Getting an old photo enlarged

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jim779
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Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by jim779 »

I found an old photo of my Mom from a long time ago. It's just her face and the picture is in perfect condition. My Mom passed away a while back and I think this photo would be a great gift for my Dad if I could get it enlarged.

My printer is junk so I don't want to print anything myself and the picture is so special that I would not want it to leave my hands...I don't want to mail it in anywhere.

Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?

Thanks

Jim
xenial
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by xenial »

There are excellent free image upscaling websites that use artificial intelligence to enlarge pictures without blurring, e.g., Smart PNG / JPG Image Upscaler. These sites are very easy to use, though you will need access to a scanner.
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galawdawg
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by galawdawg »

jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am I found an old photo of my Mom from a long time ago. It's just her face and the picture is in perfect condition. My Mom passed away a while back and I think this photo would be a great gift for my Dad if I could get it enlarged.

My printer is junk so I don't want to print anything myself and the picture is so special that I would not want it to leave my hands...I don't want to mail it in anywhere.

Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?

Thanks

Jim
Most places that print photos, such as Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and so on have a scanner on site at the photo counter. They (or you) can scan the photo and then print it in whatever size you wish.
Mr. Rumples
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by Mr. Rumples »

I went to a local camera shop for two pictures of special people to me; one dating from the 1930's and one from the 1950's. They did a fantastic job enlarging them for a few dollars. I had another picture from the early 1970's and had a friend who was an amateur photographer with a lot of equipment made a duplicate - not larger - but he was able to add clarity to some of the objects.
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niagara_guy
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by niagara_guy »

I would use a good scanner to get a digital image. If you have one try it first, if not find a store that does, maybe a camera/photo store would be best, I assume they would have a high quality scanner. I would not leave picture and would insist they scan while I was waiting because of the possibility of photo getting lost.

Once you have a good digital copy of the picture you can share it with others, make multiple prints, etc. Remember to get a digital copy of the picture offsite in case there is a fire at your house.

My library has a scanner that does a reasonable job, maybe yours does too.

They will give you a digital copy of photo on some kind of media (CD, thumb drive, …); if they have the ability to print it I would have them print a copy too because their printer is probably much better than yours.
WoostaGal
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by WoostaGal »

I also vouch for the local camera/photo store. I had a 1940's era family photo with some lighting damage enlarged and repaired by a local store with excellent results.
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lthenderson
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by lthenderson »

jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?
I've done hundreds. I scan them at home on a quality scanner and then upload then to one of dozens of sites where they will print them on high quality paper and printers and hold for me to pick up or mail to my house for a small fee. If I need it quickly, I use a local drugstore and after uploading, generally can pick them up an hour later. Really big enlargements however are still sent out so depending on how big your enlargement is, you may not have a quick option. I enlarged one photo that to a whopping 4 feet tall by 6 feet wide using a place that prints onto canvas. It graces the wall above my couch in our living room.
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windaar
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by windaar »

I've had this kind of work done at FedEx Office (When it was Kinko's) before.
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niagara_guy
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by niagara_guy »

My mom had photo albums with hundreds of photos. I paid a local kid to scan them all (I loaned her a laptop and my scanner), so now I have all these photos as digital images. I have given copies to my relatives, if my house burns down these photos will not be lost.
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galawdawg
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by galawdawg »

WoostaGal wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:49 am I also vouch for the local camera/photo store. I had a 1940's era family photo with some lighting damage enlarged and repaired by a local store with excellent results.
Good idea. Try Fotomat perhaps... 8-)

Image
miamivice
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by miamivice »

jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am I found an old photo of my Mom from a long time ago. It's just her face and the picture is in perfect condition. My Mom passed away a while back and I think this photo would be a great gift for my Dad if I could get it enlarged.

My printer is junk so I don't want to print anything myself and the picture is so special that I would not want it to leave my hands...I don't want to mail it in anywhere.

Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?

Thanks

Jim
If you have some time, you can take a picture of the photo using your cell camera. This will meet your requirements of not wanting the picture to leave your hands. If you sent me the picture via e-mail (I can PM you my addresss), I can print and mail the picture back to you. I have a photo quality laser printer and photo paper. You'll lose a bit of quality by taking a picture of a picture, but it does meet your requirement. Scanning the picture would be an option as well.
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enad
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by enad »

jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am I found an old photo of my Mom from a long time ago. It's just her face and the picture is in perfect condition. My Mom passed away a while back and I think this photo would be a great gift for my Dad if I could get it enlarged.

My printer is junk so I don't want to print anything myself and the picture is so special that I would not want it to leave my hands...I don't want to mail it in anywhere.

Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?

Thanks

Jim
If you can find a good camera shop in your area (call them on the phone first), and check if they can enlarge your photo. Some of these old shops use an analog optic magnification system to enlarge the photo and if necessary can run it through Photoshop to clean/enhance the photo and even colorize it, then make a print for you up to a certain size. My folks used to have a B/W photo of their wedding picture and now it's full color hanging in our house on a wall of photos. The shop should be able to enlarge the photo for you while you wait. In our area there are at least 3 such camera shops still open
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InMyDreams
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by InMyDreams »

lthenderson wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:57 am
jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?
I've done hundreds. I scan them at home on a quality scanner and then upload then to one of dozens of sites where they will print them on high quality paper and printers and hold for me to pick up or mail to my house for a small fee. If I need it quickly, I use a local drugstore and after uploading, generally can pick them up an hour later. Really big enlargements however are still sent out so depending on how big your enlargement is, you may not have a quick option. I enlarged one photo that to a whopping 4 feet tall by 6 feet wide using a place that prints onto canvas. It graces the wall above my couch in our living room.
Similar experience. Part of the quality control is the density of the photos as they were originally printed. If you choose to scan it yourself, make sure the scanner bed is clean and lint-free, and scan at a higher DPI - at least 300.

