into the future.
If you are going to have your photos, slides, negatives, or even documents scanned elsewhere, you may want to consider using a company that specializes in scanning. There is always a little discomfort associated with having your images outside of your control, but the larger reputable scanning firms have developed shipping, tracking, and in-house monitoring systems that limit the risk of loss quite well.
For a sense of the services available, we suggest that you visit ScanDigital and ScanCafe, two of the largest scanning services in the business. A visit to their sites provides information on pricing, the breadth of their services, and some tips on self scanning should you go in that direction. Note that ScanCafe is less expensive because scanning is accomplished overseas. An interesting feature of ScanCafe is that, after previewing scans online, you are given the ability to decline up to 50% of the scans, and then you only pay for the scans you keep. This allows you to be a bit less organized in your preparation, as there is a reduced need to eliminate duplicates and similar images.
Costs of Scanning Your Own Photos
Beyond the cost of your time, scanning printed images
yourself is relatively inexpensive. All that is really needed is an up-to-date
computer, a flatbed scanner or an all-in-one printer, and some form of
image editing and management software. Both a decent flatbed scanner and software,
such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 7,
If you are seeking to scan slides or negatives, many scanners come with adapters, but it may be simpler and more efficient to have these scanned by someone else who has a specialized scanner. Scans of slides and negatives, which are smaller than a typical print, need to be at higher resolutions. Therefore, these scans take more time and better results are obtained with specialized scanners.
How Much Pixel Resolution Do You Need for Scans?
If you are not yet comfortable with the concept of pixels and their impact on print quality, it may be useful to read our article on Digital Image Basics. The number of pixels you need to capture in a scan is largely dictated by one of two scenarios.
You know the pixel needs for a specific project
If you know exactly what your scan will be used for, and you are confident in the digital math relationships between pixels, aspect ratios, cropping needs, and print quality, you can simply scan to your needs. For example:
► If you are
scanning images that you are confident will only be printed at or below
the size of the original, a scan at 300 pixels per inch (PPI) should be
adequate, as these images can then be printed at professional print
quality resolution of 300 PPI.
► If you are scanning images for website
insertion or email attachment, the images will be displayed on a
monitor. Therefore, a scan at 300 PPI is also adequate, and will
likely result in an intentional or default downsizing/resizing of the
image for monitor display.
► If you plan to print enlargements and/or crop
the scanned images, you should target a pixel capture resolution that
provides in the range of 240 to 300 pixels per inch of print when
possible.
You desire pixel flexibility for future unspecified projects
If you are scanning for archival preservation purposes without a clear future usage in mind, the goal is then to balance file size with future flexibility. In this case, we recommend that you:
►
Routinely scan common size photo prints at 600 PPI and save the files in
Jpeg at the lowest compression and highest quality settings. This
provides you with the flexibility to double the size of the image in a
print enlargement while maintaining a 300 PPI professional photo quality
print resolution or up to four times the size of the original at a still
respectable 150 PPI.
►
Slides and negatives should be scanned at much higher PPI settings, in
the range of 2000 to 3000 PPI, as the original media is smaller than a
typical print, and this order of resolution should provide you with high
quality prints of up to 8" x 10".
►
Scans of text documents or other black and white images that are more
suitable for the Gif format can successfully be scanned using default
scanner or software settings for a black and white document.
►
Explore the available settings on your scanner and image editing
software, and experiment with various settings. Menus and choices
can be intimidating at first. However, the actual choices are few
and easily learned. Many default settings are adequate, but can be
improved with a little knowledge and practice.
Tip / Hint: Many digital equipment manufacturers are marketing ever increasing levels of resolution capability, and most have reached levels of diminishing returns. Many moderate priced flatbed scanners can now capture 4800+ PPI. However, capturing more resolution than you need only slows the scanning process and creates larger files. If you are comfortable with pixel math, and have a good handle on your future uses, you can save a lot of time and storage by scanning to your specific needs rather than pressing the excess capabilities of your equipment.
Tips for High Quality Photo and Document Scanning
The quality of a scan file is the result of the quality of the original image, scanning technique, selection of proper scan resolution, and selecting the proper file format and file compression levels. If you decide to perform some or all of your own scanning, the following are suggestions to improve your results.
□ If you are using moderate priced consumer equipment, carefully consider which portions of your collection(s) are suitable to be scanned in-house. For example, if you intend to use an all-in-one machine that has a scan rating of 600 PPI, it may be perfectly fine for photo prints. However, your slide collection may be best served by sending it off to a photo shop or service that has higher resolution slide scanning equipment.
□ It is often better to control the scanning
process through image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
□ Proper alignment and orientation is important. Scanner or image editing software will often adjust alignment, and you can change an incorrect orientation. However, each time the image is rotated, there is some risk of loss of image detail.
□ Take the time to clean the surface of the scanner and the object to be scanned. Dust and other blemishes between the object and the sensor can be captured as unwanted image detail.
□ Higher resolutions may actually accent some blemishes. Therefore, for some images with scratches and other handling marks, lower scan resolutions may actually improve results.
□ Select document type carefully when offered alternatives, as instructing your equipment to scan a black & white document as a color photograph will result in a much larger file without the benefit of additional detail.
□ Always stop to consider the pixel per inch setting, as this is the essence of your scan, and equipment or software defaults can vary.
□ If your scanner has the ability to scan multiple images, the time to be saved is well worth the effort to learn how to use the capability.
□ As you experiment and gain experience, your scanning results will improve. Therefore, select a few different types of images and experiment. Import the images using your image editing software, do some crops, change aspect ratios, save in different formats and look at file sizes. Once you are comfortable with your choices and knowledge, scanning will be much faster.
Copyright © 2009 - Historical Images of New England LLC - All Rights Reserved.