Decades
Restore photos from the 1980s
The 1980s are 4 x 6 one-hour prints with glossy finishes, on-camera flash red-eye in every indoor shot, 600-series Polaroids and disc cameras. The common formats of the 1980s were 4 x 6 and 3.5 x 5 color prints, Polaroid 600 prints, disc and 110 prints.
Prints from the 1980s carry red-eye, magenta and cyan shifts, sticky album residue and cheap paper that curls at the corners. Scan 1980s prints once at a high resolution, by the edges, and let the restoration work on the copy.
Red-Eye Removal is the usual first tool for a 1980s print, then Face Restoration and the upscaler in the Studio if it is going into a frame. The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard restoration of a 1980s photo.
Original on the left, restored on the right; hover to see more of the repair. Made in the Studio from a scan of the print.
Print and file requirements
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dominant process | C-41 negative film; one-hour minilabs; Polaroid 600 (1981); disc film (1982) |
| Common formats | 4 x 6 and 3.5 x 5 glossy print, Polaroid 600, disc print |
| Color | Color, saturated and high contrast |
| Cameras | 35 mm point-and-shoot, Polaroid Sun 600, Kodak Disc |
| Typical size | 4 x 6 in and 3.5 x 5 in prints; 3.5 x 4.2 in Polaroid 600 |
| Typical condition today | Red-eye, magenta and cyan shift, curling paper, album residue |
What matters for these photos
- Red-eye, magenta and cyan shift, curling paper, album residue on 1980s prints
- Faces in 1980s group and studio photos that are too small to enlarge
- 1980s colors that have drifted away from what the family remembers
- A single 1980s print that is the family's only copy, with no negative to go back to
Suggested order of passes
- 01
Run Red-Eye Removal on the 1980s scan
Targets the most common failure of 1980s prints: red-eye, magenta and cyan shift, curling paper, album residue.
Red-Eye Removal - 02
Repair the marks left on the 1980s print
A second pass for the scratches, creases and fading that 1980s prints usually carry together.
Photo Restoration - 03
Restore the faces
1980s faces are often small; natural strength keeps them soft and believable, strong rebuilds tiny ones.
Face Restoration - 04
Upscale for reprinting
4 x 6 in and 3.5 x 5 in prints; 3.5 x 4.2 in Polaroid 600 is small for a frame; the upscaler adds the pixels with the 1980s shape unchanged.
Image Upscaler
Questions
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