For best restoration results, scan your photos at 300 DPI (dots per inch) or higher. This provides enough detail for the AI to work with while keeping file sizes manageable.
Recommended scan resolutions:
- 300 DPI: Good standard resolution—suitable for most photos and prints up to 8x10 inches
- 600 DPI: Excellent for small photos or when you want maximum detail
- 1200 DPI: Best for very small photos (like wallet-sized) or when you need to enlarge significantly
Why resolution matters:
Higher resolution scans give the AI more detail to work with, which results in:
- Better restoration of fine details
- More accurate colorization
- Ability to print at larger sizes
- Better results when upscaling
Scanning tips:
- Clean the photo and scanner glass before scanning
- Scan in color mode, even for black and white photos (this captures more information)
- Save as TIFF or PNG (not JPEG) to avoid compression artifacts
- Scan at the highest quality setting your scanner supports
- For very damaged photos, scan at higher resolution (600+ DPI) to capture all available detail
File size considerations:
Higher resolution scans create larger files. A 4x6 inch photo scanned at 300 DPI creates about a 10-15MB file. At 600 DPI, it's about 40-60MB. Make sure your scan doesn't exceed our 50MB upload limit.
Don't have a scanner?
If you don't have access to a scanner, you can take a high-quality photo of your physical photo using a smartphone with good lighting. While not as good as a scan, modern phone cameras can produce decent results for restoration.
Ready to restore your scanned photos? Upload your high-resolution scan to ColorRestore and see the transformation—no signup required.