How to Upscale Old Photos for Bigger Prints and Screens
Upscale old and small photos with AI: how upscaling works, how far you can enlarge, scanning for size, and preparing upscaled photos for print or TV.
By Ayoub Farid · · 2 min read
Old photos are often small: wallet prints, contact sheets, 110-film snapshots, thumbnails saved from early digital cameras. If you want to print them larger, show them on a TV or use them in a slideshow, they need more pixels. AI upscaling adds pixels with believable detail.
Traditional resizing vs AI upscaling
Traditional resizing (bicubic interpolation) spreads existing pixels over a larger area. The image gets bigger but softer, like zooming in on a photo.
AI upscaling predicts the missing detail: hair strands, fabric texture, sharp eye edges. The result is larger and sharper. It's a reconstruction, so it can't add information that wasn't there, but it looks far better than simple resizing.
How much can you enlarge?
| Enlargement | Typical result |
|---|---|
| 2× | Excellent for most photos |
| 3–4× | Good for decent originals, check faces |
| More than 4× | Often artificial-looking; better to rescan at higher dpi |
The best way to get a bigger image is still a higher-resolution capture. A wallet photo scanned at 1200 dpi has twice the pixels of one scanned at 600 dpi (see best DPI for scanning photos).
Upscale with AI
In Refixo, tap Restore. Along with removing damage and sharpening faces, the restoration enhances the image to higher quality, and restored photos are exported in full quality without watermarks.
Prepare for print
For close-viewed prints, aim for about 300 pixels per inch:
- 5 × 7 inch print: about 1500 × 2100 pixels.
- 8 × 10 inch print: about 2400 × 3000 pixels.
Full table in restoring photos for printing. Check the result at 100% zoom before ordering a large print.
Prepare for TV and slideshows
A 4K TV is 3840 × 2160 pixels. Old portrait-format photos will have bars at the sides; that's fine. Upscaled photos look much better on a big screen than raw small scans. See family reunion photo slideshow.
Related: increasing photo resolution for printing, enhancing low-quality photos.
Upscaling for digital frames and phones
Digital photo frames and phone lock screens have modest resolutions, so even a 2× upscale of a small scan usually looks excellent. Upscaled photos also crop better: you can make a tight crop of a face for a profile picture or a memorial card without it turning blocky.
Frequently asked questions
Can I upscale an old photo without losing quality?
AI upscaling enlarges with predicted detail, so it looks much sharper than traditional resizing. Very large enlargements can look artificial.
What's the best resolution to scan for upscaling?
Scan small prints at 600–1200 dpi. Higher-resolution scans need less upscaling.
Can I upscale a photo for a poster?
Yes, if you start from a good scan. Posters are viewed from a distance, so 150–200 ppi is usually enough.
Does upscaling fix blur?
AI upscalers usually sharpen as well, but very blurry photos need dedicated enhancement (see fixing blurry photos).
Restore it in seconds
Bring your old photos back to life
Refixo's AI removes scratches, tears and stains, sharpens faces and colorizes black & white photos in seconds. Free to download on iPhone and iPad, with a 3-day free trial.
Download on theApp Store