Digital revolution: End of 20th century and the entry to the 21st century is the era of digital revolution. The whole world underwent a great migration from analog to digital systems. Everyone knows that the system of the microprocessor based computers work on digital or binary coding using “0 or 1” in various sets of combinations.

User inputs from keyboard or mouse or for that matter any type of inputs like scanner or cameras might be in a user friendly form like alphabets, or simply images or documents.

Those inputs might be in analog form also. But computers treat these inputs as signals or information or data and convert them into digital format for its internal processing and to give the user the desired output as per the standardized or designed program.

• How do images process in a computer?
• What decides the quality of a photo?
• Why should we know about these standards?
• What is The Best Way to Digitize Old Photo?
• How Much Does it Cost to Digitize Old Photos?
• Is it Better to Scan or Photograph Old Photos
• What Are The Best Photo Scanning Services
• What to Look For in a Photo Scanner
• How to Digitize Photos For Embroidery
• What is The Best App For Scanning Old Photos?
• What is The Best Photo Scanning Software?
• How to earn regularly from digitizing photos?
• Startup to make money through digitizing photos or documents
• How do I Digitize Thousands of Photos?
• How Much Does it Cost to Digitize Pictures?
• What is The Best Way to Digitize Documents?
• How to Organize Scanned Photos
• How to Scan Old Photos For The Best Resolution
• Photo Scanning Franchise
• Convert Photo to Digital
• How Much to Charge For Scanning Pictures
• What is The Best App to Scan Documents?

How do images process in a computer?

The information or data received by the computers are stored in binary formats of “0s and 1s” at the machine level and at this level to process the data for our use, exchange of information within the system is done in binary only.

For the benefit of users the files are grouped into word documents, excel calculation sheets, presentation slides and images. Output is stored in the form of files of typical formats. Documents are stored (MS systems) as *.doc and few other formats.

Read Also: Earn Regular Income Selling Photos On The Web

The images are stored in formats like jpg, tiff, png etc., for different types of transport of the images digitally from system to system, or for quality and usage. To take printout of photos we need better quality pictures.

What decides the quality of a photo? 

Resolution of an image or photo decides the quality. The number of pixel per square inch displayed on the computer is the measure for the resolution of a picture. The greater the number of pixels or the resolution in the display, the greater is the quality of the picture.

There are standards of resolution measured in Pixels per Inch (PPI) in the case of the monitors or the display units like TVs also. Some monitors of older version have a resolution of 640×480.

Monitors of today are capable of producing display of, 800×600, 1024×768 and 1280×1024 pixels. The higher the pixels ratios, the more crispy pictures can be displayed by them.

Why should we know about these standards? 

Resolution standards and the implications of the pixel range is very important for those who enter into the business of digitization of photos by scanning and other methods, as well the digitization of documents in the same manner.

The term dots per inch (DPI) are indicative of the black and white display periods but still it is used for the printing devices. As explained earlier the PPI is related to the measurements of picture quality of today. But DPI and PPI are interchangeably used in describing the resolution capability of scanners and graphical images, such as digital photos.

A minimum of 72 DPI is needed to get a clear image on the monitor screen, but for printing a photo we require minimum of 250 to 300 DPI resolutions. Digital cameras of today are coming with resolutions in Megapixel. A 10 MP camera captures 10,000,000 pixels pictures. These standards are to be kept in mind when processing the digitization of pictures.

How much digital space (Bytes) and size do they occupy in the computer as files? 

A 4×6 size image of 300 DPI occupies a size of 1200(4×300) X1800 (4×600) of a matrix grid. A 3×3 pixel image has 9 pixels in total., so 1200×1800 pixel matrix pictures has 2,160,000 pixels i.e., 2.16 MP. One pixel consists of 3 primary colors RGB, is stored in one byte for each of the 3 colors.

Therefore, 1 byte is equal to 3 bytes. If our image has 9 pixels, then the picture is 27 (9×3) Bytes sized. 2.16 MP pictures have a file size of 2.16×3 bytes= 6.48 Megabytes and we call the file size as 6.48 MB. This way one can arrive at the optimized file size when digitizing photos professionally for making money’

Digitizing Photos Using Scanners:

 Photos can be digitized in many ways. Simple scanners to multi-photo scanners are available in the market to scan the objects and give a soft scanned digital copy of the photo on to your computer simply. But here also one has to take care of the wanted size, format not losing the original photo quality.

A minimum of 300 pixels quality is required for taking a printed output with good quality photo output. Scanner for getting 600 DPI resolutions is found around $ 100. When scanners are used to digitize, the distortion percentage from the original picture is reduced much.

Some settings of the scanners for resolutions and format bring out the best result without much skill and knowledge. But the dust particles present on the photo and scanner bed can diminish the quality of the portrait.

Digitizing Photos Using Digital Camera: 

Variety of digital cameras is available in the market. Cheaper to costly camera options are open for buy. Old photos and documents can be just clicked and this digital photo can be uploaded to the computer and posted online for a price.

Opportunities and limitations: 

There opportunities for this kind of business and job as well to earn money. There are historically important value based old pictures are available in photo formats and such offers are available in the net and one can search and locate these offers.

Friends and relatives, family tree photos, old civilization scenarios photos, old city/town panoramic views, sports and arts in action of yester years are some of the photos have ever green money value for digitization requirement.

Challenges like an order from a customer may flood to you to digitize more than 1000 photos as one order. This job has to be completed shortly and complied with the request. Scanners will not fulfill this need. Branded companies like Kodak Photos take up such works at low cost using mega scanners which can scan hundred photos per minute and complete the job in shortest time and your delivery is ensured to your customer.

The information given in the given link helps http://www.ehow.com/http://www.scanmyphotos.com      http://www.digmypics.com to commence a business.

What is The Best Way to Digitize Old Photo?

1. Using an App to Digitize Photos

If you just need a way to quickly scan old photos to digital, you may not want to invest any money in a picture scanner. Or maybe you’re at a family member’s home and only have access to your phone.

Sure, you could always just take a photo using your phone’s camera app. But then you’re at risk of creating shadows, distortion, and glare. These apps help to remove these features and guide you through the scanning process.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that one of the best app options out there is Google’s PhotoScan app. The free app takes multiple photos of each print to improve quality, remove glare, and correct any distortion. And better yet, the app can be completely integrated with all the great Google Photos features you already know and love.

2. Scanning Old Photos at Home

Scanning in your photos at home on a scanner is time-consuming, but also gives you complete control over how your photos are organized, scanned, and stored. Plus it can be a lot of fun to relive old memories.

As a rule, it’s generally best to consider a flatbed scanner, as they are least likely to damage your delicate photos. Basic options like the Canon CanoScan LiDE220 or the Epson Perfection V39 are a great way to scan photos up to 8×10 in size without breaking the bank.

If your budget is a little higher, you may prefer purchasing a scanner that can scan your old negatives and slides as well as printed photos. The Epson Perfection V600 has these features as well as some additional perks like automatic color correction and zero warm-up time. The Kodak Scanza is a great portable option if you need a film scanner.

