Photo Scanners
Digitise precious family photographs to preserve them forever. From casual snapshots to professional portraits - bring them into the digital age.
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Why Digitise Your Photos?
Physical photographs fade, get damaged by water, fire, or simply lost. Digitising your family photo collection creates a backup that can be stored in multiple locations and shared with family members worldwide.
Modern photo scanners make the process surprisingly fast and easy, with automatic colour correction that can restore faded images to their original vibrancy.
How to Get Archival-Quality Scans
Flatbed Scanning Technique
Clean scanner glass with microfibre cloth and glass cleaner. Place photos face-down, leaving 2cm gap between each. Scan at 600dpi for 4x6" photos, 1200dpi for wallet-sized photos you might enlarge. Higher DPI preserves more detail but creates larger files.
Resolution Guidelines
300dpi minimum for archival (preserves current size). 600dpi recommended (allows 2x enlargement). 1200dpi for small photos or damaged photos needing restoration. 2400dpi for slides/negatives. Higher isn't always better - creates massive files with no visible improvement.
Colour Correction
Most scanners include restoration software. Use 'dust and scratch removal' for old photos. Colour restoration fixes faded photos automatically. Save both original scan AND corrected version - you can always re-correct, but can't recover lost original data.
Batch Scanning Workflow
Sort photos by size before starting. Scan similar-sized photos together. Save with descriptive filenames: '1985_Christmas_Smith_Family_01.jpg' not 'IMG_0001.jpg'. Create folder structure by decade or family branch. Future you will be grateful for organisation.
Our Recommended Scanners
Epson Perfection V19
~$50-754800dpi optical resolution, compact design, includes restoration software. Perfect for occasional scanning. Simple operation - even grandparents can use it. Best entry-level scanner available.
Check Price Affiliate linkEpson Perfection V39 II
~$75-1254800dpi, faster scanning, ReadyScan LED (no warmup). Includes photo restoration software. Scans 4x6" photo in 10 seconds. Sweet spot of quality and affordability for family archiving.
Check Price Affiliate linkCanon CanoScan LiDE 400
~$125-180Ultra-slim design, USB-powered (no plug needed), vertical scanning to save desk space. 4800dpi, fast. Perfect for small spaces. Popular with apartment dwellers.
Check Price Affiliate linkEpson Perfection V850 Pro
~$750-1000Professional 6400dpi, dual lens system, fluid mount for negatives/slides. This is what professional archivists use. Scans everything from tiny slides to A4 documents. Investment for serious family historians digitising entire estate.
Check Price Affiliate linkPro Tips
- Scan photos in chronological batches - makes organising easier
- Save as TIFF for archival quality, JPEG for sharing (export from TIFF)
- White cotton gloves prevent fingerprints on precious photos
- Clean scanner glass between batches - dust shows up in scans
- Consider FOREVER Vault for cloud storage of your digitised collection