DIY photo Scanning

Mar 11

DIY Photo Digitizing: A Practical Guide from the photo scanners

Love a good project? Same. While our team is happy to scan everything for you, we also rent out pro-grade gear and teach you how to do it right—so you get clean, accurate results without wrecking a priceless print (or your scanner). This guide covers DPI choices, gear, handling, software settings, feeding technique, and the big “gotchas” (with fixes).

What you’ll need (and what we can rent you)

High-speed photo feeder: e.g., Epson FastFoto FF-680W for stacks of prints.
Flatbed scanner: for fragile, curled, mounted, or odd-size items (albums, Polaroids, panoramas, documents with staples removed).
Carrier sheet: to safely scan delicate or oversized photos through the feeder.
Nitrile gloves (powder-free): protect glossy photo surfaces from skin oils.
Microfiber cloth + soft brush/air blower: dust is the enemy.
Slim staple remover & tweezers: to remove staples/paperclips safely.

Why nitrile? Archivists specifically recommend nitrile gloves for handling photographic prints/negatives to prevent oils and staining. National Archives info.gaylord.com

DPI: how much is enough?

300 dpi – fastest and fine for quick sharing/normal screen use.
600 dpi – our default for family prints; captures more texture, better for light editing and moderate reprints.
1200 dpi – use for small originals you might enlarge (wallet prints, tiny crops), or when you want maximum detail.

These options are built into FastFoto’s Scan Settings (“300 = fastest,” “600 = archival,” “1200 = highest”). Epson Support Files

File formats & color

Master files: TIFF (lossless) for your “save-forever” copy.
Sharing copies: JPEG for easy posting and small files.
FastFoto can save as JPG or TIFF; pick TIFF for masters, then let the software also create smaller JPEGs if you like. San Leandro

Enhancements (FastFoto): In Settings → Enhancements, you can enable Remove Red Eye, Auto Enhance, and Restore Faded Colors. Pro tip: set “Apply enhancements to a separate copy” so you keep an untouched master and get an enhanced version with “_a” in the filename. Epson Support Files

Feeding photos correctly (FastFoto)

Sort by size. Make batches of the same size; if you must mix, group by size with the largest at the back. This reduces skew/misalignment and helps the feeder grab evenly. Epson Support Files
Orientation for photos: face-up, landscape, top edge first (the “top” is the edge you want scanned in first). Epson Support Files
Use the carrier sheet for fragile, curled, torn, sticky, odd-shape, or irreplaceable items—don’t send them bare through the feeder. Load the carrier face-up with the arrow leading in. Epson Support Files

Scanning paper documents in the feeder? Those go face-down, portrait, top edge first—and never with staples or paperclips. (Same goes for photos—no staples, clips, sticky backs.) Epson Support Files

Handling & prep checklist (2 minutes that save hours)

Put on nitrile gloves before touching glossy prints. National Archives
Remove all staples/clips and any sticky residues. Epson Support Files
Fan/flatten lightly curled stacks; don’t overfill—stay within capacity. Epson Support Files
Dust everything (front/back of photos, feed path). Dust causes lines and—even worse—tiny scratches at speed. Clean rollers periodically. Epson Support Files

Software setup that just works

Choose your destination folder and batch naming so sets stay together.
Scan Settings: pick 600 dpi for most family prints; TIFF for masters; enable back-side scanning if you want to capture handwriting. Epson Support Files
Enhancements tab: turn on Remove Red Eye (and optionally Auto Enhance/Restore Faded Colors), but apply to a separate copy to preserve the original. Epson Support Files

The big gotchas (and how to fix them)

1) Streaks/lines across images
Cause: Dust on photos or the scanner’s glass/rollers.
Fix: Wipe photos and clean the scanner interior/rollers; dust between batches. Epson Support Files

2) Cropped/misaligned scans
Cause: Mixing sizes or feeding the wrong orientation.
Fix: Batch by size (largest at back), keep edges even, confirm photos face-up, landscape, top edge first. Epson Support Files

3) Jams or double-feeds
Cause: Curled/sticky/thick prints; overfilled tray.
Fix: Reduce stack height, flatten gently, or use the carrier sheet. If a jam persists, try Slow Mode to reduce feed speed. Epson Support Files

4) Scratches or “mystery” marks
Cause: Grit/dust at high speed or sending fragile items bare.
Fix: Clean carefully and use the carrier sheet for anything delicate or irreplaceable. Epson Support Files

5) Regret about heavy auto-edits
Cause: Enhancements applied to your only copy.
Fix: In Enhancements, choose “create a separate enhanced copy” so your master stays untouched. Epson Support Files

6) Huge, unmanageable files—or files too small to reprint
Cause: Wrong format/DPI choice for your goals.
Fix: Use TIFF at 600 dpi for masters; export additional JPEGs for sharing to keep sizes reasonable. San Leandro Epson Support Files

When to use a flatbed instead

Very fragile, torn, silvering, or mounted prints
Albums/pages you don’t want to disassemble
Odd sizes (tiny snapshots, panoramas), Polaroids, or textured papers
On a flatbed, you can control pressure, avoid transport rollers, and scan safely (clean the glass and white lid regularly for best results). Epson Support Files The Photo Managers

Quick note on videos

Yes, we also rent video-digitizing kits. Tape formats (VHS, Hi-8, MiniDV) are more finicky than photos—think clean players, stable capture devices, and time-base correction. If you’re DIY-curious, we’ll set you up with a tested signal path and a simple capture workflow; if your tapes look dicey, let us handle them.

Want to DIY with a safety net?

At the photo scanners, we’ll:

Rent you the FastFoto feeder, a flatbed, carrier sheets, and all supplies.
Pre-configure software for TIFF masters + JPEG copies, 600 dpi defaults, and enhancement duplicates.
Show you how to load, sort, and scan—then be on call if something gets weird.

If your project grows (they always do), we can jump in and finish professionally—using the same file structure you started with.

Have a box ready to go? Tell us what you’ve got and we’ll recommend a kit and a game plan.

STEVEN MACKEY