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How to Scan Old Pictures

With the proliferation of home scanners, it has become easy to scan and restore old photographs from the comfort of your own home. This is a wonderful option if you have vintage photos that are just sitting in a photo album. Scanning pictures and saving them to your hard drive or a CD is a wonderful way to preserve and even share old photos without having to worry about damage.

Things You'll Need

Pictures
Scanner
Computer

Instructions

- 1
  Choose your settings. Make sure you have a good grasp of the settings on your scanner. The resolution numbers are measured in dpi, or dots per inch. The higher the resolution, the better quality the photo. Then decide if you want to scan in color or black and white. Set the parameters on your scanner.
- 2
  Clean your pictures. Run a lint-free wipe or cloth over your pictures to remove any loose dirt or fingerprints. Take care to hold your photos by the sides to avoid putting new prints on them. You might also want to wipe the glass portion of your scanner.
- 3
  Scan your pictures. Place your photograph face-down on the glass portion of the scanner. Lower the top of the scanner carefully. Preview the image on your computer screen and adjust the photo position accordingly. Press the scan button and wait for your completed image to appear on the computer.
- 4
  Save your file. Save your photo onto your hard drive as a JPEG file.

Photography