How To Convert Old Photos To Digital

Using a soft photography or makeup brush, gently clean your photos. Any dirt or smudges will be visible in your scans.

Using isopropyl, or another cleaning agent that won’t leave residue or streaks, and a lint-free cloth, wipe any dust, smudges, and fingerprints off the scanner’s glass bed.

For images you intend to print, a DPI (or dots per inch) of 300 is recommended. Slides or negatives need a DPI of at least 2,400. For use on the Web, a DPI of 72 is acceptable.

Using the software that came with your scanner, scan each photo into your computer.

Your scans will likely have numerical names that tell you nothing about the content of the scanned image. Rename each file.

Using photo- editing software, view each image, cropping out bits you don’t want, straightening slightly crooked images, and using color correction where necessary.

Photo library software makes organizing and viewing photos on the computer simple, but you should also burn your scanned photos to a CD, DVD, or an external hard drive for safekeeping. You can typically save about 1,200 images on a CD and close to 7,000 on a DVD when you save them as JPG files.