Often, people who have accumulated a large number of old photographs are looking for an answer to the question of how to scan a photo so that the result is as similar to the original as possible. In general, scanning photos into a computer is a fairly simple procedure, which, however, requires a serious and competent approach. The main thing in this business is the sequence of actions, otherwise, the scanned picture will not meet your expectations.
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Scanner setup
So, to solve the issue related to how to scan a photo to a computer from a printer, you need to set up the scanner itself. First, you need to make sure that both the PC and the device are working normally. If the printer equipped with a scanner does not work, check its connection to the mains, including the UPS and the outlet. Also make sure that the connector where the cable is plugged in is snug enough. Check to see if the USB cable is plugged into a working port, and just in case, carefully read the instruction manual of your all-in-one.
To scan the image, find software specifically designed for this process. Click on “Start” and bring up the list with installed programs. If there is no special software, and you cannot find the installation CD, then download a proven program from any reliable web resource or use the simple built-in utilities. Windows has a program called Windows Fax and Scan, which you can find using the search bar found in the Start menu.
Open a program that will help you solve a problem like “how to scan a photo to a computer from a scanner.” You can start it by double-clicking on the corresponding icon or by pressing the scan button located on your device. After that, you will be prompted to place the required original on the surface of the scanner – in our case, this is a photograph.
Scanning process
Take and place the photo face down on the surface of the device, first opening its cover, and then carefully align it. In this case, be guided by the markup that is indicated on the device. After that, close the lid and press the button responsible for scanning on the multifunction device itself or by starting this process directly from special software.
But to answer the question of how to scan photos, simply starting the scanning process will not be enough. Therefore, after you put the images on the scanner, you need to set the optimal options. Among the scanning modes, the following are usually presented:
- custom
- shades of gray
- black and white
- color
In addition, decide on the digital format in which you want to save the scanned image, for example, it can be JPEG.
After making the settings for the scanned photo, use the preview function. Thanks to it, you will be able to look in advance at the result of the scanning process with the set parameters. If something does not suit you, then make changes and use this function again. Also, use the preview to determine the format, orientation, and resolution of the photo. A parameter such as resolution affects the clarity of the scanned image. Therefore, if you want to make it detailed and crisp, then select “High Resolution”. But keep in mind that such an action will result in a significant increase in the size of the finished file, which you will probably have to reduce before sending it by e-mail. As for the orientation, this parameter can be portrait and landscape.
Click on “Scan” (in some programs “Finish”) after you have set all the necessary parameters and use the preview option. Then use your scanning software to walk you through the rest of the process.
At the end, you will need to save the scanned photo to any folder according to the instructions. Rename it immediately if necessary, but if you have a lot of images that need to be scanned, then it is better not to waste time on this.
Useful Tips
- If you want to learn how to properly scan your photos so that the result is truly impressive, then take more time to this process. To do this, check out the further tips.
- If possible, try to scan directly from film. The image quality in this case will be really impressive, but here you need a special scanner, which is not so cheap. Its purchase will be advisable only when you need to digitize a large number of all kinds of photographs.
- Try to scan in such an option as 24 Bits – you can set this parameter in the list of color settings. This option is considered the most suitable for high-quality scanning of any images.
- It is not recommended to flip the digitized image using special programs. The fact is that such an action will negatively affect the quality of the newly scanned photo. Therefore, it is necessary to scan a photo in the desired orientation initially – this is the only way to preserve its quality as much as possible.
- Whenever possible, try to save the finished image in formats such as PNG or TIFF. In all other formats, the image can lose quality, especially in JPEG, which usually takes up relatively little disk space.
- Be sure to use the settings that allow you to set saturation and levels. Otherwise, if you decide to use these parameters after the photo has been digitized, you may degrade its quality. In general, saturation and levels can be used to change the colors of a picture and even restore faded photos.
- To recover the scanned photo, resort to graphic editors, for example, “Photoshop”. Those. the use of automatic correction for solving this problem is not recommended.