Produce perfect scanned photos and documents

01 SELECT AREA TO SCAN

We’re using VueScan for this tutorial, but you should be able to replicate most of the steps in your own scanning application. Open VueScan and click the Preview button. When it’s complete, click and drag a box around the photo – VueScan will automatically adjust its lighting settings.

02 SET COLOUR AND RESOLUTION

Choose ‘Gray’ from the Media drop-down menu if scanning in black and white or sepia-tinted images. Set the scanner resolution to 300 dpi to create a photo the same size and resolution as the original when printed; choose 600 dpi for smaller photos (3x2-inches or passport-sized).

03 ADJUST LIGHTING

If the photo’s lighting isn’t perfect, explore ways of improving it. VueScan users should click the Options+ button once to reveal more options, then switch to the Color tab. Experiment with the Color Balance options, or manually adjust the sliders – the preview updates to show your changes.

04 APPLY FILTERS

Switch to the Filters tab and you’ll see options for removing so-called ‘noise’ – minor scratches and blemishes – along with ‘sharpen’, which works well with slightly blurred images. Experiment with settings to see what effects they have on your photo – zoom into the preview for a close-up look.

05 SCAN AND SAVE

Switch to the Output tab (or back to the Input tab if you click Options+ to return to basic settings) where you can choose what format to save your image in (JPEG or TIF). Click Scan and once the image is scanned, you’ll be prompted to name your file and save it to your choice of folder.

06 TRY AGAIN

If the results aren’t what you expect, simply start again from the beginning. Try scanning passport-sized photos in at 900 or even 1,200 dpi to increase their size, but don’t expect miracles – it’s more likely the photo will become pixelated up close due to a lack of detail in the original photo.