Photo restoration tips for printing old images

Over the last year or so, a lot of us have been looking into our family history while we’ve been cooped up indoors – today we’re going to give you some tips into photo restoration, so get those boxes of pictures out of the attic and we’ll get started!

Digital photo restoration

First off you’ll need to make a digital copy of your old photo; here are three ways to create a digital copy – by scanning, taking a photo or using Photoscan (a custom app designed by Google). Here’s some guidance for each:

Tips for scanning your old photos

•    Remove dust from all photos and scan in a dust-free environment
•    Clean the scanner glass with an alcohol-based cleaner
•    Select the resolution to 300dpi for 4x6 inch photos
•    If you plan to enlarge 4x6 inch pictures, scan at a resolution of 600/900dpi

Taking pictures of your pictures

•    Use a digital camera to get snaps of old photos
•    Use the rear camera of a phone
•    This method is generally lower quality, due to glare and shine

Using Photoscan

•    Download the app onto your phone
•    Snap four photos of the picture using your phone’s rear camera
•    The app automatically produces a hi-res, no glare, cropped, colour corrected and rotated digital image of your photo
•    Your photos are automatically sorted and saved to Google Photos

Repair the damage

So far, we’ve worked out how to make digital copies of photos that are in fairly good condition but what about those which have really struggled to stand the test of time? Now we’re going to take a look at the main recommended photo restoration software, which will get those damaged pictures looking good as new.

If you'd like to leave it to the experts you can find our minor and major photo restoration services to help!

Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a favourite amongst amateurs and professionals alike and it’s not hard to see why – it has all the bells and whistles you might possibly need:

•    The original image is preserved on the base layer
•    The Lasso and Clone Stamp tools repair rips and tears
•    Clear up any dust and scratches with the Dust and Scratches tool
•    Colour correction can be done automatically or manually, depending on your skill level
•    For wow factor, there a few ways to turn your black and white image to a colour one in Photoshop too

Of course, all that seems like a lot of work, so if you want to get your photo restoration work carried out by a professional, we’re here to help!

You can scan or post your photo to us, and our resident experts can remove all sorts of damage as well as doing fancy edits for you, such as removing items (or even people) from the snaps; drop us a line and see how we can help with all your photo restoration needs.