Issue 41.14
Part 2
Your scanner will need to be cleaned frequently with a lint-free towel or a lens cleaner. Do not spray glass cleaner on the glass, spray the towel first. Anything on the glass is going to show in each scan. The photos will need to be as flat as possible to get digital image.
Check the settings of your scanner. Choose the color setting, not grayscale even for black and white or sepia images. They will work better but they do take up more storage space. Choose a high resolution of at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). The 300 dpi will be large enough for reprinting a picture the same size as the original. If you want to enlarge the photo, scan at a higher resolution. I use 600 dpi for books. The file format you want is TIFF. This will give you the best printable image quality. The book printers and publishers I have worked with all ask for TIFF images. However, FamilySearch only accepts .jpg and .png so depending on your purpose, your settings will change.
Scan the photos using the process for your scanner. Set the photo face down on the clean scanner glass. Scan the entire photo, even if you are going to crop it later. Import the photo to your computer. Create a file on the computer that is easy to find. I keep a “Genealogy Photos” file folder on my desktop with sub-folders inside for specific family groups.
After you scan the photos, use Picasa or your photo-management software to label them and improve them if necessary. I suggest not editing the original scanned image. Make a copy to work on, just in case. You can easily upload photos to https://familysearch.org/photos/ to store them free and safely. Click Upload Now and drag and drop or click to add family photos there. I recommended scanning at .tiff for printing, however FamilySearch only supports .jpg and .png and up to 5 MB per photo. If you don’t upload the photos somewhere on the cloud, you should back them up on an external hard drive or high quality DVDs and share them with family members.
For more information, contact Shanna Jones (435) 628-4900 shannasjones@msn.com