Some scanners are designed specifically to scan stacks of 4×6 photos at high speeds with good quality. The Epson FastFoto FF-680W claims to be the fastest picture scanner of all and will digitize batches of 36 prints at a rate of one-per-second. It’s wireless too, so you can save directly to cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox.

A more portable and less expensive photo scanner is the Doxie Go SE. It scans your photos to an SD card, is the size of a rolled-up magazine, and runs on battery power.

Strategies for Digitizing Photos at Home

If you’ve never undertaken a large-scale scanning project like this, there are some important guidelines to keep in mind.

Be organized. Are you going to scan photos chronologically? In order of importance? How are you going to organize them on your computer or external hard drive? Consider coming up with a system for naming and sorting files so that it’s easy to find the photos you are looking for. You may also want to consider strategies for keeping track of who is in each photo.

Be selective. Think about how many photos you take on your phone that you delete immediately. You don’t need to save every photo you’ve ever taken. Only scan the ones that are important to you.

Be careful. Wipe dust off of your photos and from your scanner using a non-abrasive cloth. This ensures that your picture is as clear as possible, without any annoying dust specks. And if you’re using a scanner that doesn’t show you a preview of your photos, check in on your scans every hour or so to ensure that they are scanning and saving properly.

Check your settings. All scans are not created equal. For scanning photos you’ll want to use a minimum quality setting of 300 dpi (but consider going as high as 600 dpi if you’re planning on enlarging any photos). As well, even if you are scanning in black and white or sepia photos, choosing to scan in color will give you the best opportunities to make edits and modifications to your digital photos.

Be prepared. You’re likely going to spend more than a few hours with these photos. Why not put a TV show on in the background, listen to your favorite music on Spotify, or surround yourself with friends and family for a photo scanning party and share memories as you dig through your photos.

3. Photo-Digitizing Services

Of course, the easiest way to tackle this project is to simply hire a photo-digitizing (or scanning) service. While this is an amazing way to decrease the amount of time involved in this project, it does come with some downsides.

You will have to send away your family photos to a stranger, often trusting the mail system with some of your most precious memories. In addition, a stranger will be seeing every photo that you send to them, so you may want to do an initial sort first as well.

Some options for companies that offer this service include:

Scan Cafe

Cost per photo: 35 cents per printed photo up to 8×10 inches. Every photo receives color correction and editing by hand.

Formats Supported: Photos, negatives, slides, film/video.

Additional Services: If you have a lot of photos to scan, and don’t mind some extra wait time, the Value Kit pricing option may be right for you. Option to review your scans before purchasing, expedited services.

DigMyPics

Cost per photo: 39 cents per printed photo up to 8×10 inches plus shipping. Pricing for other formats may vary.

Formats Supported: Photos, slides, negatives, film, videotape.

Additional Services: Color correction, dust removal, rush services.

Scan My Photos

Cost per photo: $25 flat fee plus 8 cents per photo, but additional services (e.g. image rotation, higher dpi, color correction) are extra.

Formats Supported: Printed photos, film, negatives.

Additional Services: Option to pay between $145 and $299 (depending on resolution) for a prepaid photo scanning box, international shipping, rush services.

Stay Local

When choosing a service to scan your photos for you, don’t forget about your local photography studio. While not all locations will offer this service (and their prices may be higher) this option may offer you some peace of mind. This can also be a more timely option if you only want a few scanned photos, and want them to be at a high quality.

How Much Does it Cost to Digitize Old Photos?

Depending on how many photos you have, these services can take months. You can expect to pay around 40 to 60 cents per image. Some scanning services, such as GoPhoto and ScanCafe, specialize in digitally repairing images that have been damaged, making them a great option for some of your oldest photos.

Even if you plan to scan your photos yourself, you can always send the toughest jobs along to a professional to see if they can give you better results. If you just want the cheapest option, check out ScanMyPhotos, which starts at just 1 cent per image.

Is it Better to Scan or Photograph Old Photos

the difference in quality between a scanned image and a picture of a print photo is astronomical. With scanned images, the quality is clear and precise. Of course, the clarity of the digitized image varies depending on the quality of the scanner being used.

A simple scanner may only scan in black and white or may make the image look grainy. This is one reason why digitization services have become so popular – the high-quality technology used by some digitization services produces superior digital images of print photos that cannot be created with a simple scanner at home.

While the smartphone method may have the scanner method beat in its convenience, the scanner method outshines the smartphone method in quality. When it comes to your precious memories, quality is so much more important than convenience.

Even so, some digitization services like Legacybox are working to make the digitization process quicker and more convenient by providing free shipping and shipping materials, as well as tracking updates on your order so that you know where your photos are in the digitization process.

What Are The Best Photo Scanning Services

ScanMyPhotos

ScanMyPhotos is the best choice if you need your photos digitized right now. The company’s average turnaround for pay-per-scan photos is seven to 10 business days, and there’s also a unique one-day scanning option on orders, including prepaid boxes that can hold up to 10,800 photos (but not any other media-like slides or negatives).

You can even set up an in-person appointment at to their Irvine, California, scanning facility – if you’re local. ScanMyPhotos’ super-speed does come with a few inconveniences, however.

You have to invest some time cleaning and organizing your photos before sending them, as the company has pretty strict rules regarding what it will and won’t scan. You can get your photos scanned in order (so you don’t have to sort them by size), but this option costs extra.

Another item of note is that the company warns if photos are packaged backwards, you’ll get a scan of the back of the photo instead of the front – which indicates your photos likely don’t get the detailed attention they might with other services.

GoPhoto

GoPhoto is extremely user-friendly and has a streamlined process thoughtfully designed to be as stress-free as possible. Four key things really make GoPhoto stand out among the competition.

The first is the flat-rate shipping. No matter how much stuff you send them, it’s $20, round trip. You print out a UPS label when you open your order, and they subsidize any shipping fees over the set amount.

The second is that you don’t have to organize your media at all in order to send it to GoPhoto. You can even send whole photo albums or slide carousels, and they’ll carefully remove your photos and slides, scan them and replace them in the same order.

The third thing is their payment structure. Most photo scanning services require you to pay about 50 percent upfront, but you don’t have to pay GoPhoto until you’ve seen your scans. You can then choose to keep or delete any of them, and you only pay for the scans you keep.

The last little touch that GoPhoto throws in is a free, unlimited online library. This is great for organizing your photos, keeping a backup and sharing images on social media. GoPhoto also offers add-ons like rush service, extra copies of your photo scan DVD, home movie conversion and Pro options if you’d like TIFF formatted files or higher resolution scans.

ScanCafe

ScanCafe’s offers many services in addition to photo scanning, including restoration and video conversions, but its Value Kits are what makes it stand out.

If you have a ton of photos, slides and negatives, this is a great option, as you can send them all together in one kit instead of parceling them out separately like other services require. You can choose kits in sizes of 500 to 10,000 scans, and ScanCafe will send you appropriate shipping materials and a label.

This does take a little extra time, as their processing facility for the value kits is located in India, and rush service is not available for this option. There very limited customization options with the kits, but each scan gets three to four minutes of individual attention – just like with ScanCafe’s pay-per-scan service. Be aware, though, that you have to prepay for the bulk kits and there are no preview options.

