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Anyone undertaking a genealogy scanning project, or just scanning a single old picture for to share on social media, might have wondered what resolution is best for the particular thing about to be scanned. Wonder no more! Here are some quick resolution tips for scanning old photos and documents.
In general, the higher the resolution (measured in dpi, for dots per inch), the more you can enlarge the image without getting that grainy, pixilated look. But higher-resolution files also are bigger and hog space on your computer or in your cloud storage, so you don’t want to scan everything at the highest-available dpi. Instead, go with these rules of thumb:
If you plan to post the digitized image to a blog or website, the standard is 72 dpi.
If you want to print the image at its original size, scan at least 300 dpi.
If you’re scanning old letters and other documents to archive, use 300 dpi. (But notes, receipts and papers you’re not intending to archive are fine at 72 dpi.)
If you plan to view the scanned photos on your HDTV screen, use a minimum of 300 dpi for 4×6-inch originals, and higher dpi for smaller originals.
If you want to enlarge the photo up to double in size (for printing or on-screen zooming-in and examining), scan it at least 600 dpi.
Family Photo Inventory Form Free Download
Record information about your family photos and keep track of your collection.
If you’ll want to more than double the size of the original photo, go even higher with the dpi. At 900 dpi, a 4×6-inch printed photo turns into a 16×24-inch digital image.
If the original photo is small, scan at 600 dpi or higher. If you scan a 2×3-inch photo at 1200 dpi, for example, it will become a 16×24-inch digital image without losing quality.
If the original is a tintype or daguerreotype, scan at 1200 dpi.
If you don’t know how the digitized photo will be used or you’re scanning it to archive for posterity, scan at least 600 and up to 1200 dpi.
Remember that you can always save a copy to a lower resolution, but you can’t add image quality without re-scanning the original.
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Time can take a toll on old photographs. From humidity to water damage, here are our tips for how to fix your damaged family photos.
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Maybe you remember sitting patiently as someone flipped through page after page of wallet-sized photos of children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Or you might remember a loved one pulling stacks of photo albums from a closet. Recall the photo packages from school portraits? While the typical photo size was 4x6 inches, there were also 8x10 inch headshots, family portraits, and even 2.5x3.5 inch miniatures, perfect for storing away in your wallet. For older pictures, the sizes vary even more!
So what size photo is going to produce the best scan? Great question! The answer is simple. Bigger is better.
The best way to preserve your photos is with a high-quality flatbed scanner, and the scanning resolution will depend on the photo format you want to digitize. Below we have some best practices when scanning photos that you should follow:
A print photo’s resolution is determined by dots per inch, or DPI. In other words, how many dots can a printer place on one square inch of paper? A digital photo’s resolution is measured in pixels, which are tiny squares of illuminated color that compose an image. A higher DPI scan means a higher number of pixels so when it comes to getting the best high quality image, a bigger photo scanned at a higher dpi is always better.
These are the dpi scan settings you should use when scanning standard 3x5 or 4x6 photos:
Image Quality
DPI
Okay
150 dpi
Better
200 dpi
Standard
300 dpi
For Small Photos
600 dpi
With photos of our friends and family, we find we have many different sizes. So if you’ve decided to digitize (hooray!), keep in mind that a 4x6 photo will produce a better digital image than a 2.5x3.5 wallet-sized photo. An 8x10 print size portrait provides an even higher image resolution scan. If you have multiple copies of your photo in different sizes, send us the largest one to get the best resolution!
However, if you’re in possession of some smaller sized photos, never fear! Most standard print size photos developed by a professional photo center were also produced with standard practices for photo resolution. If you have standard sized photos, large or small, the resolution is likely high enough to produce a quality scan, as long as the original is in focus and undamaged.
The maximum DPI for 35mm film slides and negatives is 4000 DPI, which produces the highest quality scan for your photos. However, not all scanners have that capability. Therefore, we consider a standard quality photo scan for 35mm film to be 2500 DPI and low quality to be 600 DPI. The "lower quality" scan is saved for small printed photos whereas a higher quality scan deteriorates image quality.
These are the dpi settings to use when scanning 35mm slides and negatives:
Image Quality
DPI
Low Quality
600 dpi
Better
1500 dpi
Standard
2500 dpi
Highest Quality
4000
Ultimately, when it comes to getting a higher resolution for a scanned image, there are several factors at play, but the most important ones are the resolution of the original photo and the capabilities of the scanning equipment.
Depending on how many photos you have, digitizing print photos can be a lengthy process that requires expertise and a practiced hand. Legacybox’s photo scanning service has everything you need to enjoy digitized scans of your family, friends, and memories. Our highly trained technicians are experts at digitizing, and our facilities have the best equipment in the industry. Consider letting us take the task off your hands! But remember, when sending photos to us for a great digitizing experience, a bigger photo is always better!