How to Scan Old Postcards for a Family Collection

Old postcards can be scanned into a family archive that is easier to share, search, and protect from everyday handling. The key is to create faithful digital copies while treating every card as an object with its own history and condition.

Before You Scan: Plan the Collection

Start by deciding what the digital collection should accomplish. A family archive may need only clear reference images, while a historical project may require high-resolution files that show fine print, postmarks, handwriting, and paper texture.

Make a simple inventory before removing cards from albums, boxes, or envelopes. Give each postcard a temporary number and record any information already known:

• The name of the sender or recipient
• The location shown on the front
• The approximate date
• The date of the postmark
• Names, relationships, or events mentioned in the message
• The original box, album, or family member associated with the card
• Any visible damage, stains, tears, or unusual markings

Photograph or note the order of cards if they are arranged chronologically or grouped by a particular relative. The arrangement itself may provide context later.

Work on a clean, dry, uncluttered surface. Keep food, drinks, adhesive tape, paper clips, and pens away from the postcards. Wash and dry your hands before handling them, and avoid hand lotion because oils can transfer to paper.

If a card is stuck to another card, attached to an album page, brittle, moldy, or actively flaking, do not force it through a scanner. Make a careful photograph instead, or ask an archivist or conservator for advice.

Choose a Scanner or Camera

A flatbed scanner is usually the safest and most consistent choice for ordinary postcards. It supports the card evenly and avoids the rollers and bending associated with many sheet-fed scanners. A home multifunction printer can work if its glass is clean and large enough for the postcard.

A dedicated photo scanner may provide better color control and faster operation, but it is not essential for a small collection. A sheet-fed scanner can be convenient for sturdy, clean cards, yet it may scratch surfaces, catch loose edges, or pull multiple cards at once. Do not use it for fragile, embossed, folded, laminated, or heavily damaged postcards.

A phone or digital camera is a useful alternative when the postcard cannot lie flat. It is also practical for oversized cards, cards inside albums, or objects with raised details. Use a tripod or copy stand if possible, keep the camera parallel to the card, and light it evenly from both sides. Avoid direct flash, which can create glare and harsh shadows.

Source method	Best use	Main limitation
Flatbed scanner	Most loose postcards	Slower for large collections
Photo scanner	High-volume, sturdy cards	May not suit fragile originals
Camera or phone	Fragile, oversized, or mounted cards	Requires careful alignment and lighting
Professional scanning service	Large or valuable collections	Cost and loss of personal control

For a collection with irreplaceable material, consider scanning a few test cards with different methods before committing to a workflow.

Set Resolution and File Format

Resolution determines how much detail is captured. For general family reference copies, 300 pixels per inch (ppi) is often adequate. For postcards with small handwriting, fine architectural details, tiny publisher marks, or plans for cropping and reprinting, use 600 ppi. Scanning above 600 ppi can be useful for especially detailed originals, but it also creates larger files and may not reveal information that is not present in the paper.

Use the scanner’s “photo” or “professional” mode rather than an automatic document mode. Turn off features that may alter the historical appearance, such as aggressive dust removal, sharpening, color restoration, or automatic contrast, for your archival master. These features can erase faint writing or change the look of stains and paper.

Save an archival master as TIFF when storage allows. TIFF files preserve detail and are suitable for later editing, but they are large. A high-quality JPEG is practical for sharing and web use. Do not use a low-quality JPEG as your only copy because repeated saving can introduce compression artifacts.

A useful approach is to keep:

• One untouched master scan
• One corrected working copy
• One smaller JPEG for email, websites, or family messages

Scan the front and back as separate files, even if the back is blank. The reverse may contain a postmark, publisher information, pencil notes, or evidence of how the card was used.

Clean the Equipment, Not the Postcard

Before scanning, clean the scanner glass with a soft, lint-free cloth and a cleaner applied to the cloth rather than poured onto the glass. Make sure the glass is dry before placing a card on it. Dust on the glass can create lines or spots in every image.

Do not wet-clean, erase, bleach, flatten, or brush an old postcard unless you know the treatment is safe. Erasing pencil marks may remove family information. Moisture can cause ink to run, make paper cockle, or lift printed surfaces. Even apparently harmless tape removal can tear fibers from the card.

Use clean, dry hands or nitrile gloves if a conservator has specifically recommended them. For routine paper handling, gloves can sometimes reduce dexterity and make cards easier to drop, so careful clean hands are often preferable. Hold cards by the edges and avoid pressing on embossed, glossy, or peeling areas.

Scan the Front and Back Correctly

Place the postcard straight against a corner or alignment guide. If the card is slightly warped, do not press hard on it. Close the scanner lid gently. A clean sheet of plain white paper placed over a thin card can sometimes provide a more even background, but avoid anything that bends or compresses a fragile original.

Use the same orientation and settings throughout a group. Consistency makes the finished collection easier to browse. If a postcard has a dark border, a nonstandard shape, or writing extending beyond the edge, scan the entire card with a small margin rather than cropping tightly.

