The first step in the seven step workflow described in this website is to get a good scan.
The settings below are optimal for good scans. These settings are the results of extensive testing. Results of this testing and other documentation can be found on the following links:
These are the three main types of scans to choose from:
Raw Scan: A scanned image containing the raw RGB scanner data. No scanner profile or corrections are applied. The image will look unsaturated and dark. Clipping is never an issue.
Straight Scan: Also called a natural scan. A scanned image without any enhancement or correction to the image. Clipping is usually not an issue. This is the most recommended type of scan. It is ideal for color correction with an image editor, or archiving historical photos.
Color Corrected Scan: A scanned image that had any color shifts fixed and color casts removed. The image may also be enhanced for brightness, contrast, and saturation. Clipping can be an problem, though.
For more information on each type of scan, check out Types of Scans on the Info page.
I recommend archiving every scanned image. See the bottom of this page for details.
Downloading a Scanner Driver
Downloading drivers for scanners can be confusing and frustrating. This is because there are different drivers for the CanoScan 9000F Mark II vs the older CanoScan 9000F. There are also different drivers for the Epson Perfection v600 Photo vs the older Epson Perfection 600. It is not obvious that the correct driver is being downloaded. So I have provided links to manufacturer or publisher sites for the appropriate support or information pages.
After installing and opening a scanner driver (or program) on the Mac, you may see this dialog box (although it will have the model of your particular scanner). Simply click Yes so that your normal scanner driver will function. You will also have to quit Image Capture if it is open.
I strongly suggest making color scans (instead of grayscale scans) of all your color and grayscale prints for reasons I discuss in Settings. All of the instructions below assume that color scans are desired.
Suggested general settings for all scan software:
For Prints: Set dpi to 600. Use 1200 with small prints (2x3, etc) for larger images.
For Enlargements: Double the dpi for 2x enlargements, triple for 3x, and so forth.
For Slides & Negatives: Set dpi to 3000 (high quality) or 4000 (archive quality).
Set color depth to 48 bit Color. Set image format to uncompressed tiff.
Select Embed ICC profile for automatic color space handling.
For straight scans, turn off all color correction options.
The following table contains suggested scanner-specific settings.
Color Control = on
Continuous Auto Exposure = on
Auto Exposure = second notch
Color Restoration = off
Color Control = on
Continuous Auto Exposure = on
Auto Exposure = second notch
Color Restoration = on
For straight scans of old historical
grayscale photos, try the first notch to
minimize contrast changes.
VueScan
Output Color Space = sRGB
Color Balance = Neutral
Black Point = 0
White Point = 0
Output Color Space = sRGB
Color Balance = Auto Levels
Black Point = 0.01
White Point = 0.01
For restoring badly faded photos, try
turning on Restore Fading in the
Filter panel.
The following sections contain detailed instructions for each scan program listed above.
Settings for Canon ScanGear
When first opening Canon IJ Scan Utility, you will see the Canon IJ Scan Utility window with a row of 6 buttons corresponding to 6 different scan modes. The rightmost button corresponds to ScanGear. This is the only scan mode that supports 48-bit color. Clicking on this button opens the ScanGear window.
Click the Close button in the bottom right of the ScanGear window to get back to the Canon IJ Scan Utility window.
To Optionally Restore ALL Default Options (for ScanGear)
Canon IJ Scan Utility
In the Canon IJ Scan Utility window:
click the button to open the
Settings window
Settings
In the Settings window:
click on ScanGear in the list of scan modes on the left
click the button
click to close this window
clears save settings including file name, file type (tiff), and save folder
ScanGear
In the ScanGear window:
click the Basic Mode tab,
then the Advanced Mode tab (top right)
select Default
in the Favorite Settings menu
just under the Advanced Mode tab
clears preferences (color matching, monitor gamma, enable 48 bit output, etc)
also clears settings in main window (color mode, dpi, fading correction, etc)
General Settings
Canon IJ Scan Utility
In the Canon IJ Scan Utility window:
click the button to open the Settings window
Settings
In the Settings window:
click on ScanGear in the list of scan modes on the left
set Data Format to
set Save In to your desired save folder
click to close this window
The Enable large image scans
checkbox is only needed for making scans over 1.8 GB.
