Documentation for Media capture and management

Index

20260518 Batch merging .doc

20260512 File Structure of scanned content

20260509 Scanning loose photos; scanning photos with notations on the back

20260508 Diary transcribing templates

20260507

20260506 Scanning scribbler diary

20260505 Restoring a 120 year old newsprint scribbler

20260502

20260326

20260518

20260512

20260509

I scan at 600 dpi and make use of a couple of different settings:

  1. Here are the settings for scanning loose photos

2. Here is how I scan loose photos when I want to capture writing on the back of the photos.

20260508

20260507

This article was ineffective

Absolutely, Chris — here is a preset tuned specifically to the page you uploaded, using only the sliders available in Windows Photo Editor. I built these values to do three things at once:

  • Make the handwriting more readable
  • Preserve the 1906 paper texture
  • Avoid over‑brightening or over‑sharpening

These settings are gentle enough to paste across your whole directory, but strong enough to noticeably improve clarity.

⭐ Windows Photos Preset for Your 1906 Diary Page

Adjust → Light

  • Brightness: –12
  • Contrast: +18
  • Highlights: –22
  • Shadows: +10
  • Whites: –8
  • Blacks: –5

Why: This combination deepens the pencil/ink strokes, protects the paper texture, and prevents the page from washing out.

Adjust → Clarity

  • Clarity: +28

Why: This is the single most important slider for your page. It sharpens the handwriting without making the paper grain harsh.

Adjust → Color

  • Saturation: –32
  • Temperature: –4 (optional, only if the page looks too yellow)

Why: Your scan has a warm cast. Reducing saturation keeps the “aged paper” look but removes distracting color noise.

Adjust → Dehaze

  • Dehaze: +8

Why: Adds crispness and contrast to the handwriting without making the page look modern or over‑processed.

📌 How to Apply This Preset

  1. Open one diary page
  2. Apply the sliders above
  3. Save a copy
  4. Press Ctrl+C to copy the edits
  5. Open the next image → press Ctrl+V
  6. Save
  7. Repeat down the folder

It’s surprisingly fast.

🧭 Optional “Darker Page” Variant

If you encounter pages that are more heavily shadowed or uneven:

  • Brightness: –5
  • Highlights: –10
  • Shadows: +20
  • Clarity: +30
  • Dehaze: +10

This keeps everything consistent without overcorrecting.

If you want…

I can also create:

  • A “light page” preset
  • A “dark page” preset
  • A naming workflow that fits your archival system
  • A step‑by‑step batch workflow tailored to your exact folder structure

Just tell me what you’d like next.

20260506

20260505

After another hour

After two hours

Note to Cheryl

Thank you so much Cheryl!

We very much appreciate your words of encouragement. You and I are the oldest of Grandma’s descendants. I haven’t counted how many descendants she has, but I trust that one of them, perhaps not yet born, will develop a passion for preserving this work into the next century! So I guess I’m just wanting to seed that suggestion with our cousins and siblings and niblings with the hope of entrenching a “family tradition” of looking after Grandma’s diaries … 

You did your part in getting them this far. Bev & I will do what we are able. But we all need help to make sure that all of Grandma’s descendants will talk about “Grandma Mossie Boyle’s Diaires” that date from the beginning of the 20th Century! We just need to watch for opportunities to pass the passion on. I entrust the rest to God.

I’ll certainly ask if I see other roles for you, but at the moment, my request is that you ponder ideas for getting the word out!

20260502

Laid out and organized the contents by Date.

Online Research:

I have my grandmother’s diary from 1906. It is a newsprint scribbler that has been folded in the middle for probably a century. The first few pages are sharply split down the fold. How do I beat flatten the pages for scanning?

You’re dealing with exactly the kind of problem archivists see with newsprint and fold‑creased notebooks from the early 1900s. The good news is: you can flatten them safely enough for scanning — but only if you go slowly and use the same principles museums use for brittle paper.

Here’s the clearest, safest workflow for a 1906 folded scribbler like your grandmother’s.

1. First principle: NO dry bending

Newsprint from that era is acidic and extremely brittle. If you try to flatten it dry, the fold will continue to split.

Flattening must be done by controlled humidification, not force.

2. Create a gentle humidity chamber (archivist method)

This is the safest home‑friendly technique used by conservators.

You need

  • A clean plastic storage bin with a lid
  • A smaller tray or shallow dish
  • Distilled water (important — tap water contains minerals)
  • A clean wire rack or mesh to keep the diary above the water
  • Blotting paper or unprinted newsprint
  • Light weights (paperweights, books wrapped in plastic)

Steps

  1. Put the shallow dish inside the bin and fill it with a small amount of distilled water. The goal is humidity, not wetness.
  2. Place the wire rack above the dish so the diary will sit on it without touching water.
  3. Put the diary on the rack, open to the damaged pages.
  4. Close the lid and let the chamber sit for 2–4 hours.
    • The paper will slowly absorb moisture from the air.
    • It becomes relaxed, not wet.
  5. Check every 30–45 minutes. You want the pages to feel slightly more flexible, not limp.

3. Once flexible, flatten gradually

When the pages feel less brittle:

  1. Remove the diary from the chamber.
  2. Place the pages between blotting paper or clean unprinted newsprint.
  3. Add very light weight — a book wrapped in plastic is perfect.
  4. Leave for 24 hours.
  5. Replace blotting paper if it becomes damp.

This slow pressure prevents new cracks and coaxes the fold to relax.

4. Scan with minimal handling

Once flattened:

  • Use a flatbed scanner, not a feeder.
  • Support the spine with a rolled towel so the book doesn’t torque.
  • If the split is severe, scan each page with no pressure on the fold.
  • If necessary, place a sheet of Mylar or a clean transparency over the page to keep fibers down during scanning.

5. Optional but helpful: mend the split after scanning

If you want to stabilize the fold:

  • Use archival mending tissue (e.g., Japanese kozo paper + wheat starch paste).
  • Or take it to a conservator for a quick professional repair — it’s inexpensive and lasts decades.

One non‑obvious tip

Humidity chambers work best when the diary is closed for the first hour. This lets the moisture penetrate the spine and fold evenly. Then open it to the damaged pages for the remaining time.

20260326

Returned from Swift Current after Dave Bank’s funeral with two briefcases of Grandma Boyle’s diaries which had been in the care of Cheryl.

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