Scanning Tips

How to Get the Perfect Scan

The perfect scan is best done by a professional, and we can help there. Professional scanning operators use machines worth $100,000 plus, and have processes and procedures in place that backyard operators do not (important when you're leaving your previous materials with them!).

But professional scanning - though it might save you lots of time - won't save your bank balance as you're looking at about $2.50 per image and upwards of $5 if you decide to have scratches, mould and dust removed.

It is important that we have good photos and slides to work with, otherwise you might find that spec of dust on Grandma's face looks pretty huge when Grandma's smiling face is enlarged to A4 size! So, ask us for a quote (let us know how many images and of what type), and then you can decide if you'd prefer to do it yourself.

If you are able to scan your photos and slides yourself, here's some scanning tips for getting the best results:

• Clean your scanner with a lint free cloth after every scan
• Ensure you scan to at least 300dpi, (400dpi for smaller photos)
• Save you photos with a minimum quality setting of at least 85% - but 90% or more is even better
• Enlarge each scan to 400% to see if there is any dust or scratches visible on the image, clean them up in a photo program if necessary
• Your saved JPEG image should be between 750kb and 2 megabytes
• Save your files in numbered order as JPGs in the order you want them to appear in the book. eg: 001, 002, 003 etc