Photo Restoration
Can you enlarge our old family photos? Can you restore a damaged photo? Can we get copies for all family members?
The answer to those questions is, yes! We can scan your old family photos, remove blemishes and scratches in Photoshop, and print as many copies as you need.
The first thing we do when you come to us with an old photo is to assess it’s condition. Is the photo badly damaged? Is the image badly faded? We then scan your photos with our high-resolution Epson scanner. After the image is scanned, we bring the image into Photoshop where we remove scratches, repair damaged corners and remove small blemishes. If the image has faded over time, we add contrast and sharpen the image preparing it for print.
After the image is restored it’s time to print copies of it. How big we can print depends on the quality of the original photo. As a rule of thumb, nearly every image can be printed as a 5x7, most images can be enlarged up to 8x10.
As much as I love selling big prints, I always tell my customers not to go to big when it comes to print sizes. When an image is enlarged, every little scratch becomes more visible and on a bigger print that really shows. Let me give you two examples of what can be done.
A few years ago a friend asked me, whether I could scan and reprint a few old family photos for her. There was one photo, in particular, she wanted me to restore and enlarge:
The Sam McGuire Cup in Mayo outside her family home, taken in 1951, the last time Mayo won the cup. I don’t think I have to emphasize the importance of this picture:)
The photo is a small 2x4 inch print, after scanning it, I worked on the image in Photoshop where I removed a few scratches and brought back the areas that were badly faded. The last step in the process was upscaling the image using special software for enlargements. The image was then printed in 8x10 on high-quality photo paper from Canson. It’s now hanging nicely framed in her little cafe and it looks really cute.
Sam McGuire cup in Mayo in 1951
The other example is the complete opposite of the Sam McGuire photo, a studio portrait of an uncle of her that went to America. The photo was taken in a photo studio in New York around 1920. These old studio photos are perfect for reproductions! This image had very little damage, it was just a bit faded. I brought back the contrast, sharpened it a little bit, and then printed in 16x24, and the print came out really nice!
Studio portrait of a man from 1920
We do our own printing using an Epson large format printer and original Epson inks. Our favorite paper is made by Canson, the famous French paper manufacturer. Canson papers are high quality and long-lasting photo papers. The Canson lustre paper we use is a heavy paper (310gsm), you can really feel the quality just handling the prints. We also offer prints on matt fine art paper by Canson.
How much does it cost? Our prices start from as little as 20 Euros. The price includes scanning, basic scratch and blemish removal, color, contrast and sharpness adjustments and a 5x7 printed copy in 5x7 on Canson paper, additional copies are 4 Euro.
So if you have an old family photo that you’d like to get copies or enlargements of, just contact us! We can bring your old photos back to life! You can ring us on 087 7802483 or email us andreas@doorusphoto.net