The safety of personal photographs and prints is difficult to ensure, but a sound method for digitizing photos can make the process of preserving them easier. Paper is something that can perish over the years, but digital files can endure for all time when cared for properly.
Some might be surprised by this claim, since it is obvious that digital devices do wear out with time and usage. The key is to know how to create and backup image files properly, and to have a strategy for redundancy that ensures that there will always be at least one surviving digital copy of each of these images.
The scanning
Getting the best scan is the key to successful archiving. Many people simply use their home scanners to create digital copies of each photograph. Others with a lot of photographs to scan might choose to pay others to do the scanning for them. It really does not matter as long as a good scan of each image is obtained.
Quality matters because these images may eventually be used to create a new print of a photograph. Though small image files require far less storage space to house, they also have far less resolution. That means that it is impossible to enlarge them sufficiently to obtain the quality print most users will demand.
The storage
All of these images need to then be placed onto an external hard drive that is devoted to this one purpose. Do not use compact discs, DVDs, or other storage media that may get broken, scratched, or otherwise abused. The best results require a permanent, dedicated solution.
It is also a good idea to purchase online storage as well, as a backup to the drive. Hang onto the original prints too and file them somewhere safe. When this method for digitizing photos is used properly, all of those invaluable photographs can be preserved for all time.
Some might be surprised by this claim, since it is obvious that digital devices do wear out with time and usage. The key is to know how to create and backup image files properly, and to have a strategy for redundancy that ensures that there will always be at least one surviving digital copy of each of these images.
The scanning
Getting the best scan is the key to successful archiving. Many people simply use their home scanners to create digital copies of each photograph. Others with a lot of photographs to scan might choose to pay others to do the scanning for them. It really does not matter as long as a good scan of each image is obtained.
Quality matters because these images may eventually be used to create a new print of a photograph. Though small image files require far less storage space to house, they also have far less resolution. That means that it is impossible to enlarge them sufficiently to obtain the quality print most users will demand.
The storage
All of these images need to then be placed onto an external hard drive that is devoted to this one purpose. Do not use compact discs, DVDs, or other storage media that may get broken, scratched, or otherwise abused. The best results require a permanent, dedicated solution.
It is also a good idea to purchase online storage as well, as a backup to the drive. Hang onto the original prints too and file them somewhere safe. When this method for digitizing photos is used properly, all of those invaluable photographs can be preserved for all time.
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