For each card:

1. Confirm its inventory number.
2. Scan the front at the selected resolution.
3. Turn the card carefully and scan the back.
4. Check both images at full size before putting the card away.
5. Record any scan problem, such as glare, a clipped edge, or missing detail.
6. Return the card to its labeled sleeve, album position, or box.

If the scanner software offers a preview, use it to confirm that the complete postcard is visible. Do not rely only on a thumbnail. Fine handwriting may appear readable in a preview but be missing or blurred in the final file if the settings are wrong.

Photographing Cards That Cannot Be Scanned

For a card that is attached to an album or too fragile to flatten, place it on a stable, neutral surface. Use diffuse daylight or two lamps positioned at equal angles. Keep the light source out of the camera’s reflection, especially with glossy or linen-finish cards.

Set the camera so its sensor is parallel to the postcard. A tilted camera makes one side appear larger than the other and can distort text. Include a ruler or color reference in a separate setup photo if accurate size or color matters, but do not place anything on top of the postcard.

Take one overall image and additional close-ups of small handwriting, stamps, or publisher marks. Preserve the original camera file, and make a corrected copy for rotation and cropping. If the card is inside a plastic sleeve, remove the sleeve only if it can be done without bending or stressing the card; otherwise, photograph it in place and note the limitation.

Name Files So They Can Be Found Later

A consistent filename is more valuable than a complicated folder system. Use the inventory number first, followed by the side and a brief description. For example:

• PC-0001-front.tif
• PC-0001-back.tif
• PC-0001-front-share.jpg

Avoid relying on filenames such as scan001.jpg. They provide no context if files are separated from the original folder. Do not use characters that may cause problems across operating systems, such as slashes, colons, or quotation marks.

Keep a spreadsheet or plain-text catalog with the inventory number, filenames, subject, location, date clues, people named, condition, and source. Record uncertainty honestly. “Possibly 1912,” “location inferred from postmark,” or “sender unidentified” is more useful than an invented precise date.

You can organize folders by collection, family branch, or year, but avoid moving files repeatedly while scanning. Finish the first pass, back it up, and then refine the structure.

Make Corrections Without Losing the Original

Use an image editor to rotate, crop, and adjust a working copy. Correct obvious scanner problems such as a crooked image, a narrow empty border, or a slight exposure imbalance. Preserve the full card and its edges in the archival master.

Be cautious with color correction. Old postcards may have faded, yellowed, or changed unevenly over time. A correction that makes the image look “cleaner” may remove evidence of age. If you adjust color or contrast, keep the original scan and document the change in the filename or catalog.

For handwriting, a duplicate with modest brightness or contrast adjustment can improve readability. Do not paint over stains, remove writing, reconstruct missing corners, or use artificial sharpening as though the result were an exact historical record. If you create a restoration-style image, label it clearly as an edited interpretation.

Troubleshoot Common Problems

The scan has vertical lines or repeated spots. Clean the glass and run another preview. If the line remains in exactly the same place, the scanner glass or sensor may need service. Dust on the postcard itself may also be responsible, but do not rub a delicate surface to remove it.

The postcard looks too dark or too pale. Turn off automatic exposure if possible and scan in a manual or professional mode. Make a test with a neutral card or a plain reference object. Save the original setting and change one control at a time.

The text on the back is unreadable. Increase the resolution to 600 ppi, ensure the complete card is in focus, and create a separate working copy with gentle contrast adjustment. A camera photograph under angled diffuse light may reveal embossed or faint writing better than a flatbed scan.

The scan has glare. Clean the glass, remove reflective plastic if safe, and change the lighting or scanner lid position. For camera work, move lights to the sides and keep the lens perpendicular to the card.

The card is curled or will not lie flat. Do not force it. Photograph it, use a copy stand, or consult a preservation professional. Weighting the corners with books can damage a weak card.

The files are too large. Keep TIFF masters on an external drive and create JPEG copies for everyday use. Do not reduce the only master to make sharing easier.

Store the Originals and Back Up the Files

Digital copies reduce handling, but they do not replace the physical postcards. Store originals upright or flat according to their condition in acid-free, lignin-free sleeves or boxes. Avoid attics, garages, basements, direct sunlight, radiators, and areas with fluctuating humidity. Keep cards away from PVC plastic, rubber bands, adhesive notes, and ordinary acidic envelopes.

Use at least two backup locations. One can be an external drive stored separately from the computer, and another can be a reputable cloud service or a second drive kept in another location. Open a few files after copying to confirm that the backups are usable. Every few years, review the archive and migrate it to current storage media.

Keep the catalog with the images, and include a short text file explaining the filename pattern, scan resolution, software used, and any known limitations. That note may be essential to relatives who inherit the archive later.

Finally, share access copies rather than the only master files. A family member should be able to view and identify the cards without accidentally overwriting the archival versions. For historically significant, mold-damaged, or extremely fragile postcards, pause the home-scanning process and seek guidance from a library, archive, or paper conservator before continuing.