Many people have photos and photo albums scattered in boxes around the attic, basement, or other location where they are not being viewed or maintained. These printed photos, over time, will lose their color and the image will fade.
In order to protect your old photos, you can scan them into your computer, will they will be saved in a digital file format for generations to come.
Here are some steps to help you scan and save those printed photo albums.
Get Organized
Before you start the scanning process, it is important to get organized, especially if you have hundreds of photos that you will need to scan and arrange. To get organized, you may want to create a workspace in your home or office where you can lay photo albums out for several weeks until the scanning is complete.
In the long run, you will want to have a collection of those photos that you have already scanned and those photos that you have yet to scan. It is important to distinguish between these two collections so that you don't repeat work.
Prepare Your Computer
Set up your computer to receive the files. This means that you should create folders on your computer that will help you stay organized. For example, you may have a folder set aside for one particular photo album that you scan or you could have a folder set aside for a year.
Before you start scanning, be sure that you have your filing system in place so that you can stay organized. Once the photos are out of the photo albums and on your computer, it might be difficult to remember which photo is which.
Scan
There are many different types of scanners and systems that you can use when scanning photos. Be sure that you understand how to operate the system that you choose to use. You can read the owner's manual for step-by-step scanning guides.
This is an example of the main scanning window that you may see when you go to scan your photos:
Scanning usually takes a few minutes, so don't panic if you press the "Scan" button and nothing seems to be happening. However, you will probably get a notification on your screen that tells you that scanning is in progress, similar to this one:
Once your photo is scanned, a new window will most likely pop up containing the image of the photo that you scanned. Save this image to your pre-designated folder. Once completed, repeat these steps until all of your photos are archived.
Scanning photos to your computer can help preserve family stories and memories for generations. Therefore, take some time to perform the scanning - even if it seems like a long proess. You'll be glad you did!
