lightroom 6 preview not available for scanned photos

[janellh98200099]

I'm just starting so completely new at this.  I see others with problems not seeing previews for raw files or prior versions of Lightroom.  My problem is scanned photos.  I thought the problem was I saved as TIF but some JPEG have the same problem.  I don't understand forums like this as well.  Sorry if I'm not efficient here.

[JP Hess · Accepted solution]

What software are you using to do your scanning? I use Vuescan, and my JPEG and TIF images always have previews.

[janellh98200099]

Canon IJ Scan Utility. 

[JP Hess]

The software could be the problem, but I'm not sure. You might see if there are other scanning utilities that you could try.

[janellh98200099]

OK.  I downloaded Vuescan and with one photo it seemed to work.  I'll test it more.  Do you have a straightforward explanation as to what the software does?  It seems like it does something to differentiate the file.  I want to make sure I'm getting photos scanned in a way they will be accessible going forward.  I'm archiving 70+ years of my parents photos.  It also looks like I need to pay for Vuescan so I need to make sure it works and I really don't know what else to look for expect to test a group of photos for the specific problem I'm having today.  Also any recommendation as to if it's valuable to pay the higher price for unlimited updates?  Thank you so, so much for steering me this direction.  I would have never figured it out.

[JP Hess]

I'm in the middle of scanning 50 years of slides, negatives and prints. Vuescan Is the software I have used for a number of years. I first purchased the standard Version which includes one year of updates.  Then I exercised my option to pay the extra to have unlimited updates. Vuescan is more of a generic scanning program that supports hundreds of different scanners. I use a CanoScan 9000F. I simply configure Vuescan to scan whatever type of media I'm working with, and it does it. I don't know what else to tell you. It just works for me. It's possible to scan all types of media. If you want to you can create PDF files. You'll have to decide whether or not you want to purchase it. You could just pay the standard price  and then decide  later if you want to pay the extra for the upgrade. Vuescan is a pretty mature piece of software.  I don't know that there are upgrades that improve its scanning capabilities that much. Probably the only time you would really need updates is if you purchased new scanner that isn't supported in the version that you are using. I must say that Mike Harrick, author of the software, is always available to answer e-mail questions. Support is excellent. In my opinion the software is top notch.