How to Use a Photo Scanner

Lift the lid of your photo scanner and inspect the platen to ensure it is clean and free of any dust or debris. Open the photo scanner's software or install the software on your computer if it is new.

Create a new folder for your scanned pictures. Once the photographs have been scanned you will need a storage location for them on your computer's hard drive. You can create the new folder by clicking "File" in the navigation bar or selecting "Options" and following the prompts to create the folder.

Click "Document" in the navigation bar and follow the steps in selecting the source of the document you are scanning. This is where you will set up the scanner to scan a picture.

Click the setting for "Picture" and further selection options for either color or black and white if your scanner offers these options. Select the highest quality setting available in the scanner's software. This will make the scan process take longer, but will give you the most information and a scan at the highest quality the scanner is capable of producing.

Place the picture face down on the scanner's platen, lower the lid and press the scan button, or click the scan button in the program's software.

Review the scan image in the preview screen. The small window in the scanner software will allow you to preview the picture and, depending on the photo scanner, make small editing adjustments such as changing the exposure or color balance of the picture. When the adjustments have been made to your satisfaction, click "File" and select "Save As" to name your scanned image and save it as a "TIFF" file. This file format retains all of the data from the scan and gives you the most complete file to edit from in the future.