I am scanning a bunch of old photos and I've noticed that lint and other small objects are stuck to the photos...

How can I clean the photos safely before scanning... some of these pics are about 100 years old. I do not want to ruin them.

Thanks for your help!

Ami - your best bet is to get a very soft (sable or the like) short bristle artish brush and use that to clean from the center of the photo out. The brush does need to be very soft so that it does not cause any abrasion to the picture itself. Also - do not use any liquid of any kind on the photo - especially old photos, the methods and chemicals used for photography has changed over the years and you likely will not know specifically what you are dealing with...

A soft brush should take care of as much of the lint and dirt that you will be able to on your own. Anything more than that should be done by a professional photography preservation person.

Good advice from Lydia. Also, after you've scanned the pictures you can use a photo editing program to remove or cover any spots that remain.

Your scanner software probably includes photo editing software. This is a link to a "how to remove dust spots" using the ACD photo editing software:

Tech Tips - Remove dust spots.

Your particular software may or may not have these specific tools, but it will give you an idea about how the image can be digitally cleaned up.

If you're interested in getting a more powerful photo editing program, here are some good ones:

ACDSEE - This program offers a free trial period where you can determine if you like it or not.
ACDSee

Adobe Photo Shop (This is quite expensive, perhaps an older used version from Ebay would suffice).Adobe Photo Shop 7

Here is a free one you can download and try out:

PhotoPlus 5.5

Paint Shop Pro - This also offers a trial program that you download to evaluate the software.

Paint Shop Pro

Guide to buying graphics software

Software buying guide.

Scanning tips

I hope something here helps!

Dwight

Thanks you guys!