Full page scans at 600dpi are only about 200 MB, which doesn't approach this limit.
ScanGear
In the ScanGear window:
click the button (bottom right) to open the Preferences window
Preferences
In the Preferences window:
click the Color Settings tab
check Recommended
set Monitor Gamma to
click the Scan tab
check Enable 48/16 bit Output
click the Preview tab
select Display the Last Frame on Previewed Images
so that hitting Preview a second time won't delete all of your selection rectangles
click to close this window
ScanGear
In the ScanGear window:
click the Advanced Mode tab
set Color Mode to
(16-bit grayscale not supported)
set Output Resolution to dpi(3000 or 4000 for slides & negatives)
set Unsharp Mask to
click the far upper left icon to switch off thumbnail view mode (if desired)
with thumbnails on, blue outlines automatically surround each of your photos
with thumbnails off, dashed outlines can be manually resized to fit your photos
When no photos are selected, Data Size displays about
200 MB for a full page 600dpi scan.
This is shown in red as a warning that the output file will be large (over 100 MB).
This is not related to the "Enable large image scans" option.
Additional Settings for Straight Scans
ScanGear
In the ScanGear window:
set Image Adjustment to
(may have to click Preview first)
set Fading Correction to
set ALL other Image Settings to None or OFF
Additional Settings for Color Corrected Scans
ScanGear
In the ScanGear window:
set Image Adjustment to
(may have to click Preview first)
set Fading Correction to
set ALL other Image Settings to None or OFF
Settings for Epson Scan
When first opening Epson Scan, you may see two windows, the Epson Scan window and sometimes the Preview window.
To Optionally Restore ALL Default Options
EPSON Scan
In the EPSON Scan window:
click the button (bottom) to open the
Configuration window
Configuration
In the Configuration window:
click the Other tab
click
click to reset all settings to default and to quit Epson Scan
General Settings
EPSON Scan
In the EPSON Scan window:
select in the Mode menu
(all other modes are 8 bits per color)
set Image Type to
set Resolution to dpi(3000 or 4000 for slides & negatives)
uncheck the Unsharp Mask checkbox
Unsharp Mask often gets flipped back on automatically. This should always be off.
EPSON Scan
In the EPSON Scan window:
look for the small file folder icon to the right of the Scan button near the bottom of the window
click this icon to open the File Save Settings window.
File Save Settings
In the File Save Settings window:
set Location | Other to your desired save folder by clicking the
button
set Image Format | Type to
(not multi-TIFF)
click the button
to open the Options dialog
set Compression to
check the Embed ICC Profile checkbox
ignore Byte Order
Byte Order can be left to whatever the default is (Macintosh or Windows).
Modern apps on either platform can easily handle both types of Byte Order.
Archaic (ancient) or rare specialized apps might require a certain Byte Order.
click to close the Options dialog
click to close this window
EPSON Scan
In the EPSON Scan window:
click the button (bottom) to open the
Configuration window
Configuration
In the Configuration window:
click the Color tab
select Color Control
set Auto Exposure Level to the second notch
check the Continuous Auto Exposure checkbox
Continuous Auto Exposure ensures that auto exposure is on at all times.
click to close this window
Additional Settings for Straight Scans
EPSON Scan
In the EPSON Scan window:
uncheck ALL checkboxes under Adjustments
Additional Settings for Color Corrected Scans
EPSON Scan
In the EPSON Scan window:
check the Color Restoration checkbox
uncheck ALL other checkboxes under Adjustments
Settings for VueScan
When first opening VueScan, you will see a window with the title VueScan along with a version number in the title. This is the main window for VueScan. On the left side of this window are a variety of named tabs represented by tabs in the instructions below.
