|
Scanning Images:
This
section will give you tips on how to get good
results when scanning images. Scanned images come
in four basic flavors: Black & White Line
Art (drawings, cartoons, simple logos), Color
Line Art (corporate image logos, advertisements),
Black & White Photos (old pictures, art pictures
for use in newspapers or magazines) & Color
Photos (family photos, art reproductions, etc.).
Each of these types of images require slightly
different techniques in order to get good results
when scanning.
BLACK & WHITE LINE ART
There are two considerations when scanning black
& white line art: The first is how detailed
the artwork is, if the lines on the art are very
fine or there is text that is in a script font
or very thin you should use the heavy or extra-heavy
sharpening setting in your scanner software. This
is also called "contrast" in some scanning
software. You may also need to set the brightness
of the image a little higher if the artwork is
very fine as images tend to fill in slightly when
being scanned. Black & white artwork is usually
scanned at 600DPI (dots per inch) for best overall
results.
COLOR
LINE ART
When scanning color line art keep the scanner
settings flat, in general you should be able to
scan color line art without any adjustments. If
the art is extremely colorful choose the "Millions
of Colors" option in you scanner software.
For items that have been coated (varnished or
laminated) you may need to set the brightness
of the image a little lower as they will tend
to be reflective, thus brighter. Color line art
should be scanned at 300DPI normally or 600DPI
for images where retaining the detail is of the
most importance.
BLACK
& WHITE PHOTOS
Black and white photos are generally scanned flat
with the only adjustments being made if the photos
are glossy. If the photos are glossy you may need
to lower the brightness setting in your scanner
software to cut down on the reflectivity of the
photograph. Black & white photos are generally
scanned at 300DPI with 600DPI being used for pictures
where the picture will be used in a very high
quality publication such as a glossy magazine.
COLOR
PHOTOS
The scanning of color photos usually requires
more in the way of adjustments in your scanning
software to get good results. Use all the controls
in your software such as brightness, contrast
and sharpening and make sure you get a good preview
image on your screen before doing your final scan
on your color photo. Usually color photos do not
require brightening, but if they have large dark
areas on them you may need to make them brighter
in order to bring out the details of the photograph.
You should also choose the "Millions of Colors"
option in your software if it is available. Color
photos are usually scanned at 300DPI with 600DPI
being used when the photo is being used on a large
poster or other enlargement (see next section).
ENLARGING
AND REDUCING
When you are going to use a scanned image on a
large poster or maybe in multiple documents (a
business card, letterhead and poster for example),
you should scan it at a larger size than the actual
size of the image. Usually you will scan it at
2x (200%) or 3x (300%), depending on how big the
image is going to be blown up. Above 300% the
file size will become enormous and you will not
usually need to go larger than this.
SCANNING
FOR THE WEB
The World Wide Web is generally a 72DPI universe,
so when scanning pictures for the web anything
over that is wasted. To get best results for the
Web, scan at 300DPI and then use your scanning
software to drop the resolution down to 72DPI.
This will give you the best looking pictures,
especially when you save the pictures in the GIF
or JPG formats (the native formats of the Web).
RELATED LINKS:
Preparing
Digital Files: This
is a short guide to preparing digital files for
output on digital copiers.
Color
Output Tips: This section is a primer on how
to get consistent color output through the use
of color charts from our various color output
device
Copyright
Issues: Copy Plus Copying Guidelines are based
on U.S. Copyright Laws regarding copyrighted works
and trademarks.
|