ScanCafe’s pay-per-scan option is also a good value, as you can review and delete up to 20 percent of the scans without paying for them. So if you send in 100 photos and don’t like 20 of the results, you only pay for the 80 you keep.

Digital Memories

Digital Memories partners with MiMedia to back up your scanned photos and other media up to a cloud service, protecting your photos from hardware failures. This is a critical feature many people fail to consider with a photo scanning service.

While converting old photos and film to digital formats is the best way to preserve them, as digital formats don’t fade or deteriorate, the storage formats containing the digital photos have a much shorter lifespan.

The average hard drive, for example, is expected to last between four and eight years and CDs are easily scratched, broken and lost. Physical photos, on the other hand, can last well over a century. Having a solid backup plan for protecting your digital photos is essential.

Digital Memories offers 60 days of free backup service after you scan photos. You can continue the backup service at an additional monthly fee. This provides ample time for you to come up with your own backup solution, should you choose not to use the cloud backup service.

MiMedia also allows you to back up your entire library of digital medial files, even files the service didn’t scan. You can stream home videos and share photos from any Wi-Fi enabled device.

What to Look For in a Photo Scanner

Before you choose a photo scanner, do your homework. After you identify your scanning needs, you’re ready to buy a scanner. Here’s how:

1. Identify what you plan to scan. Do you have 4-by-6-inch photos, 8-by-10-inch or larger photos, tiny transparencies, or negatives? Do you have all of these? If so, a flatbed scanner with a film adapter is for you. However, if you plan to scan transparencies only, you can buy a small transparency scanner for that purpose.
2. Pick the scanner resolution you need. Scanner resolution is usually listed in dots per inch (dpi). In general, 300 dpi is sufficient for most purposes. For exceptionally high quality, 1200 dpi is needed. If you plan to enlarge a digital scan at some point, 3200 dpi is a safe resolution unless you plan to cover the side of a truck with the image. However, if you plan to post photos on the internet, use a lower resolution — 150 dpi should cover it.
3. Estimate your speed needs. If you plan to do much scanning, the speed of the scanner factors into your decision. Manufacturer specifications typically include the speed of scanners on their websites. Check there and compare your favorites.
4. Set a budget. Scanners are available in a range of prices from less than $100 to thousands of dollars. The more features the scanner has, the more it costs.
5. Plan to diversify. Decide whether you want to scan documents as well as photos on your scanner. If so, you need a photo scanner that also scans documents.
6. Choose a size. You may need a letter-size or larger flatbed scanner if you plan to scan large photos or documents. However, if you have a stack of hundreds of transparencies or negatives to scan, you may want to go with a scanner designed specifically for that purpose.
7. Do your homework. Locate scanners online that have good reputations and meet the criteria you establish. You likely won’t be able to walk into a store and test out the scanners on display, because most stores don’t display scanners. Also, determine the seller’s return policy.
8. Order your scanner. Test the scanner as soon as you get it. That’s the only way to know if it works right for you. If not, return it and try another one.

How to Digitize Photos For Embroidery

Before you begin: Work locally. Always start by moving your file to the desktop. Opening and editing files from a USB (or other) drive can create problems.

1 Open Bernina Embroidery Software and create a new blank design.

2 Right click on the “Show Hoop/Settings” icon. Set Machine to Janome MC500E and choose the appropriate hoop size for your design.

3 In the Auto-Digitize toolbox on the left, select Insert Artwork and select your file. For vector art, use an EPS file, for raster images, use a JPEG. Resize your artwork to the size you want it and to fit within the hoop.  Note, the design must fit within the red box inside the hoop.

4 In the Auto-Digitize toolbox, select Auto-Digitize.

In the Bitmap Artwork Preparation screen, set the number of colors to use in the Processed Bitmap section (right side).

Click OK.

5 In the Auto-Digitize window, select Add Thread Chart Colors to Palette under Matching Method.  Click My Thread Charts…

Add (“>”) “art+design” to My Charts and remove (“<”) any other thread charts from the My Charts column.

Click OK.

6 Set options for each color color used:

Fill – used for large color shapes
Detail – line work, small text, outlines, etc.
Omit – ignores color (eg. ignoring white background of an image)

Click OK.

Once you have digitized your image, you can click on the Bitmaps button in the top toolbar (or use the keyboard shortcut “D”) to hide your original artwork so you can only see your digitized embroidery.

What is The Best App For Scanning Old Photos?

1. Google PhotoScan

Google has just released its PhotoScan app and it’s already the best photo scanning app available today. Unlike other photo scanning apps, PhotoScan takes multiple shots of a photo, which results in glares automatically removed while also improving the quality of the scan.

The app also automatically detects edges, corrects perspective, and brings smart rotation. In our testing, the app worked pretty well and the best thing about it is the glare removal, which is a big problem when you are taking a photo of a photo. Plus, the app integrates with the brilliant Google Photos app, so you can save your scanned photos in the cloud for free.

2. Photomyne

Photomyne isn’t a very popular app but it makes up for a great photo scanning app, thanks to its ability to scan multiple photos in one go. You can either scan multiple photos through your old albums or lay out photos on a table and scan them through Photomyne.

The app automatically detects different photos and saves them into albums. While the app detects photos pretty well, it’s a little inconsistent when it comes to detecting the edges of the images. Well, you can always fix it manually and you can even enhance photos with different filters.

The Android version of the app is free but still in beta. On the other hand, the iOS version of Photomyne includes cool features like discover, cloud backup etc., however, the app is pretty limited and you will have to make in-app purchases to unlock features.

3. Pic Scanner

Pic Scanner is a pretty great iOS-only photo scanning app that packs in the ability to scan multiple photos. The app detects, crops and saves different photos individually. The scans from the app are pretty good and you can rotate the scans, enhance them, trim, add effects and caption.

While it’s all good, the free version of the app limits the number of saves & shares to 12. To save unlimited scans and export them, you will have to make an in-app purchase for the full version.

There’s also a Pic Scanner Gold version, which brings faster scanning, a great photo editor, ton of ways to share photos and more.

4. CamScanner

Chances are, you must have heard of CamScanner, which is arguably the best document scanner app out there and while it may specialize in documents, we found the app to work fine when it comes to scanning pictures.

Plus, you get a number of cool editing options to play with to make sure the scanned photo looks perfect. CamScanner can also work well in case you want to scan an old document, letter or almost anything else.

Other features of the app include sync across different platforms, optimize scan quality, save scans to the cloud and more. The app is available in a free version, which should be good enough to scan photos. However, there’s a Premium subscription as well, that brings the ability to edit OCR results, more cloud storage & collaborators etc.

5. Shoebox

Shoebox by Ancestry.com is a fairly popular app when it comes to photo scanning apps and rightly so. The app scans photos pretty well, thanks to its edge detection and perspective correction technology and like other apps on this list, the scans are pretty good.

