Old photographs have a way of disappearing. They fade in shoeboxes, warp in damp attics, and go missing when families move or estates are cleared. Digitising them is one of the most concrete things you can do to protect a family’s visual history — and it is far less complicated than it used to be.
Flatbed Scanner vs Scanning Apps
These two options suit different situations:
- Flatbed scanner: The best choice for quality. A mid-range flatbed scanner (the Epson Perfection V39 or Canon CanoScan LIDE 400, both under £80) produces sharp, consistent results even at small print sizes. It handles prints, negatives, and slides. The process is slower — roughly two to four minutes per scan including handling — but the output is archival quality. Worth buying if you have more than 200 photos to scan.
- Scanning apps: Google PhotoScan (free) and Microsoft Lens (free) use your phone camera with multiple captures to reduce glare. They are fast and convenient for a small number of photos. The quality is noticeably lower than a flatbed scanner, particularly for small or damaged prints. Good for a quick pass; not ideal for irreplaceable originals.
Which File Format to Use
This decision matters more than most people realise:
- TIFF: Lossless compression. Every pixel is preserved exactly. Files are large (a single scan can be 20–50MB), but this is the correct format for archival storage of originals. Use TIFF for anything you want to preserve at maximum quality.
- JPEG: Compressed with some quality loss. Files are much smaller and universally readable. Use JPEG for sharing, printing everyday copies, or uploading to family sharing platforms. If you scan originals as TIFF, export JPEGs for sharing but keep the TIFFs as your master files.
Scan at 600 DPI for standard prints. Go up to 1200 DPI for small prints (wallet size), damaged photos, or anything you plan to enlarge.
Storage: Cloud vs Local
The only safe strategy is both:
- Local storage: An external hard drive (2TB drives cost around £50–60) stored separately from your main computer. Keep it in a different room, or better, a different building. Hard drives do fail — replace them every five to seven years.
- Cloud storage: Google Photos, iCloud, or Amazon Photos. Google Photos offers excellent search by face, date, and subject. Amazon Photos gives Prime members unlimited photo storage. Both give you off-site protection and easy sharing.
- Family sharing folder: A shared Google Drive or Dropbox folder where family members can access, download, and add their own copies. This distributes the archive across multiple households.
A Simple Backup Strategy
Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two different types of media, with one stored off-site. For most families, this means: the scan folder on your computer, a copy on an external hard drive, and a copy in cloud storage. When you add new scans, update all three locations the same day — do not let them drift apart.
Name folders and files clearly: Moore_Family/1960s/EthelMoore_Wedding_1963.tif. Add a simple text file to each folder noting who the people are and what year the photos are from. Future family members will thank you.