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How to Scan Photos for Archiving

Photos are both precious family memories and a physical record of events that have happened in history. Whether you are archiving a year's worth of family pictures from vacations and birthday parties or you are responsible for a historical archive at a library or museum, there are a few steps you can take to ensure the best possible scan that will convert that picture to a digital file.

Instructions

- 1
  Arrange the photos you are preparing to scan into categories or events so they can be filed into folders.
- 2
  Lift the lid to your flat bed scanner and using a window cleaning solution clean the glass platen of the scanner. Allow the glass to thoroughly dry before placing your first picture on the platen.
- 3
  Turn the scanner on and open the software for the scanner on your home computer. The scanner's software will automatically create a new folder once the scan button is pushed. The folder will usually carry the name that corresponds to the date the scan is taking place. Once the scans have been completed you can create new folders and sort the scanned images into the appropriate folders.
- 4
  Click on the "Settings" tab or similarly named tab in the navigation bar of the scanner program. Set the scan settings to "Picture" and click "Ok."
- 5
  Carefully clean the photos you want to scan using a soft, clean lens cloth. Make sure there are no chemicals on the lens cloth that may adversely affect or damage the picture.
- 6
  Place the first picture to scan on the scanner platen. Close the lid and press the "Start" button on the scanner or click the "Start" button in the program for the scanner. Once the scan is completed, remove the picture and repeat until all the pictures have been scanned.
- 7
  Insert an "Archival DVD" into your DVD burner drive on your home computer, and wait a moment for computer to recognize the DVD in the drive.
- 8
  Open the folder where the pictures have been saved. Click on the first picture and while holding the "Shift" key click on the last picture in folder. This will highlight all of the photos in the folder. Right click on any picture and select "Send to" then select the drive holding the DVD and click "Ok." Your computer will now copy all of the scanned images to the "Archival DVD." Once done, remove the DVD from the drive.

Photography