Once you have scanned a photo, you can add details like the photo’s location, tag people, add caption and date. You can either save photos to your device’s gallery or save it on Ancestry.com in your family tree. The app offers unlimited free storage, so you can save as many photos as you want to your family tree in Ancestry.com.

What is The Best Photo Scanning Software?

Adobe Acrobat DC

Adobe can be best described as a software behemoth and their Adobe Acrobat DC makes for a powerful tool if you’re looking for top-notch scanning software. The DC particle stands for Document Cloud by the way, and this Adobe product is great if you’re looking for a no-nonsense PDF solution which allows you to compare docs side by side, or to edit data from scanned paper printouts and post comments via an intuitive and ergonomically designed interface.

The software bundle is very easy to install and to use, and comes with a ton of advanced features. On top of that, Adobe is one of the biggest names in the industry, i.e. if you’re looking for a “seasoned” and trustworthy brand, this is the droid you were looking for.

The Document Cloud feature integrates all of your docs with Adobe’s cloud storing solution, so you can access your data anytime, anywhere.

Also, Acrobat DC integrates seamlessly in the company’s software ecosystem, hence if you’re already an Adobe customer, as in you’re already using Photoshop, you should seriously consider getting Acrobat DC as your OCR partner.

Moreover, this software allows PDF creation from virtually anywhere: MS Office, smartphone camera, HTML pages, emails, docs/spreadsheets that can be first merged then organized into a PDF file.

VueScan

If you’re having troubles finding software for your scanner, we’re here to help. Actually, we are talking about VueScan, which is arguably one of the best scanning software out there. VueScan was created to help people keep using their old scanners, i.e. to save money, save the planet and all that.

In order to achieve this noble goal, more than 5600 older scanners were reverse engineered, and the end result is a free-trial app for scanning documents, photos, slides and film on all major operating systems, including Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

VueScan supports over 5600 models from 42 manufacturers, and it can help you even when your particular scanner doesn’t have a proprietary driver.

PaperScan

There’s an old saying about the best things in life and freebies, and in this regard, PaperScan makes for an easy to use (and free) tool which allows you to clean up your scanned docs, i.e. this baby makes for a free scanning application, which is excellent for people on limited budgets.

PaperScan free edition supports TWAIN and WIA devices, hence it should do a great job with digital cameras, classic scanners, video capture cards and so on and so forth.

On top of that, PaperScan allows you to import files/images from your computer, including regular graphic files or PDFs. Regardless of its source, the image is then quickly optimized, i.e. punch holes and borders can be removed with ease.

There’s also an autodeskew option, which automatically finds/corrects pages that aren’t straight, along with many other tools to smooth an image, adjust colors, remove noise, tweak contrast, resize etc.

The finished document can then be saved in JPEG, TIFF, JBIG2, PNG or PDF format. If you want more features, there’s always the Professional version, which costs $149.99, so be happy with what you got, alright?

ScanSpeeder

ScanSpeeder can be best described as an affordable scanning software for the masses, and that’s one of the reasons it made it on our “best of” list.

Now, if you’re going to have to scan/edit/archive a ton of photos, ScanSpeeder has your name on it, as it has the capability to scan/crop/straighten multiple photos/docs at once if you’re using a regular flatbed scanner. And that’s a big advantage if you’re working with tons of data, right?

On top of that, ScanSpeeder dramatically simplifies the entire scanning process, which is a great thing for not so tech-savvy people using old-school scanning equipment.

The software allows you to scan multiple photos at once, then it automatically segregates them into separate files, and also straightens the docs/photos, an excellent feature in terms of time-saved, as you won’t have to worry about how you put the docs/photos on the flatbed.

Camscanner

If portability and mobility is the name of the game for you, CamScanner offers a pretty good scanning software app, which comes with tons of cool features, including a lightning-fast OCR (converts image to text), document sharing options and document sync capabilities. The paid version starts at $4.99/month, which is kind of affordable. But what do you get for that kind of money?

Well, first and foremost, a mobile scanner via your smartphone’s camera, i.e. you’ll say goodbye to boomer era technology for ever.

CamScanner allows you to capture photos/docs by phone, then to remove the busy background, and finally to generate a high-res PDF or JPEG file; anytime, anywhere, obviously. The OCR thing supports 16 languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

How to earn regularly from digitizing photos? 

Photos of rare and historically important events, royal wedding and festival in a church or temple, nationwide election process like events might have been in some attic or loft of your house or somewhere in your friends house you may locate them.  Rush up and digitize this variety of photos.

One can go for a contract with any of these companies through the web sites and depositphotos.com  FanArtReview.com/ www.fotolia.com upload the photos onto their servers over FTP. These sites also attract buyers, who generally from publishers, news magazines, individuals, institutions etc.

They are ready to pay fair price for photos from the stock. As soon as the sale is completed and money realized, you will get your share as per your contracted agreement. Some websites place the photographers under some levels and elevate them to higher levels based on their quality of output and the number they submit to them.

To ensure the quality of photos submitted by you, periodically you can go for review of your photo quality and develop skill and knowledge.

Startup to make money through digitizing photos or documents:

§  Business proposal with plan
§  Legal and statutory issues like Permits and licenses
§  Work space
§  Insurance cover
§  Scanner and accessories, power and maintenance support
Before starting a business one need to get trained and invest money to get the above startup capital and infrastructure build up and training with support of skilled persons.
Following suggestive steps may be of helpful to you.
1.    First decide on the one of the two above. The document scanning business training is faster and requires moderately sophisticated equipment. The photo and image scanning business needs advance education and uses higher-end color scanners with experienced persons in the use of few associated software programs.
2.    Create a business plan for both businesses. Free business plan assistance is available from the U.S. Small Business Administration or Service Corps of Retired Executives websites can be used purposefully.
3.    Apply for a local business permit and state’s department of revenue or taxation for the required and necessary tax licenses. No special licenses or permits required to start a scanning business.
4.    Rent in a work space or your home for scanning business. In spite of other difficulties space required for photo scanning is smaller, but document scanning requires warehouse space for delivery, storage and pickup of large quantities of documents later on.
5.    Obtain business liability insurance to safety of your business and satisfy customer concerns. You may also be required to sign in a surety bond for document scanning contracts for health care, insurance company and large corporate accounts, as they are the major resources for your business.
6.     Purchase a scanner that suits for document scanners and they must be high-speed gray scale units with built-in document feeders for volume work. Photo and image scanners are to be color scanners of flat bed or drum variety. They are to be more sophisticated and expensive because of increased capabilities
7.     Market as usual, your scanning business with business brochures, cards, advertisements, and other methods applicable. Customers for document scanning will include those involved in health care, government, military, insurance and other corporations.

Selling digital photos online gained appeal recently. The reason is the fact that a lot of people are looking for ways to earn money know about digital photos has a demand. How one can make money online selling digital photos? Choosing the appropriate type of picture files and sizes based on the needs. Some of the photo sites that provide support for evaluating the selling your photos online are Shuttershock, Fotolia, BigStockPhoto, 123RF, Dreamstime and Istockphoto.
Why to digitize all documents using some software other than scanners:  Basically it saves time, money and maintenance of the scanner. Electricity expense is also much reduced by way of eliminating the use of the scanner. Use of software scanners brings more accuracy, speed and saving in the form of PDF files.

