Scanning and saving old family photos

Hi-

I want scan and save some old family photos. What is the best file
format? Any other tips would be apreciated. The photos will be saved on
a cd and will be viewed on a computer screen and maybe even printed.

Thanks
John Conrad

"John Conrad" wrote in message
newsJrIc.1774$vH5.1092@amstwist00...
Hi-

I want scan and save some old family photos. What is the best file
format? Any other tips would be apreciated. The photos will be saved on
a cd and will be viewed on a computer screen and maybe even printed.

Thanks
John Conrad
John,
What options are you given in the scanning program?
MikeS

MikeS wrote:


"John Conrad" wrote in message
newsJrIc.1774$vH5.1092@amstwist00...
Hi-

I want scan and save some old family photos. What is the best file
format? Any other tips would be apreciated. The photos will be
saved on a cd and will be viewed on a computer screen and maybe
even printed.

Thanks
John Conrad
John,
What options are you given in the scanning program?
MikeS

Hi
DPI and picture type.
John

Keith Sheppard wrote:

I have been doing a lot of this recently (scanning in old photos).

I have achieved best results telling the scanner it's a "colour"
photo even if it is black and white because you get a better
rendition of the original "temperature", especially if it's got a bit
of a sepia tint to it.

I tend to do it at about 600dpi. I think any more would be going
beyond the resolution of the original but that's just a gut feel - no
science to it.

For other settings, I just have a few goes and pick the best looking
image.

I had amazing results scanning some really faded prints - it looks
like I've got more detail than was in the original (which I know is
impossible). Presumably the scanners "eyes" are better than mine.

Keith

Thanks for the input.
JOHn

"John Conrad" wrote in message
news:VzsIc.1784$vH5.1353@amstwist00...
Keith Sheppard wrote:

I have been doing a lot of this recently (scanning in old photos).

I have achieved best results telling the scanner it's a "colour"
photo even if it is black and white because you get a better
rendition of the original "temperature", especially if it's got a bit
of a sepia tint to it.

I tend to do it at about 600dpi. I think any more would be going
beyond the resolution of the original but that's just a gut feel - no
science to it.

For other settings, I just have a few goes and pick the best looking
image.

I had amazing results scanning some really faded prints - it looks
like I've got more detail than was in the original (which I know is
impossible). Presumably the scanners "eyes" are better than mine.

Keith

Thanks for the input.
JOHn
John,
Do you scan from photoshop?
I start-up photoshop and import, in my case Epson twain which set-up in a
window over photoshop and you use the option colour photograph and scan,
when its finished it loads into photoshop. where you can manipulate to your
hearts content. Word of warning when you scan the scanner software normally
automatically sharpens, switch this off. The image will not look as sharp.
Manipulate levels get rid of imperfections using the clone tool and them
sharpen to taste make sharpening the last thing you do. Save in jpeg if you
do not want to do anything more with the image as jpeg is a lossy program
each time you re-save, it tries to reduce the file size, it doent take many
savings to have a naff image. Best to save in photoshop file which is known
as PDF or you can save in Tiff file (Tagged information file I think anyway
its losless).
Happy scanning MikeS

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 08:38:09 GMT, "John Conrad"
wrote:

MikeS wrote:


"John Conrad" wrote in message
newsJrIc.1774$vH5.1092@amstwist00...
Hi-

I want scan and save some old family photos. What is the best file
format? Any other tips would be apreciated. The photos will be
saved on a cd and will be viewed on a computer screen and maybe
even printed.

Thanks
John Conrad
John,
What options are you given in the scanning program?
MikeS

Hi
DPI and picture type.
John

In that case, your scanner will nsert the image into a graphics
program (PSP, for example), right?
So you can save to whatever file type the program will save to.
Which shoukld you actually save as? Depends on what you want to do.
What format do you save your camera images to?
Will you want to work on the images? If so, the native format of the
graphcs program is a good bet; it will keep details, layers, and that
sort of thing intact.

Bill Funk
Change "g" to "a"

"John Conrad" writes:


I want scan and save some old family photos. What is the best file
format? Any other tips would be apreciated. The photos will be saved on
a cd and will be viewed on a computer screen and maybe even printed.

For viewing on screen, a moderatly small jpeg. For archiving and
printing, a stultifyingly huge TIFF. There's no good single answer if
you want to do a good job of archiving, and if you want to keep
printing in the picture.

Be sure to preserve as much information about the photos as is
availabble -- anything written on them, anything that can be deduced
from their sequence in album or storage box, anything anybody now
alive remembers....
--
David Dyer-Bennet, , http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/
RKBA: http://noguns-nomoney.com/ http://www.dd-b.net/carry/
Pics: http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/ http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/
Dragaera/Steven Brust: http://dragaera.info/

Tahnks for the input!
--
May your trails be dim, lonesome, stony, narrow, winding and
,/'_ | only slightly uphill. May the wind bring rain for the
slickrock
(_)\(_) | potholes fourteen miles on the other side of yonder blue
ridge.
| May God's dog serenade your campfire, may the
rattlesnake and
o | the screech owl amuse your reveries, may the Great Sun
dazzle
[] | your eyes by day and the Great Bear watch over you at
night.
/\ |
\ \ | - Edward Abbey, Beyond the Wall