Scanning important family documents into your computer is one way to organize them and keep them safe in case of an emergency. There are two types of scanners that you can choose from to scan your documents. If you plan to scan many single sheets that are a standard letter or legal size, you may want to purchase a sheet fed scanner, which resembles a home printer. If you will plan to scan documents that are nonstandard sizes, you should purchase a flatbed scanner.
Step 1
Gather the family documents you want to scan. Covenant Trust, a financial planning and personal asset management company in Illinois, suggests you create scan copies of the following documents for record retention: birth, marriage, and death certificates; passports; divorce and separation papers; the most current version of you and your spouse's will; citizenship papers; social security cards; property deeds; motor vehicle titles; and a minimum of seven years of your income tax returns and supporting documentation.
Step 2
Connect your scanner to your computer. If your computer runs on Windows XP or a more recent version of Windows, your computer will probably recognize the new hardware and launch the new hardware installation wizard. Follow the steps in the installation wizard to complete the installation.
Step 3
Install your scanning software, if necessary. Computers running a recent version of the Windows operating system have a "scanner and camera" wizard pre-installed. If you do not choose to use this pre-installed scanning software, install the scanning software of your choice by following the manufacturer's installation directions.
Step 4
Turn on your scanner and place the first document into the scanning bed. If you are using a flatbed scanner, raise the cover and lay the document facedown on the scanning glass. If you are using a scanner with a document feed, place the document into the feed. Follow the manufacturer's directions to ensure you place the document in the feed in the correct way.
Step 5
Launch the scanning software. If you are using the pre-installed Windows software, go to "Start," click "All Programs" and then select "Accessories." This will launch an additional pullout menu. On this menu click "Scanner and Camera Wizard."
Step 6
Select the type of document you are scanning from the options in the "Choose Scanning Preferences" window and click "Next." Type a name for your document on the next page of the wizard, select "jpeg" as the document type and select a location to save your file. Click "Next" to start scanning your document.
Step 7
Click "Finish" on the "Completing the Scanner and Camera Wizard" window to open your scanned document. Examine your scanned document to ensure the scan quality is correct. Adjust the scanner settings if necessary to achieve the desired quality. Repeat these steps for each document you want to scan.
Tips and Warnings
- You should burn a second copy of your scanned documents to CD and store that CD in a safe deposit box outside of your home. This will ensure you have a safe backup copy in case your computer hard drive is damaged in some way.
Things You'll Need
- Computer
- Scanner
- Scanning software
