Software To Digitize Old Photos - Top 6 Options for Efficient Scanning
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Looking for software to digitize old photos?
After thorough research and testing, I compiled a list of six software that can help you scan your old photos efficiently and save them on your local system or cloud. I’ve also provided a step-by-step guide on how to use the software for digitizing your photo album.
Sounds good? Let’s start!
6 Best Software To Digitize Old Photos
Check out these amazing tools:
1. PhotoScan – Accurate Scan with Google Photos Integration
PhotoScan by Google is an app that lets you scan and digitize old photos. The objective behind it was to create a scanner that easily operates with existing sharing applications and photo storage.
This means you can capture your old photos and save them in Dropbox, Google Photos, or other cloud storage services.
While capturing photos, PhotoScan automatically adjusts perspective, corrects edges, and removes reflections and glare. More specifically, it uses the computational photography technique to scan the image from multiple angles or dots. Then, it stitches these scanned points into one complete photo, without any glare.
After scanning, you can apply filters, share it with others, or upload it to your cloud storage. Furthermore, you can sync it to the Google Photos app and edit it on your phone.
Pros:
- Simple user interface
- Scans images at 72 pixels per inch
- Preserves original image quality
- Automated yet smart photo editing
Cons:
- Lighting and color can be a bit off
- Physical features like white borders might be visible
- To print scanned images, you may need a more high-resolution app
- Output quality depends on device performance and positioning.
2. Microsoft Lens – Best for Microsoft Office Users
Microsoft Lens is a powerful tool that can scan, digitize, and organize documents including images right from your tablet or smartphone. To be more specific, it helps you capture a photo, rotate, crop, add text, or adjust its contrast and brightness for optimal clarity.
Moreover, it can assist you in organizing documents into categories and folders. It also adds several labels and tags for better searchability. In addition, this tool uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert scanned images into searchable and editable text.
Microsoft Lens has a user-friendly interface that integrates perfectly with Microsoft Office apps including Word and OneNote. It supports different file formats, such as PNG, JPG, Word, and PDF.
Pros:
- Doesn’t require Microsoft or OneNote Accounts for configuration
- Cleans up shots of whiteboards
- Efficiently straightens angles
- Easy to export images in multiple supported formats
- Offers several editing options, including auto-crop, rotate, adding text, etc.
Cons:
- Sometimes it crashes or even restarts itself
- Takes a few seconds to reach the exact corners of the scanned image
- Users with a private Microsoft account may find it difficult to set up.
3. CamScanner – Offers Scanning and Editing tools
CamScanner is another popular scanning application that allows you to efficiently scan, save, search, and upload documents. This app is designed for small to large-sized companies and is widely used by professionals working in different industries.
CamScanner’s advanced image enhancement feature can improve the legibility and clarity of the scanned old photos. Moreover, this app automatically adjusts contrast, sharpness, and brightness to provide professional-looking scanning results every time.
It also integrates with popular services, such as OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive. It provides the option to back up important files in case of damage or data loss.
Notably, this app offers an educational version with all the free version features while removing watermarks and ads.
Pros:
- Compatible with Google account for syncing
- Offers good image-capturing options
- User-friendly interface
- Applies magic effects to highlight image content
- Scans and outputs images in good quality
- Having a separate web app makes it easier to manage scanned documents
- Offers a 3-day free trial
Cons:
- Sometimes struggles with adjusting the angles correctly
- Its free version adds a watermark on the scanned document
4. ScanSpeeder – Ultra-Fast Photo Scanning
ScanSpeeder is primarily used to scan multiple photos at once. Specifically, it has the option to directly scan from the photo album page.
This scanning software also offers you a 1-Click cycling option to import pre-scanned multiple images. It then automatically crops and straightens them into separate image files. Additionally, its One-Click Magic Wand and Advanced Photo Enhancement features bring your photos back to life.
Moreover, you can easily bulk-adjust your existing photo collections. For instance, it supports the options to add captions, tags, text, date taken, 1-click enhance and orient. Furthermore, you can correct skewing and orientation for multiple photos at once.
Overall, ScanSpeeder makes scanning your old photos much easier and faster.
Pros:
- One-click restoration
- You can adjust the color and brightness to fix washed-out photos
- Easy and efficient bulk image scanning
- Offers the option to customize with text
- Saves all images as TIFF or JPEG
- Supports standard and pro versions
Cons:
- Designed for Windows only
- Unresponsive customer support
- Might not be compatible with older computers
5. ScanPapyrus – A Smart Image Scanning Tool
ScanPapyrus is appreciated by both beginners and advanced users because of its stand-out features. Its batch-processing mode makes the photo-scanning process quick and easier.
In addition, this photo scanning tool:
- Automatically deskews the scanned images
- Removes the strips around the edges
- Increases the text sharpness
- Cuts off unnecessary edges
- Automatically adjusts the contrast.
Furthermore, you can use this tool with your printer, MFP, or any other device that can print documents.
Besides, if you already have scanned images on your system, you can load them within ScanPapyrus for post-processing. This software supports loading images from multi-page TIFF files, PDFs, DjVu, BMPs, and other formats.
Pros:
- Supports almost all scanners
- High-speed, bulk photo scanning
- Detects and scans individual images from bulk
- Rotates as needed
- Extensive format support
- Considered the best option for PNG formatting
Cons:
- Some users may not like the built-in scanner option
- Its free option offers limited functions
6. AutoSplitter – Splits and Organizes Scanned Images
AutoSplitter is another amazing photo-scanning application that automatically decides what your scanned images require. For instance, it identifies whether it needs adjustment related to orientation, alignment, cropping edges, or more.
In terms of functionality, Image Enhancement is the most popular feature. It can change the contrast of your images.
You can also scan several photos at once, which saves a lot of your time and effort. Moreover, AutoSplitter’s interface displays a preview and edits the scanned old images as you see fit.
However, compared to other software, AutoSplitter has an outdated interface which makes it a little bit challenging to use.
Pros:
- Offers ten free scans in the free version
- Allows you to change the metadata of your scanned image
- Enhances contrast in older photos
- Auto-detects and crops scanned images for individual files
- Assists in restoring the color of images
Cons:
- Adds watermark while scanning photo in free version
- Its user interface might seem outdated to some users
- Contains limited font options.
How To Use Software To Digitize Old Photos?
I’ll demonstrate the process with CamScanner. Follow these steps:
1. Firstly, open CamScanner, and capture your required photo using the circle button.
2. After scanning the image, use the highlighted pointers to define the edges of the image and tap on Next.
3. From the next window, you can apply different effects to the scanned photo, like:
- No shadow
- Original
- Lighten
- Magic Scale
- GrayScale
- B&W
- Eco.
Then, tap the tick button to save it to the gallery or share it with friends for collaboration.
How I Chose the Best Software To Digitize Old Photos?
During testing, I looked for the following points to select the finest apps. All tools need to:
- Offer the option to scan a new photo or load a pre-scanned photo
- Store data on the cloud and local system
- Support bulk image processing
- Export images in multiple formats
- Auto-detect and crop the edges of the photo.
So now you’ve all the essential info related to choosing the most efficient software to digitize old photos. Feel free to let me know which options you liked the most in the comment section. I’ve also covered tools for colorizing images.