ü  It is more accurate, human independent, formatting standardized using the software. On  a local data network all the staff can share on a LAN system and produce more output
ü  Such shared documents can be used for the work flow and visibility.
ü  PDF file when created suing the software, optical character recognition enables easy searches, for use. This is not possible in the case of scanned and digitized documents.
ü  Because of these facilities a lot of time is saved and productivity is increase due to the surplus time and labor cost
ü  There is scope for further improvement.
ü  Documents can be authenticated and secured for the use of the organization. But the end users have the same access facilities and can do the job
ü Scanning the hard copy documents directly using the software makes the document available for sharing and further use or archiving. No where copying, printing and distribution of the documents I involved. There is a saving on stationery and time. There is no repetition of any work. There is absolute reduction in recurring cost.
ü  Above all the documents are retrievable and accessible with security from anywhere.
ü No doubt that quickened invoice process quicker realization of the money from the customers. Better service is given to the customers, clients, suppliers, contractors and colleagues.
ü  Most important benefit is that the rate of flow of cash is increased.
ü  Better ROI and better growth.

How do I Digitize Thousands of Photos?

Bulk photo scanning is a challenge for many people trying to move their analog photos into a digital library. Once digitized, photos can be filed, downloaded, copied, compressed and more easily managed. However, print photos take up space and hundreds of them can fill several shoeboxes. With a typical scanner, digitizing these images can involve days of work.

Fortunately, there are ways to deal with this Mt. Everest of memories and images, without using months of your life that you will never get back. Here are the main steps involved in the process:

Preparation

The first thing to do is to reduce the quantum of work. There is no point in spending time scanning photographs that aren’t worth saving. For every three good photographs, there are probably one to two that are blurry, duplicates or of unidentifiable subjects. Now is a good time to get rid of them.

Next, using a lint-free wipe cloth, wipe down the photographs that you plan to scan in order to remove dust, fingerprints and smudges.

This might take a while, but will save you the greater effort of removing these smudges and marks at a later stage using photo editing software like Photoshop. It’s also important to wipe the glass surface of the scanner if you’re using a flatbed style machine.

The 3 S’s: Scanner, Software, Storage…

If you have decided to tackle the scanning project yourself instead of using a service, you will need to have access to the right equipment. The ideal machine for bulk scanning is one with a top load feeder that allows you to stack the photographs and batch process them quickly.

However, you need to make sure you’re using a scanner equipped to handle photographs. Otherwise, your memories are at risk of being destroyed during the process. In addition to the scanner, you will need proper software on your computer to manage, organize and edit the resulting digital images.

Next on the must-have list is adequate storage. Image files take up a lot of space, and with hundreds of photographs, your hard disk space will be used up in no time. You can optimize your storage by using less bulky file formats but it’s good to have a few free terabytes of space on your computer before starting this project.

Depending on the space available to you, you can pick from one of many file formats to save the scanned images in. BMP format is one of the largest and captures the most detail.

TIFF is a moderate and middle-range size, and JPEG is the most common for basic photo storage with a smaller size. Color photos result in larger files, as compared to black and white photos. Scanning photos at a higher resolution yields larger files with higher DPI that are more suited for printing and enlargements.

The no feed, flat scanning option

If you only have access to a flatbed scanner for this project, there are still workarounds to save time. Fit as many photos on the scanner bed with at least 1/8th of an inch space between them on all sides. Keep them straight and aligned in one direction.

You are making an aggregate image which you can later slice apart into separate images with a clip app tool or similar. If you don’t like the clip tool, then use the crop feature in a photo editing application. It’s slower than a feed approach, but this method does still allow you to run through a large number of photos relatively quickly.

Using a phone

There are a number of Android and iPhone apps available now that can take a print image and convert it into a photograph via a phone camera. However, it’s not as easy as just pointing and shooting. You have to ensure that there is enough lighting to avoid a glare.

You also have to be careful not to cast a shadow over the photo, and try to keep a steady hand while scanning the photo. Otherwise you just end up with a fuzzy image or partially darkened image. Office Lens and Google Photo Scan are basic apps that work well, but there are plenty of other tools available to perfectionist photographers and archivists.

A bulk photo scanning service (recommended)

If you don’t have a lot of time and are willing to spend a little bit of money on this project, then a professional photo scanning service is a highly recommended option.

All you have to do then do is ship the photographs to the service and sit back while they do all the scanning and labor-intensive work. They will then send your prints back to you along with all the digital images – securely stored on a thumb drive or uploaded to an online storage site.

Finally, remember to backup your photos

Remember, your recently digitized photos are just as vulnerable to computer mishaps as any other digital file. And you don’t want to go through all the trouble of scanning to lose everything a month later to a corrupted drive, ransomware hack or another unforeseen event.

Back up (or double back up) your digital library to devices or locations that are separate from your main computer. The right backup can involve a physical flash drive or a cloud-based storage subscription or both. This additional step may seem like a chore but when your computer dies on you (and chances are that it will, sooner rather than later), you will thank yourself for being prepared.

How Much Does it Cost to Digitize Pictures?

• Time
• A Computer or Laptop
• A Photo Scanner
• Scanner cleaning supplies
• Photo cleaning supplies
• Scanning & Editing Software
• Space to work
• More time

Computer: The cost of a computer could vary from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. If you already have a computer you can use, great! If not, you can estimate spending at least $600 for a basic laptop.

Photo Scanner: For a moderately priced, but decent consumer quality photo scanner you can expect to spend a minimum of $400. When purchasing a scanner be sure to buy one that is compatible with your computer’s operating system. You’ll also want to make sure that the scanner has the resolution capabilities required to meet your needs. A sheet fed scanner will allow you to scan photos much quicker than a flatbed scanner.

Cleaning Supplies: Old photos can be dirty and scanners need to be cleaned regularly if you want to get the best quality images. You’ll need cleaning supplies including, a microfiber cloth, glass cleaner, an alcohol-based cleaner and an air puffer. About $20 bucks.

Photo Editing Software: Once your photos are scanned you’ll want to optimize and enhance them. There are several free software options you can download that have minimal capabilities, which may be perfect for your needs. To really get the most out of your digital images you may want to consider something more robust such as Photoshop, which starts at $120/year.

Time: Time is one of the rarest resources for most people and time is easily the biggest cost associated with scanning photos. Things you have to spend time on include:

• Sorting and choosing your photos: Estimate 10 hours to pick out 1,000 photos to scan and take them out of their albums
• Organizing photos: Estimate 2 hours to organize the photos into appropriate categories
• Scanning: Assuming you have a flatbed scanner and depending on the size of the scanning bed, you should be able to scan 2 photos at a time. This means you’ll have to run the scanning process 500 times; you’ll have to put 2 photos down, scan 2 photos, and remove 2 photos, 500 times. This can easily take 20 hours depending on the resolution you scan at and the speed of your scanner. Investing in a sheet fed photo scanner can reduce this labor down to just a few hours.
• Editing: Now that your photos are in the computer, it is time to do some basic editing. If you scanned more than one photo one at a time on a flatbed scanner, the first thing you’ll have to do is crop out and separate each individual photo to a separate file. Then you’ll want to rotate, and straighten each image; and if you’re feeling ambitious enhance the color and exposure of your scanned images. For 1,000 photos you can estimate this to take about 20 hours as well (1-2 minutes per photo). This does not include the time it will take to learn how to use the software.

