February 14, 2007

Curious George: Scanning 1000 same-size photos. I'm about to scan most of my family's old print photos to pass around on DVD+R, and many of them are the same size prints.

So I'm just wondering if there's any software out there that can maybe scan the same area of the glass over and over without prescanning or autocropping every time. Anyone? Anyone?

posted by nil 17 years ago
  • I've done this, without any special software (although, it probably depends on the current scan software that you are utilizing). Whatever I was using at the time did not require me to "prescan." I would place each photo on the glass in the same position and click "scan." Voila. I didn't have any problems. Most software allows you to create and store a profile as well (resolution, color adjustment, etc...). It might help if you let us know what software you currently have (if any). Not sure if that's helping at all!
  • Are you sure your scanner software won't allow you to set any given size as the default, Nil? I think mine does.
  • Most scanner software I've used keep the cropping area you select after scanning a picture, so, like smt said, you just change the photo. I scan lots of photos all the time and and the hard part is reminding oneself of not clicking 'prescan'. I use the excellent Vuescan application on MacOS X, which works with many models, some of them not 'oficially' supported.
  • Ach! Thanks, figured it out. I'm using HP's PrecisionScan. I'd never have figured it out without youse guys asking about it, but what I want can be done while running it standalone instead of within an image editor. D'oh! Thanks again. =)
  • isn't there something whereby you can dump a bunch of pictures in a stack in an auto-feed scanner or something? Like for about $100? Maybe? No? Dreaming eh. Well, wouldn't be the first time.
  • If you happen to have Photoshop lying around - there is an automated preset that will take an imcoming scan containing multiple images, find the edges of each, automatically crop and straighten everything, then keep each of the resulting bits open as individual images. Different than the crop area issue, but sure makes it easier to scan lots of small pictures at once without needing to be as careful with lining the edges up square in the scanner.
  • When we did this at work (with both slides and prints) we took it to a local photo developig place who did it quickly and cheaply. I know that it burns my biscuits to pay for a service that I can theoretically do myself, but for 1000 pictures it might be worth the money.
  • ...to pay for a service that I can theoretically do myself... I have always found it to be well worth the price. One man's opinion, anyway.
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