To Optionally Restore ALL Default Options
select Default Options in the File menu
General Settings
Click on the and
buttons to see all options [VueScan 9.4 and earlier]
Prefs
In the Prefs tab:
for a smaller UI font, set Font size to
or
to turn off auto-preview, set External viewer to
Input
In the Input tab:
select in the Options menu
to see all options [VueScan 9.5 and later]
set Media to
(Auto may use black & white)
set Media size to
(to use the full length of the bed of the scanner)
set Bits per pixel to
(Auto may use 8 bits per color)
set Scan resolution to
set Scan dpi to
(3000 or 4000 for slides & negatives)
Color
In the Color tab:
make sure Curve low is
(default setting)
make sure Curve high is
(default setting)
make sure all 4 Brightness settings are
(default settings)
set Output color space to
[Pro - requires Professional edition of VueScan]
set Monitor color space to
[Pro]
set Scanner color space to
(if using built-in default scanner profile)[Pro]
set Scanner color space to
(if you have profiled your scanner)[Pro]
set Scanner ICC profile to desired icc profile
(if you have profiled your scanner)[Pro]
set Scanner IT8 data to desired it8 data file
(if you have profiled your scanner)[Pro]
Output
In the Output tab:
set Default folder to desired save folder
uncheck the PDF file checkbox
check the TIFF file checkbox
set TIFF file type to
set TIFF compression to
check the TIFF profile checkbox
(to attach selected color space profile)
Additional Settings for Straight Scans
Filter
In the Filter tab:
uncheck ALL checkboxes
Color
In the Color tab:
set Color balance to
set Black point to
set White point to
Additional Settings for Color Corrected Scans
Filter
In the Filter tab:
uncheck ALL checkboxes
for badly faded photos, try checking Restore fading
Color
In the Color tab:
set Color balance to
set Black point to
set White point to
Scanning
Scan the Photos
Once all the settings have been made, you may commence with the scanning.
Before each and every scan, I suggest using an air blaster to blow the dust off the scanner glass and photos before placing the photos on the glass. It's easier to spot dust if you use a floor lamp close to the scanner. Shine it towards the glass at an angle close to 45 degrees and you'll be able to see the tiniest of dust particles and smudges.
When placing photos on the glass, it's best to place them as straight as possible. Here's a good way to make sure they're all straight: Once photos are in place, hit Preview in the scanner software with the lid open. Check to see if any photos are crooked. Straighten the photos by hand and hit Preview again, until you're happy with how straight all the photos are. Carefully close the lid and hit Preview one last time.
For Epson Scan, click on the Normal tab in the Preview window to see all the photos. Avoid the Thumbnail tab if you don't want to auto-skew and auto-crop photos.
For either program, in the Preview window, select a photo you wish to scan. Zoom in for more precise control of the selection rectangle. If the photo is sideways, click on one of the curved arrows to rotate the photo. Click on Scan when you're ready to save the image to disk. Zoom out to see all the photos on the page. Repeat for each photo.
Scan the Borders and Backs
There's a lot of names, dates, and descriptions that people have written on the front borders and backs of the photos. I want to save this information along with the scans. So before I take the photos off the glass, I scan all the photos on the glass as a single large jpeg at 300dpi. I then flip the photos over, keeping them in the same place they were on the glass. I scan all the backs of the photos in the same way as the fronts, as a single large jpeg. This gives me two large jpegs, one showing all the photos at once including the borders, and the other shows me the backs of those same photos.
I keep the jpegs of the fronts and backs along with the archived scanned image files. The large jpegs serve as a sort of an index, and have a lot of essential family information on them.
An alternative way to scan the border in a photo is to make an straight scan of the entire photograph including the borders. You can then flip the photo over and scan the entire back, too. You may want to make a working copy of the photo without the border before making adjustments and edits.
Archive Scanned Image
Once you get a scanned image from scanning a photo, it's critical to archive (make a copy of) your scan in tiff format before editing it. The archived scan is usually kept offline. If you ever change your mind about edits you've made to an image, you can simply make a new copy from the archived scan.
