If you have a large collection of old printed photos, you can digitize them using a scanner attached to your computer. However, the easiest and cheapest way is to use a photo-scanning app like Google PhotoScan, Microsoft Office Lens, or TurboScan to help scan, rotate, crop, and add filters to your photos.
Despite the benefits of using an app, be aware that it may not be the best choice in every situation. The main drawback is that the overall picture quality and resolution achieved through a mobile app won’t compare with what you can get from a dedicated scanner. You also won’t have access to advanced settings like output file type, color mode, resolution, size, brightness, and contrast with an app.
Instead, a mobile app comes in handy if you want to scan a collection of photos quickly and don’t need top quality or resolution. You also won’t need to deal with connection issues or tricky scanning setups; just point and scan. Here are several photo scanning apps and a look at how they work.
Google PhotoScan
Google PhotoScan promises glare-free scans, automatic cropping, and smart rotation to keep your images straight and level. Download the free app for Android or iOS and open the app. Line up the photo you want to scan and press the shutter button. The app then displays a white circle in each of the four corners of the photo.
Move your phone horizontally to make contact with each of the circles, one after the other. But try not to tilt your phone; keep it level. After you’ve made contact with all four circles, tap the thumbnail in the lower right to view the scanned image.
At the screen showing the scan, you can rotate the image, adjust the corners, or delete the image to try again. Tap the Share icon, and you can share the scanned image via email, messaging, or other apps and services.
When done, tap the left arrow in the upper-left corner to view the image. Tap the left arrow again to capture another scan.
Microsoft Office Lens
Microsoft Office Lens is designed to scan paper documents, business cards, whiteboards, and photos. Download and install the free app (Android, iOS), open the app and set the type of scan to Photo. You can also adjust the flash by turning it on or off, or setting it to automatic.
Tap the shutter button to take the scan, then tap the orange circle to move to the next step.
From the photo editor, tap Add if you wish to scan another photo. You can experiment with different filters by tapping the Filters icon or adjust the corners and sides of the scan by choosing Crop. Tap the More icon to access additional features.
Rotate the image by tapping the Rotate icon, or remove the scan by tapping Delete. Tapping the Ink icon will allow you to draw on the photo and selecting Text will let you create text over the image. When finished, tap Done.
At the next screen, you can save your photo to your camera’s photo library or to Microsoft OneDrive, or save it as a Microsoft Word or PowerPoint document. You can also share the photo via Outlook, Mail, and other apps.
TurboScan
With TurboScan, you can scan documents, business cards, index cards, and photos. Available for Android and iOS, the free version restricts you to just three scans. A $4.99 in-app purchase removes this restriction, so you can scan an unlimited number of files.
TurboScan offers a healthy array of options and settings, allowing you to set default page size, default filename format and output (including PDF and JPG), and enable the flash to on, off, or automatic.
To use TurboScan, position your photo and press the shutter button. You can also set up the app to take scans automatically once you have the photo lined up and take three photos of the same scan so you can choose the best one.
At the next screen, tap the Frame command in the upper left to crop your photo, then tap Done when finished. At the next screen, you can brighten or darken the image, rotate it, or delete it and try again. When done, tap Next. At the next screen, tap the Pencil icon to name the photo or change the size. You can also add a date stamp. Tap Done.
Tap the Share icon to share the photo via email, messaging, or different cloud services. You can also save the photo to your Photos library, copy it elsewhere, or print it. Tap Done to save the photo to the TurboScan gallery.
