Old postcard: restore it and bring it into colour

Old postcards often show high streets, seafronts, churches and village greens. The tool cleans them, doubles their resolution and colourises them: sky, stone and trees take on natural colours. A lovely piece for the wall as a fine art print or canvas.

The Minibon team · Updated on 27 October 2026 · Translation to review

free preview, HD from €1.99

Scanning a postcard well

• A scanner beats a phone here

  Many postcards were printed with a fine dot pattern. Scanning at 600 dpi, common practice for small formats, gives a better start than a phone photo.

• Crop for the purpose

  For decoration, crop to the picture only; for a keepsake or local history, keep the printed caption and scan the back with its postmark too.

• Cards you own

  Use a card that belongs to you, or whose image is in the public domain, especially if you plan to display it or give it as a gift.

How it works

1. 1. Digitise Scan the card flat. If it is stuck in an album, lay the open album on the glass rather than peeling it off.
2. 2. Upload "Colourise" is already selected: colour is applied even if the card still has a slight tint. Upload the file (25 MB max).
3. 3. Compare Drag the before/after slider. If the colour does not convince you, keep it in black and white at no cost.
4. 4. Display it 20×25 cm fine art print (€19.90), 30×40 cm canvas (€59) or a frame: the Studio warns you if the image is a little small for the size.

What the tool does well, and what it misses

• Good: sky, stone, greenery Large areas get soft, believable colours.
• Good: overall sharpness The ×2 enlargement cleans up noise, compression blocks and light blur.
• Worth knowing: the print pattern On some cards the printing dots can stay visible, or form patterns once enlarged.
• Worth knowing: shop signs and captions Small lettering can be smoothed or warped, and a shopfront or painted sign will not necessarily get its real colour.