From start to finish, you can expect the entire photo scanning process of 1,000 photos to cost up to $1,000 and take up to 50 hours of your time.

What is The Best Way to Digitize Documents?

Certain documents need to be kept indefinitely, whereas some need to be eliminated after a certain amount of time. After digitizing paper documents, you will have an easier time keeping track of these different types of records, ensuring that you comply with the document retention policies in place. 

The best way to accomplish this task is by converting all of your hard copy paper documents to digital “soft” copies that can be stored and accessed online. Physical documents can easily be digitized, offering you numerous advantages.

1. Multi-Function Devices

A multi-functional device (MFD) produces good quality digitized documents, but it requires some effort on your part. If you already have such a device, it should feature a built-in scanner with which you can digitize paper documents. 

However, even if your MFD can be sheet-fed automatically, this is still a rather time-consuming method of digitizing paper documents. If you have a large number of papers that need to be scanned, this method may take quite a while. Multi-function devices also tend to jam from time to time, which can lead to a lot of frustration and wasted time. 

Generally, this approach should only be used if you have an MFD into which paper is sheet-fed automatically. This saves a considerable amount of time.

2. Desktop Scanners

This is another simple, but tedious, way to digitize paper documents. There are many varieties of desktop paper scanners available so you’ll want to choose one to best suite your needs. A few things to keep in mind are the sizes of paper the scanner can handle, the speed, whether it can scan in color, and black and white, resolution options, and software capabilities. 

This option could be a good way to start on your document digitization but would be quite the undertaking if you have a large volume of papers to get through, or if some of them are irregular in size or type. This may not be the absolute best way to scan documents, but it can certainly get you started if you just have a handful of regular papers you want to digitize. 

3. Apps

If you have a very small quantity of paper documents, one option is to simply scan them within a scanning app on your smartphone or tablet. For instance, the Google Drive app features OCR software that allows you to scan documents and save them onto the drive. Camscanner and Scanbot are other popular options. 

This method can be a great approach if you do not know how to digitize documents since most apps have pretty simple step-by-step instructions that inexperienced scanners can follow.

However, if you have more than just a handful of items you would like to save, this is definitely not the best way to scan documents. Scanning a high volume of papers will take time and a lot of storage space on your device.

Once again, go with this approach only if you want to digitize limited paper documents.

4. Document Imaging Services

The go-to option for bulk document scanning projects. Send your files over to a company that offers professional document imaging services. They can digitize and index all of your documents using workflow processes and specialized equipment that ensures your documents are digitized accurately, efficiently and at the highest quality.

Document imaging service providers can handle your entire project from prepping, scanning, indexing, formatting, uploading to your EDMS, right through to document shredding. 

This option is typically the best way to digitize paper documents in order to make the best use of your digital files. Outsourcing is also generally much less expensive, quicker, less tedious and more accurate than handling it yourself. 

If you have a lot of important documents that you need to be saved, a professional document imaging service is by far the best way to digitize documents.

How to Organize Scanned Photos

Before you run-up to the attic to haul out your grandmother’s photo albums, read through Perri’s tips so you know the best place to store them:

1. Break the photo-organization task into small, manageable chunks

We recommend that people break the task of organizing them down into manageable chunks. Unless you are retired, you don’t have 8 hours a day to organize photos!

2. Give yourself room to spread out

Choose a spot where you can spread out, especially because it’s likely that you’ll have duplicates of everything, piles of negatives, photos in envelopes, and so on.

3. Be ruthless about what you decide to keep

If it doesn’t feel special to you or you don’t remember anything about the photo, let it go. If it’s not a flattering picture, let it go. If there are seven different looks or poses, choose the best and let the rest go. If it’s out of focus, let it go. Cull your photos down to the best shots.

4. Think about how you want to interact with your photos

Some experts spend a lot of time giving people permission not to scrapbook if they don’t enjoy it. There is nothing wrong with keeping your print photos in an archival photo box.

5. Organize them in a way that makes sense

You can label photos by decade, event, or family member, but don’t get caught up in categorizing them! The organizing process is all about getting in touch the part of the picture makes it important to you.

6. Scan them!

Some have scanned probably 60-70,000 photos for clients, a really great way to preserve those old pictures.

Once you finish photo scanning, you can turn them into photo books or digital photo albums, back them up in the cloud, and share them easily – and you know they’re preserved.

7. Store print photos in a climate-controlled room

Don’t store them in the attic, basement, or garage – unless those spaces maintain a steady temperature and humidity level year-round.

8. Keep digital photos under control

When it comes to digital photos, you aren’t always aware of how many you are taking (we are all guilty of this!). Have a regular routine to keep digital photos under control. Every month, set aside time to download, edit, and categorize them. Really focus on culling photos down to the best shots so you are not storing 400 photos from every Saturday afternoon soccer game.

9. Print a few digital photos every year

So few people print photos anymore, but it’s so nice to go through the last year’s photos and create a photo book or pick the 10 best photos of the year and print them. Why have them if you’re not going to enjoy them?

10. Back up those digital photos!

Take the time to set up a cloud storage backup system or back up your photos every month to a hard drive. I have heard horror stories of people losing all of their photos because their computer crashed.

How to Scan Old Photos For The Best Resolution

All digital objects are composed of pixels, while printed images consist of dots. Simply put, a pixel (also called picture element) is the smallest unit of any digital image or graphic. Together, they form any visible format on an electronic display. The greater the number of pixels per inch, the better the image quality.

If you zoom in on an image, you’ll start to see the pixels. These colored squares may remind you of that much-played with Lite-Brite from your childhood. When you can see the pixels in an image, this is referred to as pixelated. And this isn’t considered a desirable element in digital or printed photos, unless you’re an artist creating this effect on purpose.

DPI: Short for dots per inch, this term applies to printed images, however, most people also use it for digital images. DPI uses the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and key/black) color model to determine the amount of red, green, and blue light reflected from white paper. If you intend to print your digital image, you need to pay close attention to the DPI.

The best DPI for scanning photos depends on your intentions. If the image will be displayed on a website only, 72 to 96 DPI should suffice. But if you wish to create new prints, you need to save the image with a minimum DPI of 300 and boost this to at least 600 to make enlargements.

PPI: Short for pixels for inch, you may not have heard of this term because it’s used primarily by design and printing professionals. Just like DPI, the number of pixels per inch determines image quality. PPI utilizes the RGB (red, green, and blue) color model reserved for electronic display of images. This additive color process blends these colors into a single hue at the pixel level.

