QUESTION

I have a photosmart C6100 all in one scanner. I am trying to copy orignals from early 1900\'s which are not the standard 4x6 size. I find the my scanner is enlarging the pictures. What can I do to scan them and keep them at the orginal size?

ANSWER

My guess is that this problem has to do with pixel density.

Your scanner is probably doing what you bought it to do, namely giving you a maximum resolution scan. This is good, because some day you may want an enlargement of parts of these photos and if you didn\'t scan it at high resolution you won\'t be able to enlarge much. So make backup copies of these original scans.

To solve your problem what you need to do is find the place in your photo printing software where you can adjust pixel density, or photo size. I don\'t know what software came bundled with your scanner but I feel confident you can find the place to adjust this photo output size back to the original before it is printed. When you have successfully printed the photo the way you like it and you get ready to close the image file, save (save as) the file to a different file name from the original.

In some ways learning about photographic preservation can be a bit frustrating. It can also actually be harmful rather than helpful to your photographs. After a little study a person commonly becomes horrified at all the things they have been doing wrong. Sometimes, they will over-react and hurriedly do something harmful, such as handle all their negatives to look for damage! Please plan carefully before you act.