I've taken mine to Costco, and at least then, had some fairly large prints made. They couldn't take the size of the 600dpi scan, as I recall, and I had to use the 300.

But, ultimately, you want to preserve a scanned copy for archival purposes.
Jim Beaux
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by Jim Beaux »

lthenderson wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:57 am
jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?
I've done hundreds. I scan them at home on a quality scanner and then upload then to one of dozens of sites where they will print them on high quality paper and printers and hold for me to pick up or mail to my house for a small fee. If I need it quickly, I use a local drugstore and after uploading, generally can pick them up an hour later. Really big enlargements however are still sent out so depending on how big your enlargement is, you may not have a quick option. I enlarged one photo that to a whopping 4 feet tall by 6 feet wide using a place that prints onto canvas. It graces the wall above my couch in our living room.
Please share the link for prints on canvas
mrc
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by mrc »

What size is the original? We've noticed it was more difficult for aging relatives to keep larger prints in their apartments or rooms. Especially framed, smaller prints are sometimes easier to manage and just as meaningful.
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lthenderson
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by lthenderson »

Jim Beaux wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:22 pm
lthenderson wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:57 am
jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?
I've done hundreds. I scan them at home on a quality scanner and then upload then to one of dozens of sites where they will print them on high quality paper and printers and hold for me to pick up or mail to my house for a small fee. If I need it quickly, I use a local drugstore and after uploading, generally can pick them up an hour later. Really big enlargements however are still sent out so depending on how big your enlargement is, you may not have a quick option. I enlarged one photo that to a whopping 4 feet tall by 6 feet wide using a place that prints onto canvas. It graces the wall above my couch in our living room.
Please share the link for prints on canvas
https://www.canvaspress.com/

A note based upon my experiences with them. Their full price is quite expensive. But once on their mailing list, they frequently send out codes for deep discounts throughout the year. We generally wait for their 75% off sales which happen nearly every federal holiday. Just last week (Cyber Monday) I ordered a 36" by 48" canvas for 85% off. It is somewhere between here and I think it is Dallas, Texas on a FedEx truck at this moment.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by Sandtrap »

jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am I found an old photo of my Mom from a long time ago. It's just her face and the picture is in perfect condition. My Mom passed away a while back and I think this photo would be a great gift for my Dad if I could get it enlarged.

My printer is junk so I don't want to print anything myself and the picture is so special that I would not want it to leave my hands...I don't want to mail it in anywhere.

Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?

Thanks

Jim
Jim,
On the higher end of things, where there's no compromise of results. . . you could take it to a professional photographer who can input the image with a professional scanner and convert into a TIFF or RAW file, then do post processing on it using as needed; Photoshop, Capture One, etc, then output that to an image file to give back to you. That file can be sent to a photo lab. Depending on the end resolution, maybe only so much for old black and white photo's, it can be enlarged to an 8x12 or larger with good results.

The first step is cleaning the photograph carefully, then using the highest quality photo level scanner that can be had. It will, of course, pick up every dust mote, crack and line and wrinkle, but, that's to be expected.

Then, that scanned image is input into a computer in high resolution for photo work and retouching, etc. The result is a high resolution TIFF/etc, digital image that can be sent back to you or output to print to a lab or what you choose.

j :D
Last edited by Sandtrap on Wed Dec 07, 2022 8:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Jim Beaux
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Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by Jim Beaux »

lthenderson wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 12:09 pm
Jim Beaux wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:22 pm
lthenderson wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:57 am
jim779 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 12:59 am Just wondering if anyone has had an old photo enlarged like this and if they had any suggestions?
I've done hundreds. I scan them at home on a quality scanner and then upload then to one of dozens of sites where they will print them on high quality paper and printers and hold for me to pick up or mail to my house for a small fee. If I need it quickly, I use a local drugstore and after uploading, generally can pick them up an hour later. Really big enlargements however are still sent out so depending on how big your enlargement is, you may not have a quick option. I enlarged one photo that to a whopping 4 feet tall by 6 feet wide using a place that prints onto canvas. It graces the wall above my couch in our living room.
Please share the link for prints on canvas
https://www.canvaspress.com/

A note based upon my experiences with them. Their full price is quite expensive. But once on their mailing list, they frequently send out codes for deep discounts throughout the year. We generally wait for their 75% off sales which happen nearly every federal holiday. Just last week (Cyber Monday) I ordered a 36" by 48" canvas for 85% off. It is somewhere between here and I think it is Dallas, Texas on a FedEx truck at this moment.
Thanks
Topic Author
jim779
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:16 am

Re: Getting an old photo enlarged

Post by jim779 »

I just wanted to give an update. I went with Sam's club and ez prints. They both messed up the orders but in the end it worked out. Sams I ordered wallet sized and they sent me bigger photos and ez prints cut the head off of an 8x10 but they fixed it for me.


in the end I was happy with the photos.

Thanks to everyone for helping me!

Jim
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