How to Scan a Photo

To digitize a photo, an image made of dots is converted into pixels (squares). If you looked at a vintage comic book from your childhood, you could easily see the dots and these would get picked up if you scanned one of the pages. That’s because old comic books were generally printed inexpensively with low resolution.

Pixels and DPI are the two elements that comprise photo scan resolution. If you wish to increase picture resolution, you need to increase the number of pixels and the DPI. Here’s an example to better illustrate this principle:

• A 4×6 inch image scanned at 72 DPI has a lower resolution than the same size image scanned at 300 DPI, and therefore, is also smaller in kilobyte size. Scanned at 300 DPI, your digital image will be the exact same size in inches as the print and larger in kilobyte size.

JPG is the standard image format on most cameras and smartphones. The best format for scanning photos is typically a JPG or JPEG, as long as you keep compression to a minimum. A TIFF, which is an uncompressed image format is huge in comparison and cannot be displayed online. Professional photographers will often save their best images in both formats.

When choosing a scanner, it’s important to select one that includes the option of scanning at a high DPI. This is typically not an issue with flatbed scanners but can be with dedicated film scanners. Of course, one way to avoid this somewhat confusing issue is to send your precious photos to a professional photo scanning service.

Photo Scanning Franchise

Here are tips on getting started, including the initial investment, income potential, and resources to help.

1. Getting the Word Out

Photo scanning offers the chance to work with family, friends, neighbors, and local businesses within your community. Tell your network that you have started a new business, and you can help them get their photo life in order.

We have begun by posting flyers throughout our neighborhood and offered fundraising options to our school community. We gave back a percentage of all orders, which was an excellent incentive for people to bring us their boxes of photos.

This was also an effective way to introduce our business to our family and friends. Just come up with a catchy title such as Neighborhood Shoe Box Scanning Service.

2. Equipment Needed

If you are going to start a scanning business, you need to invest in the proper equipment. A home flatbed scanner is not the right tool for high-speed scanning. Most start with the Kodak PS50, which can scan up to 50 photos a minute, and EZ Photo Scan offers a competitive price ($1,299) and great customer service to help you get started.

The average shoebox has 750 loose photos, and the average cost per photo scanning charge ranges between .35  – .40; thus, a shoebox of photos will cost $300. When we started, our goal was to scan eight shoeboxes of pictures and earn $2,400 to recoup our investment. We accomplished our goal quickly.

3. Earning Potential

In addition to purchasing the scanner, we bought a laptop that we dedicated as the scanner laptop; thus, we were able to keep our client’s photos separate from our family photos.

My Work Flow Studio, a division of Big Picture Coaching, has a library of resources you can purchase at their website. These forms are very helpful and have been created by Sherra Humphreys and Rita Norton, who are APPO™ certified photo organizers and currently work with VIP clients while designing tools and developing resources to help photo organizers bring their business to the next level.

You can also rent your scanner for those who are interested in doing it themselves. This offers you another income opportunity. Mollie Bartelt and Ann Matuszak started their own company called Pixologie and offer assistance to others looking to start a similar business using their model. The typical rental cost is $100 a day.

4. Additional Services

Photo scanning can open the door to other services, such as converting outdated media, photo organizing, and digital photo management. The Association of Personal Photo Organizers provides excellent training and support for this growing niche in the organizing and photo marketplace.

5. Photo Organizer Events

International Save Your Photos Day, sponsored by the Save Your Photos Alliance, is an annual event held on the last Saturday of September. In 2014, over 75 events were held in 4 countries. It is FREE to get involved and a great way for you to promote your new business.

APPO hosts a National Conference every year and is the only educational conference and expo for photo organizers worldwide. The conference features dozens of small group and interactive learning workshops, led by an impressive collection of passionate experts and certified photo organizers. This is a great way to connect with other professionals who are offering scanning and photo organizing services.

Convert Photo to Digital

Option 1: use your existing flatbed scanner

The most cost-savvy option is to use your existing flatbed scanner. To scan photo prints, a resolution of 300 DPI (or dots per inch) should be sufficient, but 600 DPI is recommended. However, to scan slides or negatives, a DPI of at least 2,400 is necessary, and not usually available on non-professional scanners.

Start by cleaning your photos, using a makeup brush or microfiber cloth to remove dust and fingerprints. If you are a neat freak, you may also want to clean your scanner’s glass for optimal results. A professional tip is to scan multiple photos at once, up to four 4×6 photos should fit on your scanner.

Once you have scanned the photos, open your photo editing software to crop the images and remove unwanted rounded sides. You may also straighten them if needed, and correct the color to a more natural tone.

Option 2: purchase a slide and negative scanner

The second option is to purchase a slide and negative scanner, which start at $99. Of course, if you are seeking a professional scanner with optimal quality, the price can rise to a few thousand dollars. These usually support a variety of formats and are faster than a regular scanner.

All you have to do is to feed it your slides or negatives, and the images will be saved as JPEG files on your computer or SD/SDHC memory card. Some of them can even be plugged into your TV to create a slideshow.

However, the quality of your scanned in slides may not be satisfactory, as these scanners will not replace a proper restoration.

A professional photo editing software such as Photoshop and some serious technical skills will be required to bring back the vibrant colors of your images and take off the undesirable yellowish tint that appeared on your slides or negatives over time. As you can probably imagine, taking away the aging elements of your photos may be a lengthy process.

Option 3: hire a professional

If you want to avoid the DIY headache and have your photos professionally digitized to the best possible quality there are many services that can help. Southtree is one professional service that specializes in bringing your photographs back to life.

Whether they are slides, prints or negatives of any size, Southtree uses very powerful scanners to create pixel-perfect images. What was once an old blurred photograph will become a high-definition picture.

How Much to Charge For Scanning Pictures

Photo Prices:
Prints 600DPI (Wallet size to 8.5″x11″) – 50 cents per photo
Prints 300DPI (Wallet size to 8.5″x11″) – 40 cents per photo
Prints 300DPI (8.5″x”11″ to 11″x17″) – $1.99 per photo
35mm Negatives 3000DPI – 70 cents per photo
35mm Slides 3000DPI – 70 cents per photo
MF Film 2000DPI (Film smaller than 4″x5″) – $1.99 per photo
LF Film 1200DPI (Film 4″x5″ and larger) – $2.99 per photo
Photo Albums – Removal & Reinsertion services each cost 10 cents per photo
(All color film prices include infrared dust removal service free of charge)

Top 5 Best Photo Scanners For Old Photos

1. Epson Fastfoto FF-680W

BEST OVERALL

Have you been ignoring that big stack of photos you’ve been meaning to digitize because you don’t want to painstakingly scan each photo one by one? The Epson Fastfoto FF-680W is your solution. This wireless photo scanner takes large stacks of photos and quickly digitizes them at a rate of one print per second at 300dpi and one every three seconds at 600dpi.

This small, printer-like scanner also comes with FastFoto, a program to save, edit and enhance your newly digitized photos. In a speed test conducted by PCMag, the Epson was able to scan, digitize and save a stack of 36 photos in just under two minutes.

That’s much faster than any other photo scanner in the group. And that’s not all it can do — it scans documents, too. You can finally digitize that stack of photos you’ve been ignoring without it being an all-day project.

