Is there a program…

[exncite]

That would take a scanned document and enhance and improve the image. I have some scanned old newspaper clippings that are discolored and blurry. I can read them but takes a lot of effort. Is there a way to restore/improve the documents. They are personal about my father So it would be great if I could save them for future generations. Thanks!

 

[MacBiter]

That would take a scanned document and enhance and improve the image. I have some scanned old newspaper clippings that are discolored and blurry. I can read them but takes a lot of effort. Is there a way to restore/improve the documents. They are personal about my father So it would be great if I could save them for future generations. Thanks!

Any graphics editor will do that to a greater or lesser extent. For example Photoshop or Affinity Photos would do a really good job, but there are plenty of lower priced apps such as Pixelmator, and the shareware program GraphicConverter which has been around forever and is highly regarded.

But before you do anything else, why not try the free Preview app that comes with all Macs? If you go into the Tools menu and click Adjust Color, you will find an adjustments window where you can do stuff like adjust exposure and levels, saturation, contrast, sharpness, hue, temperature, all kinds of things. Then there's the Photos app which also has some very effective adjustments, even more than Preview.

 

[RadDave]

Any graphics editor will do that to a greater or lesser extent. For example Photoshop or Affinity Photos would do a really good job, but there are plenty of lower priced apps such as Pixelmator, and the shareware program GraphicConverter which has been around forever and is highly regarded.

But before you do anything else, why not try the free Preview app that comes with all Macs? If you go into the Tools menu and click Adjust Color, you will find an adjustments window where you can do stuff like adjust exposure and levels, saturation, contrast, sharpness, hue, temperature, all kinds of things. Then there's the Photos app which also has some very effective adjustments, even more than Preview.

@ exncite - agree with MacBiter on first trying the 'free' Preview - I've used the app for years and almost daily (do a lot of image posting on this and other forums) - for the discoloration, pick the 'sepia' option and then 'sharpness' to improve the text - you will not see miracles 'before your eyes' but the improvements will be noticeable and likely acceptable. Now, I own about half of the other apps mentioned but rarely used them - the 'learning curve' is MUCH easier with Preview - good luck and let us know your results. Dave

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[Big Byte]

I like forums such as this because I learn a lot.

But to what degree can you make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, particularly when it comes to scanned images? And especially with built-in apps such as Preview? I use it, and it suits my purposes, but there's probably more I can get out from it than I currently know. Where can I find this out?

Are there manual for Mac apps, or is it mostly trial and error?

 

[Rod]

I have found the best source of information about Apple apps/products is Apple Support.
For example Using Preview;

Preview User Guide for Mac

Learn how to use Preview on your Mac to work with and change image files and PDF documents.

support.apple.com

Just go to the home page Official Apple Support and type in your topic. In most cases you will get the option to choose macOS versions.

 

[RadDave]

I have found the best source of information about Apple apps/products is Apple Support.
For example Using Preview;

Preview User Guide for Mac

Learn how to use Preview on your Mac to work with and change image files and PDF documents.

support.apple.com

Just go to the home page Official Apple Support and type in your topic. In most cases you will get the option to choose macOS versions.

Agree w/ Rod - Apple offers many excellent support articles at no extra cost - BUT, I've enjoyed the Take Control Books many options of short online books on many Apple topics - YES, they do cost a modest sum (updates/upgrades at discount) - I've purchased many of these offerings and have appreciated their conciseness and quality of the authors (and NO I have no relationship or financial connections) - there is an excellent book by Josh Centers on Preview - recommended if you want a non-Apple approach at a cost for about $15 USD - Dave

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[Randy B. Singer]

But to what degree can you make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, particularly when it comes to scanned images?

That's an excellent question, as it comes up all the time. By and large you can only do so much to fix a low quality scan. If the file doesn't have the data that you need in it, the old guidance was that you couldn't create it. You can adjust contrast, brightness, tint, and do some small amount of sharpening, but you are limited by the data in the file (e.g. the resolution of the original scan.)

This has all changed recently with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). And...I don't have a lot of experience with AI apps yet, so I can't tell you what to use for your use case yet. You may want to check out:

Adobe Express (free; commercial version adds more features)
https://www.adobe.com/express/?msockid=3a77bcdb92846eb222f7a83993fd6f35

Pixelmator Pro ($50)
https://www.pixelmator.com/pro/

And especially with built-in apps such as Preview? I use it, and it suits my purposes, but there's probably more I can get out from it than I currently know. Where can I find this out?

Apple's included Preview and Photos apps have some very powerful editing tools built-in, but they are somewhat hidden. However, they aren't hard to access and use.

In Preview, with a graphic file open, go to the Tools menu, and choose "Adjust Color". A number of useful tools will become apparent.

In Photos, open an image, go to the Image menu, choose "Show Edit Tools". There are a surprising number of great tools there.

 

[MacInWin]

Another approach to preserve the information might be to do waht you can to clean up the image, then see if it can be turned into text, and save the text with the original document image. That way folks who see the material wlll see the original scan and have a "clean" text to read and study.

There are a lot of tools to do that conversion to text, including one now baked into Sonoma. Here is what Apple says about scanning: Scan images or documents using a scanner and your Mac

Note this from that article:

• Choose a file format for the scan file: Choose a file format from the Format pop-up menu.
  When you choose PDF as the format, you can also choose to scan text using an OCR feature to make it editable or combine several scan items into a single file.

I have not tried this myself, but it could be an option.

 

[IWT]

In Photos, open an image, go to the Image menu, choose "Show Edit Tools". There are a surprising number of great tools there.

And, arguably quicker, is to Open an Image then just press the Return Key which takes you to the same place.

I know I'm being a bit cheeky Randy, but I'm a firm believer in using the quickest & easiest way of getting to wherever.

Ian

 

[Randy B. Singer]

And, arguably quicker, is to Open an Image then just press the Return Key which takes you to the same place.

I know I'm being a bit cheeky Randy, but I'm a firm believer in using the quickest & easiest way of getting to wherever.

No, no...I LOVE that sort of shortcut! Thanks!