Scan Tips

If you are not already familiar with your scanner you should take the time to do some simple testing.  A little experimenting to gain more knowledge of how to scan will save you lots of valuable time later when you are in the midst of your work.

The first place to start is reading the user manual for your scanner.  If you have a multipurpose product, such as a printer/scanner/copy/fax machine, you may not have much information to read.  Therefore you may have to look elsewhere for more information about scanning, such as searching the Internet or visiting your favorite book store.

You don't have to become an expert on scanning in order to get good scans.  You only have to understand the process, experiment to see what gives you good results, then do it.

Scanner Technical Stuff

Our focus of discussion concerns flatbed and document fed scanners, typically called desktop scanners.

• Resolution
  

  Determines the sharpness of the scan and is usually measured in pixels per inch (PPI) or sometimes referred to as dots per inch (DPI). 
  
  When scanning the higher the resolution the larger the image size.  There is no benefit in increasing scanning resolution beyond that of your intended destination, so get familiar with what your products can do and how they perform.

  
  
• Recommended Resolutions
  • Web or video use: 72 ppi (pixels per inch)
  • Laser printer use: 170 ppi
  • Photo quality inkjet printer: 250 dpi



For more information search the Internet for "Measuring Scanner Performance", "Scanner Resolution", and "Scanner File Formats".

 

Scanner Selection

It is recommended that when you intend to do scanning work that you have your scanner turned on before you start.

Scan2PDF uses the WIA (Windows Imaging Acquisition) standard introduced with Windows XP.  Any scanner having a Windows XP/Vista driver should work fine.  When you select to scan the first thing you have to do is choose your scanner.  The application pops up a small window that displays all the scanner drivers loaded on your system - just choose the driver that has 'WIA' in the name.  Each time you use the scanner afterwards you will be using the chosen driver, so the window only appears the first time of use per operating session.


  


The silver window shows only one device to select, however the blue window shows four devices.  Always pick the driver having 'WIA' in its name!

If you want to scan a document and your device does not appear in the selection window you may have it turned off or may have turned it off while your computer was running.  When and if this happens then it is recommended to shut down your application, turn on your scanner, then restart.  Also, when you start a scan the scanner may just sit there and appear to be doing nothing.  If the lamp in the scanner has been off for awhile it takes time to warm up.

 

Scan Options

When a scanner is ready to work you will see the scan options window.  If you have an automatic document feeder (ADF) and your paper has been inserted before you select a scan option, you will see the screen below selecting the Document Feeder as the source of the scan document. 







If you put your document on the glass surface you will see the second screen below selecting the Flatbed as your paper source, regardless of what type of scanner you have.






The main differences between these screens:

• Paper Source is automatically selected.
• Page Size is enabled when you use the ADF.  Be sure and pick the right size for your image!
• When the flatbed is used the scanner does not know what size paper you are about to scan, therefore you have an option to Preview or Scan your document.

A quick note about Preview and Scan options when using the Flatbed paper source.  If you insert your paper properly on the glass and choose Scan, most of the time your document will be scanned to the right size and you will get good results.



Tip

If you are scanning photographs and perform the scan you will normally get a good image, but it may appear to be too small.  A nice trick for photographs is to place the photo in the center of the glass and choose Preview.  The previewed scan will show the correct size, then click the Scan button.  The end result is a larger image!

If you are scanning written paper you need to practice and experiment in order to get good results.  For example, if you have an ADF you will have to be careful feeding paper because the end result may be a crooked image and unpleasant reading.  We recommend that you take your time and scan important documents in Flatbed mode for better results.  Generally choosing the Black and White option will work fine, but test first.  Be careful with colored paper documents (like the pink carbon copy receipt) because some colors don't scan as nice as others, and this will vary from scanner to scanner.

 

Scan Testing

The process to test your scanner is simple and easy and doesn't require too much time.

• Select sample items from the documents you will be scanning, such as written documents (typed and hand written) and photographs. 
  
  Select additional items, such as complex pictures from a magazine (landscapes, people and food usually give great color details). 
  
  Select pictures in black and white and others in different colors (testing for color hue, brightness, etc.).
• The process for all samples is to Scan, Print and Compare.
  
  
• Try all four scan options for color, grayscale, black and white and custom.
• Issues you will face will be the reproduction of color (scanners are different and some do better than others), size of scanned images (color makes for larger images and requires more space for storage) and readability of text images.  If you're not interested in color and your image doesn't have too much black in it then just scan in grayscale or black and white.

Another method of testing is to use Test Images.  There are conflicting views on using these tools but the goal of our testing is very simple - the end result must be acceptable to you.

Located on your product disk under the folder 'Scan' you will find a copy of the USAF 1951 Test Image.  You can find free copies of this image on the Internet as well as many other test images.  For more information on using test images use your favorite search engine and search the text "Kodak Reliable Image Tips" and look up #63, or search "Minolta Dimage Scan Test Image".




To test your scanner with a test image do the following:

• Download a test image or use the one provided on your product disc.
• Open the image with a quality imaging product if you have one, such as Adobe Photoshop.  Otherwise use Microsoft Word or Microsoft Paint or some comparable program.
• Print the image.
• Scan the image.
• Print the scanned image.
• Compare your results.

Remember, practice makes perfect and its worth the time to test and become familiar with the capabilities of your scanner product.  Be patient, take your time and your efforts will be rewarded with good results.