Family gatherings bring out the shoeboxes: old letters, handwritten recipes, photos with names on the back, certificates and postcards. They are irreplaceable and fragile, and usually there is only one copy. Scanning them to PDF preserves them and lets the whole family have a copy.
Phone or scanner?
- A flatbed scanner gives the best quality, especially for photos, and handles fragile paper gently.
- A phone scanner app is fast and good enough for letters, recipes and documents. Use one that flattens and crops automatically. See scanning documents with your phone.
For a large box, a phone is often the only practical option. For treasured photos, use a flatbed if you can.
Choose the right resolution
- Letters and documents: 300 DPI captures handwriting clearly.
- Photos: 600 DPI if you may want to print them larger or crop.
- Small photos and negatives: higher still, if your scanner supports it.
Higher resolution means bigger files. Our guide to scanning resolution for documents explains the tradeoffs.
Handle fragile items carefully
- Work on a clean, dry table.
- Do not force folded letters flat; scan them in sections if needed.
- Avoid adhesive tape and staples.
- Keep originals out of direct sunlight while you work.
Capture both sides
The back of a photo or postcard often carries the most valuable information: names, dates, places. Scan both sides and keep them together in the same PDF, front then back.
Organise the PDFs
Group scans into PDFs by theme or by person, for example Grandma letters 1958-1964.pdf or Family recipes.pdf. Within each file, put pages in date order. A browser tool such as Docento.app can merge, reorder and rotate pages locally, which is reassuring for private family papers.
Make handwriting findable
OCR works well on typed text and less reliably on handwriting. Add a short typed note at the start of each PDF listing who, when and where, so the collection is searchable even if the handwriting is not. See PDF OCR explained.
Use an archival format
For long-term keeping, save a copy as PDF/A, a version of PDF designed for archiving. See PDF/A archival format explained.
Share and back up
Send copies to relatives, and keep at least two backups in different places, such as an external drive and cloud storage. A single copy on one laptop is not much safer than a shoebox. See building a personal document archive.
Takeaway
Scan letters at 300 DPI and photos at 600 DPI, capture both sides, group pages into themed PDFs in date order, add a typed index page, and store copies in more than one place. An afternoon over the holidays can preserve a family's history for the next generation.
