I am scanning all my old family photos, using a 11x17 inch scanning
bed at 400dpi.  I have so many photos and I would like to find a
program that will automatically create individual files from the 11x17
scanned sheet.

Here is an example of the scanned sheet:

http://www.corporateroots.com/upload/20060531203928_009.jpg

As you can see there is whitespace between all of the photos, which
got me thinking that a program could probably recognize the whitespace
and save individual photos automatically to separate files.

Can anyone suggest a program that will do this?

Thanks,

sienadingo

I have not used this program, but it sounds as if ArcSoft PhotoStudio
might meet your needs:

"Multiple Cropping Options
The Crop tool allows you to define crop areas by distinct shapes,
patterns or freehand selections. In addition, you can also perform an
"Auto-crop" after scanning multiple photos at one time. The program
detects each image within the scan, then crops them out as individual
files."

http://www.arcsoft.com/products/photostudio/oem.asp

pinkfreud,

Thanks for the response.  I downloaded this program, but the "Auto
Crop" feature is only available in conjunction with acquiring the
scanned image using PhotoStudio.  I need a program that will allow me
to "Auto Crop" a jpeg that has already been aquired, i.e. an existing
jpeg.

Thanks for the try,

sienadingo

Is there anyone else that can help?!?

Thanks

Hello,

I think Photoshop Action can help you to complete your task. 
Adobe Photoshop has facility to create action for various tasks like
this. YOu can try Photoshop.

Let me know from your side.

Rakesh

Thanks Rakesh for the suggestion, but I do not have Adobe Photoshop.

sienading

Is there anyone else that has any ideas?  Is there a cheaper program
out there other than adobe photoshop?

I have paint shop pro 9.

Thanks

As a Photoshop user, I can say that this is not something Photoshop
actions can do. There would need to be some level of software
sophistication to detect the rectangle shapes of the photographs and
crop them out, which Photoshop actions are not capable of.

However, it really does seem like this would be a fairly simple and
useful program, and I'm fairly surprised it doesn't seem to exist. It
would save tons of time when scanning old photos!

Wwell, Photoshop CS has a Crop and Straighten Photos command under File->Automate->

and according to the manual; 
"The Crop and Straighten Photos command helps you make separate image
files from multiple images in a single scan. For best results, you
should keep 1/8 inch between the images in your scan, and the
background (typically the scanner bed) should be a uniform color with
little noise. The Crop and Straighten Photos command works best on
images with clearly delineated outlines".

So there Photoshop is an expensive solution to the problem. If
Photoshop Elements also has this feature than it will be a cheaper
solution. Maybe someone  who has photoshop elements will check this?