2. Plustek Photo Scanner

BEST FOR SPEED

When you have a ton of photos to scan, the Plustek Photo Scanner can speed up the process. It scans 4 x 6 photos in about two seconds and only takes about five seconds to scan an 8 x 10 photo.

You can get through that whole box of old photos in a couple of hours. It even has minor photo corrections for faded or dusty photos. With 600 max dpi, it’s not for professional use, but can certainly making digital copies of all your old photos quick and easy.

3. Kodak Scanza Digital Film and Slide Scanner

BEST FOR FILM

When it comes to actual film (not photos you’ve printed off already) the Kodak Scanza can make digital copies without having to send your film somewhere to be developed first. It converts 35mm, 126, 110, Super 8 and 8mm negatives. The screen displays what your image will look like and allows you to make slight color and brightness corrections. It’s basically a photo studio in a tiny package.

4. Doxie Q Wireless Document Scanner

BEST WIRELESS DOCUMENT AND PHOTO SCANNER

The Doxie X has a small footprint making it easy to tuck away in a desk when you don’t need it, and quickly pull it out when you do. There’s no need to connect it to anything. Simply feed your pictures through the scanner and you’re set. Since it has integrated WiFi, you can access your photos through the Doxie scanning app. And this photo scanner does more than just scan photos, so it can be your office warrior when you need to quickly scan things like documents and receipts.

5. Epson Perfection V39

BUDGET EPSON PICK

Although it doesn’t have the resolution of its V860 or V600 counterparts, the Perfection V39 still sports an impressive 4800dpi optical resolution and is significantly cheaper. Using the software you can make minor restorations and adjustments. You can even scan your photos straight to Google Drive or other cloud services. This is an affordable way to get a high-quality Epson photo scanner.

What is The Best App to Scan Documents?

The best document scanning apps will allow you to digitally archive files with mobile devices with ease. Digital documents are also better for the environment.

This means being able to scan anything from work invoices to receipts, and the beauty of scanning apps is that they don’t just create a PDF copy, but also allow you to edit the file as required before saving – that way you really do have only a copy of your documents and the information you need from them.

Some apps offer additional services, often for a small fee, in order to allow you to do even more with your scanned files. This might include document editing and management and/or cloud storage to help you better manage your digital archives.

1. Adobe Scan

When it comes to scanning documents for digital file storage, chances are you are going to want to save in a portable document format-a PDF file. Adobe Scan is a dedicated scanning app from Adobe, the creators of the PDF file, so expectations are high that this should deliver on most user needs.

Adobe Scan runs as an app on your mobile device, whether it is running Android or iOS and uses your camera to catch a copy of a document to convert into a PDF file. There is a preview option to optimize the file dimensions, and you can rotate, crop, and edit the color as required.

The biggest advantage of using Adobe Scan is probably its close integration with Adobe’s other apps, not least Adobe Acrobat, and Adobe Fill & Sign. This means you can not only scan into PDF document format, but also edit, annotate, sign and work collaboratively with the documents that you do scan. 

Even better, Adobe Scan is a free app to download and use, though there is an in-app subscription available if you want additional features. 

2. Abby FineReader PDF

If you’re looking for something a little more advanced, it’s worth checking out Abbyy’s FineReader PDF. The software uses optical character recognition to scan text in 193 languages.    

Compatible with Android and iOS, the app lets you scan both printed and handwritten text with your mobile device. FineReader works with 12 file formats, including DOCX, PDF and TXT. The great thing about the app is that it preserves the original document formatting.   

What’s more, you can access a set of easy-to-use annotation tools to add signatures and notes to text. And the iOS version of the software sports a feature called BookScan, which lets you digitize books with ease. It turns facing book pages into separate images, removing any defects. Advertisement

Once you’ve conducted a scan, you can share it with anyone over email or save it to cloud storage lockers such as Dropbox, Evernote, and iCloud Drive. Currently, FineReader is free to download on Android and iOS devices, but it offers in-app purchases if you’d like to get more storage and capabilities.

3. Genius Scan

Genius Scan is yet another popular mobile scanning app, with its developers claiming that the software has digitized more than half a billion documents to date. Described as a “scanner in your pocket”, it lets you turn paper-based documents into JPG and PDF files.   

Headline features include smart page detection, perspective correction and image enhancement. And with patch scanning, you can create digital copies of dozens of pages within seconds. The app also enhances the legibility of documents, ensuring they’re readable, and you can keep your files organized with titles, tags and a search function. 

Just like FineScanner, you can upload scanned documents to a range of cloud storage platforms, including Dropbox, Evernote, Expensify, Facebook, Google Drive, OneDrive (and OneDrive for Business), OneNote, FTP, SugarSync and WebDAV.

If you’re scanning sensitive documents, you can protect them with built-in encryption and passwords (or Touch ID on iOS). It’s free to download on Android and iOS, but offers in-app purchases.   

The app is free and comes with a lot of features. For the more advanced integrations and security and MDM settings, there’s a one-time fee. For unlimited cloud storage, plus synchronization and web access through Genius Cloud, there’s also a monthly fee.

4. Scanbot

Scanbot is positioned as an easy and fast way to create high-quality scans on iPhone, iPad and Android devices. According to the developer behind the app, it is capable of making “hundreds of decisions to capture the document perfectly”. 

Read Also: Earn Money On the web With Video Editing

With the software, you can scan documents, receipts, sketches, whiteboards, business cards, labels, QR codes and barcodes. Once you’ve scanned an item, you can choose from five color modes to make it look perfect. There are also tools to crop and optimize scanned documents, all of which are automatically captured in 200+ dpi.   

You’re able to save documents as PDF or JPG files, and you can upload these to a range of major cloud services. The software supports iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, Amazon Drive, Slack, Todolist, OneDrive, OneNote and Box.

If you plan on using Scanbot for business purposes, you can easily fax documents directly from your mobile device in 50 supported countries. As is the case with most of these apps, Scanbot is free to download on Android and iOS, with the option of in-app purchases.

5. CamScanner

As the name suggests, CamScanner is an app that turns the camera of your mobile device into a document scanner. With it, you’re able to scan a range of documents, from invoices to receipts. The software turns scanned documents into PDF files, which are automatically uploaded to cloud services such as Box, Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote and OneDrive.

Targeted specifically at business users, the app lets you invite colleagues to view and comment on scans. However, they must have a user account to do so. There’s also an advanced editing feature, which lets you add annotations and watermarks to documents, making them look more professional. For improved security, you can add passcodes to documents.   Advertisement

The app is free to download on Android and iOS but you can upgrade to a premium plan to get 10GB of storage, send document links with password protection, batch download documents, and more besides. 

For the Premium Account, you have the option to pay either monthly or yearly, and the same applies for the business version, which provides better options for team collaboration.

Finally

Ensuring regular earning in this business requires a lot of patience, but an ever active role to locate and be in regular touch with the sources of this business like educational and academic institutions, libraries, Corporate companies, archaeological departments, treasuries and revenue departments, Customer application maintenance departments and other such growth potential business groups.