How to get a clear copy from a photo over 100 years old...

[lovingthemouse]

I am gathering pictures of my family to put a scrapbook together. My 94 yr young mom and I found pictures of my late father's family which we did not know existed until today. They are over 100 yrs old - and backed on a black hard board. To my eye, the people are clear but when i try to scan it, the image is somewhat blurred. Yes, the photo has slightly yellowed but not enough to ruin it at all.
This photo is a real find - my grandfather was one of 12 children, and some of his great neices and nephews have never seen this photo as the family moved apart.
I am open to your suggestions. Thanks. Caroline

 

[Charade]

can you post a sample?

 

[lovingthemouse]

here is the picture - a smaller version that the original - any help is appreciated.
I should say that when it scans it does appear clearer- but when it is printed out the blurr seems to appear.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

what resolution did you scan it? what is the original size of the picture? what is the size that you print it out?

 

[lovingthemouse]

The original picture is a 5 x 7, but is then put on the black background board you see
From what i can see on my scanner - it said 2301 W 1574 H -not sure if this what you wanted
printed out 2 5x7's on the same premium photo paper

Thanks. Caroline

 

[WillCAD]

For a photo of that advanced age, I recommend looking around to find a local place that will professionally scan it, clean it up, and retouch it for you. Using pro scanners and cleanup software, some places can bring new life to old photos like that, and give you a very hi-res file suitable for printing.

You might also try an online place like one of these (Note - I have never used any of them so I don't have a recomendation, I just found these with a Google search):
http://www.amerphotorestoration.com/
http://www.imphotorepair.com/
http://chamberlainrestoration.com/

 

[PaulD]

The original picture is a 5 x 7, but is then put on the black background board you see
From what i can see on my scanner - it said 2301 W 1574 H -not sure if this what you wanted
printed out 2 5x7's on the same premium photo paper

Thanks. Caroline

2301x1574 is only about 3.6 megapixels. That's probably not enough (especially if that includes the black border and the surrounding dead space shown above) and it may be why your prints look blurry. Try bumping up the scan resolution to the hardware maximum (maybe 1200 to 4800 dpi). Most scanners will let you upsize the scan beyond the hardware capability using software interpolation. Don't bother with this since you can do it better in Photoshop (or whatever you use).

Once you have a higher resolution scan then you can work with it in an image editor. By starting with a higher resolution you'll get better (hopefully sharper) results. But, depending on the quality of your scanner you still may not get acceptable results (blurry, blown highlights, etc). Try playing around with the exposure settings in the scanner driver to see if you can improve the image. Apply sharpening in the photo editor. If you have Digital ICE or other automatic image improvements built into the scanner driver turn them on to see if they help. Unfortunately, the quality of the scans are relative to how much you spent on your scanner. Some of the cheapies are really bad.

If it's really important then you should probably take WillCAD's advice and look for a professional. Some of those guys can work wonders.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

for scanning from print (3x5, 5x7, 8x10, 8x12), I usually choose 600 dpi. It makes it easier for the software to manipulate to clean the picture later and it's better when you print it out too.

Scan ONLY the picture area, not the black board.

 

[lovingthemouse]

Thanks for all your suggestions - I am not proficient at changing around the settings on my scanner - an HP 5100 series - and perhaps taking it to a professional would be my best option.
I have been using the HP ImageZone program - but I do have Adobe Photoshop 2.0 installed on my laptop - never have tried it. Working with old photos is something newer to me.
As for scanning just the photo - it is attached extremely well to the blackboard background, and I would never attempt to remove it. As you can see from my scan, over the years the blackboard has broken off.
Since this appears to be a 1 of a kind "find," and could attach many people who never knew the other families even existed - the less playing I do, the better. Thanks again. Caroline

 

[Charade]

Thanks for all your suggestions - I am not proficient at changing around the settings on my scanner - an HP 5100 series - and perhaps taking it to a professional would be my best option.
I have been using the HP ImageZone program - but I do have Adobe Photoshop 2.0 installed on my laptop - never have tried it. Working with old photos is something newer to me.
As for scanning just the photo - it is attached extremely well to the blackboard background, and I would never attempt to remove it. As you can see from my scan, over the years the blackboard has broken off.
Since this appears to be a 1 of a kind "find," and could attach many people who never knew the other families even existed - the less playing I do, the better. Thanks again. Caroline

I don't think Kelly meant to remove the photo from the board. In most scanner control programs you can tell it what area to scan by using a preview and then drawing a box around it. IMO, that's really not necessary because you can crop out the board in your photo software. Neither method will increase the resolution of the scanned image. I agree that you should try a higher scanning resolution (DPI). It will pick up more detail but will also pick up more defects in the print esepecially if the paper has any texture to it.

You could try a professional to make the scan for you but they're probably expensive.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

yup! what she said!

 

[Charade]

yup! what she said!

She?

I'm a he.



(I'm the one on the LEFT side of my avitar!)

 

[safetymom]

Try finding someone with an Epson scanner with the color restoration feature. I have restored hundreds of photos like that and they came out looking like the picture was taken yesterday. Keep in mind that back then they couldn't capture detail like they can now.

The feature is just a check box when you go to scan. I have had people in tears when they saw what could be done. It's very easy.

 

[lovingthemouse]

If you looked back to my photo up above, then you'll notice that is is more b/w than anything else.
Thanks to other posters, I am now playing with the scanning resolution - got it set for 600 dpi, but it was really not much clearer.
Also cropped it so that only the photo is showing - hey, I'll learn yet!!

My dh suggested that perhaps having it restored is both costly and tricky - this is the only one we are aware of.

So, any other ideas you have will be greatly appreciated. Caroline

 

[Charade]

If you looked back to my photo up above, then you'll notice that is is more b/w than anything else.
Thanks to other posters, I am now playing with the scanning resolution - got it set for 600 dpi, but it was really not much clearer.
Also cropped it so that only the photo is showing - hey, I'll learn yet!!

My dh suggested that perhaps having it restored is both costly and tricky - this is the only one we are aware of.

So, any other ideas you have will be greatly appreciated. Caroline

If it's 100 years old, it's probably not color. It would be b&w, sepia or something else.

How large is the 600 dpi file? You could email it to one of us to see what we can do with it. It's also possible that your scanner is not up to the task.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Also...

We tried scanning our wedding proofs with 1 out of 4 results. I am not sure what it is called but the photos were not flot on the face. They had a clear textured surface that (I guess) replicated bruch strokes. It refracted the light while scanning and out of 4 3x5's only one would come out clear. Every time!

But I have not seen a 100 year old photo with that type media so this is probably no help.

Mikeeee

 

[Kelly Grannell]

sorry Charade, for the gender confusion

 

[Charade]

sorry Charade, for the gender confusion

It's ok. But trust me, I'm NOT gender confused!

 

[safetymom]

Could you email me the file and I can try on my Epson? Scan just the photo area at 200 dpi.

If you want to do this PM me for my email address.