Every family has them. A box of old letters. A photo album with handwritten captions. Documents that tell the story of where you came from.
The problem is, paper doesn't last forever. Ink fades. Paper yellows and becomes brittle. Water damage, fire, or just time slowly erases these irreplaceable pieces of family history.
Once these documents are gone, they're gone forever. But if you digitize them now, they'll last as long as digital storage exists.
What Documents Should You Preserve?
Start with anything that can't be replaced—and anything that tells your family's story:
Handwritten letters
From parents, grandparents, ancestors
Old photographs
With names and dates on the back
Official documents
Birth certificates, marriage licenses, deeds
Family recipes
Written on index cards and scraps of paper
Military records
Discharge papers, service records, letters home
Newspaper clippings
Obituaries, announcements, articles
Step 1: Scanning Your Documents
You have two main options: a flatbed scanner or your smartphone. Here's when to use each:
Flatbed Scanner
Best for important documents where quality matters most.
- Use 300 DPI minimum (600 DPI for photos)
- Save as TIFF for archival, JPEG for sharing
- Clean the glass before each scan
- Handle fragile documents gently
Smartphone
Great for quick captures and documents too fragile to lay flat.
- Use natural, indirect light
- Hold phone directly above document
- Let camera focus before shooting
- Take multiple shots of important items
Pro tip: Always scan both sides of photos. Often the most valuable information—names, dates, places—is written on the back.
Step 2: The Transcription Challenge
Here's where most people get stuck. You've scanned your grandmother's letters. Now you want to transcribe them so you can:
- Search for names, dates, and places
- Share readable text with family members
- Add to your family tree or genealogy software
- Create a family history document
The problem: Old handwriting is hard to read. The ink has faded. The paper is yellowed. And cursive from 50 or 100 years ago looks different from what we write today.
Hours per document, easy to make errors
Can't read handwriting or faded text
Step 3: Use AI to Read What You Can't
AI Vision is specifically designed for documents that are hard to read. It doesn't just recognize letter shapes—it understands context and can fill in gaps the way a human reader would.
What AI Vision Can Read
Upload your scan
Go to AI Vision and upload your scanned document or photo
Get transcribed text
AI reads the document and returns clean, searchable text
Save and share
Copy to your family tree software, create a document, or share with relatives
Got Old Family Documents to Transcribe?
Upload a photo of that old letter or document. See the text you couldn't read before.
2-day free trial • Process thousands of pages monthly
Step 4: Back Up Everything
Digitizing is only half the battle. Digital files can be lost too—hard drives fail, phones get stolen, cloud accounts get hacked.
The 3-2-1 Backup Rule
Keep your family documents safe with multiple copies:
- 3Three copies of everything
- 2Two different types of storage (e.g., hard drive + cloud)
- 1One copy offsite (cloud or at a relative's house)
Good backup locations: Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, an external hard drive, and even emailing copies to family members who will keep them.
Step 5: Organize for Future Generations
A folder full of files named "scan001.jpg" won't help your grandchildren understand their history. Take time to organize:
Use descriptive file names
"1945-Letter-Grandpa-Joe-to-Grandma-Mary.jpg" is better than "IMG_2847.jpg"
Create folders by person or time period
"1940s-WWII-Letters" or "Smith-Family-Photos"
Keep the transcription with the scan
Save a .txt file with the same name alongside the image
Add context notes
"This letter was written when Joe was stationed in France during WWII"
Don't Wait Until It's Too Late
Every year, more family documents are lost. Paper crumbles. Ink fades. Houses flood. The person who could explain what's in that photo passes away.
But if you digitize and transcribe these documents now, they're preserved forever. Future generations will be able to read letters from ancestors they never met. They'll understand where they came from.
Start today. Pick one box of old documents and begin.
Not sure where to start? Begin with a single letter or photo. Scan it, run it through AI Vision to transcribe the handwriting, and save both files. You've just preserved a piece of family history that will last for generations.