How to Resize Your Scanned Photos
You may have noticed that the images you receive from our photo
scanning
service are quite large, which is great for many things, but it can
be
difficult to email these photos, post them on the web, or display them
with a
digital
photo frame.
The solution is to simply resize your
scanned photos,
hopefully by making a smaller copy. However, figuring out how to do this isn't always simple.
If you go to Google and start to search for information about resizing
images,
it won't take long before you run into convoluted articles about
the proper dpi, resolution, image dimensions, file size, etc.
You'll
also run into online sites offering to resize your photos (uploading
your
pictures will take a while unless you have a blazing fast internet
connection),
as well as instructions on resizing images using Photoshop, other
high-end
photo editing programs, and numerous mentions of 72 dpi. (If you are
interested
in the technical aspect of digital pictures, check out Scantips.com).
However, for the average user without
detailed knowledge
about photos and digital images, these sites don't necessarily get you
much
closer toreducing your image size or emailing your pictures.
Rather than getting into details, below
are a few free
programs that allow you to resize digital photos quickly, easily and without
intimate
knowledge of photography or images. These programs allow you
to either
right-click or drag and drop images to resize them so that they will be
the
perfect size for e-mailing or posting to the web.
Image Resizer
The first program is actually a
Windows add-on branded under 'Powertoys
for
Windows XP,' as Image Resizer. Just download the
program, install it,
and when you right-click on your saved pictures, one of the menu items
will be
'Resize Pictures.' Click on this option and you'll be able to
select one
of four image sizes. By default, Image Resizer will create
copies of the
files, but you can also click on the "Advanced" button and resize the
master
image, as well as tell it to not adjust images smaller than your
selected
resolution (so it won't stretch them out). Your resized
photos will
appear in the same folder as the original.
The truly convenient thing about
Image Resizer is that you
can select multiple photos and resize them with one click.
This is handy
if you have a handful of scanned photos, or pictures from your digital
camera
that you want to email. Instead of right-clicking on each
photo, you can
select consecutive images by holding down the "shift" key and clicking
on the
first and last image. You can also hold down the "control"
button and
click on the individual photos you want, and then access the resizer by
right-clicking on the last image. Either method will cause
all selected
images to be resized simultaneously.
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Right-Click Menu Display
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Options for Image Resizer for Windows XP
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Fast Image Resizer
Another free image resizing program
that allows more flexibility is Fast Image
Resizer. Fast Image Resizer allows you to designate
where resized images
will be saved (same folder, a subfolder, or anywhere on your computer)
which
makes keeping your resized images separate very easy. It also
allows you
to control your JPEG and resize quality, which affects the resulting
image.
Instead of selecting images manually
and right clicking,
Fast Image Resizer allows you to drag and drop individual files or
entire
folders for resizing. It also allows for a wider range of image sizes.
You can also make photos from a digital camera auto rotate based on
EXIF data
(most digital cameras save information about each shot, including which
side is
the bottom of the picture, as well as the shutter speed, aperture, date
the
photo was taken, and other camera settings).
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Fast Image Resizer Resolution Menu
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Fast Image Resizer Options
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What Size Do I Need
Now that you have the tools to resize
your photos for
emailing or web posting, you are still faced with the problem of
figuring out
the proper size for your photos.
Not to sound too much like the other photo resizing
articles on the web, but how digital images appear will actually depend on the
resolution of the monitor it is viewed on.
To give you a general idea of display
size, here are some
sample resized images.
Download Image Resizer for Windows XP
Download
Fast Image Resizer
If you haven't gotten started, we can help! Get those family pictures scanned to DVD so you can start enjoying them again.
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