Your family’s printed photos hold precious memories and stories, but over time your prints can fade, become damaged, or be lost altogether. Scanning them into digital format is one of the simplest and most meaningful things you can do to protect your family’s memories and ensure they’re preserved for generations to come.
Whether you have a few favourite snapshots, or boxes of old albums, here are 10 compelling reasons to start scanning your family photos now.
1. Create a Digital Backup
Scanning creates a digital copy of each photo. If something were to happen to the original print photo you will have the image preserved in the digital copy.
2. Protect Against Loss
Once your print photo is scanned and preserved as a digital image it can easily be backed up for further protection. Backing up digital images to multiple locations provides further protection for your collection.
3. Keep Everything in One Place
Digital copies of print photos are the same as the photos we take today. They can be stored alongside your newer images, allowing you to keep your entire collection together in one place. It becomes easier to organize, manage, protect and enjoy your memories with one central location.
4. Easily Share with Family
Once scanned, these old photos can easily be shared with family and friends! They can be emailed, or you can upload them to shared albums or family websites. Your family will be able to access them, reminisce, and collaborate when collecting details. You don’t need to mail physical copies or worry about original printed images getting lost when you want to share.
5. Prevent Further Deterioration
Printed photos fade, colors change, and paper degrades. Scanning them now captures the image in its current state, before more damage occurs.
6. Restore Faded Images
Old photos that have lost their vibrancy can be color-corrected and enhanced once digitized, giving these images a fresh, renewed appearance.
7. Repair Damaged Photos
If your printed photos have incurred some damage you can often improve the quality of the digital image. Digital tools can often remove scratches, spots, and creases from the digital images. Even heavily damaged photos can sometimes be repaired and brought back to life.
8. View Your Photos in a New Light
Digitizing your collection makes it easier to label, sort, and compare images. You may discover new insights, like family resemblances or forgotten moments, when viewing old and new photos side by side.
9. Use Photos in Creative Ways
Digital images can be used in photo books, slideshows, digital frames, family history projects, or shared on social media. Use your old photos in new, meaningful ways to preserve the images and share the stories.
10. Preserve Stories for the Future
Scanning old family photos can be an easy way to ensure family stories and memories are preserved for future generations. Protecting your digital photos ensures these images can be passed on to future generations. Use your digitized images to reconnect with family and friends and share the images and memories. The more people who have copies of the photos and stories, the better the chance they will be passed on.
Give Your Family Memories a Second Life
Scanning your family’s print photos is one of the most impactful steps you can take to protect your history and make it available to your family. It’s safe, simple, and incredibly rewarding. Whether you’re protecting or organizing your own collection or helping a parent or grandparent do the same, each scanned photo is a story saved and a gift for the future.
This holiday season or during your next family visit, offer to help digitize the prints tucked away in boxes or albums. You’ll preserve cherished memories and maybe uncover a few new stories along the way!