Scanning at Charlotte's Web


Doll and Photo © 1995 by Cordelia Williams

a how-to guide for Open Studio participants

 

To begin, create a folder for your files in the OpenStudio directory.

  1. Double click Windows Explorer icon (on the desktop) to open.
  2. Click on OpenStudio folder.
  3. In File pulldown menu, select New, then Folder.
  4. A New Folder will appear; rename it with your name, or whatever you like.

Make sure the scanner is turned on. If it isn’t, flip the power switch on the back of the scanner & then restart the computer so it will recognize the scanner. To do this, go to the Start button, select Shut Down, then select Restart the Computer.

 

To scan an reflective image (photograph) in color:

  1. Place the image on the glass.
  2. Double click PhotoShop icon to open.
  3. In File pulldown menu, select Acquire, then TWAIN_32. This takes you to ScanWizard, the scanning software.
  4. Preview window will appear.
  5. In the top right corner, there are three arrows. Click the top arrow so that it points to the left & a second window appears. It will be called Untitled Job 1 (or 2 or 3, etc). This will enable you to define colors, size, resolution, etc.
  6. Click photo icon just to the left of these arrows to make sure that Reflective is selected.
  7. In the second window, select Millions of Colors, 72 dpi, Pixels (as unit of measure), & Color Correction. Make sure the lock icon is in unlocked position. Scale will depend on the size of your original.
  8. Click Preview button.
  9. When you can see the previewed image, define the area to be scanned with the cropping tool (the dotted box in the tool bar). The cursor will be + shaped. Click & drag to define the area you wish to scan.
  10. Now you can decide how to scale your image. As a rough guide, never make the image larger than around 500 pixels wide or 400 pixels tall. And always keep your file size under 250 kilobytes. Smaller is better, always, so that the time it takes to load images won’t be too long. The more images you include on one page, the smaller you should make each one.
  11. Click the Scan button. When scanning is complete, another image will appear behind the windows.
  12. Close the Preview window. This takes you back to Photoshop.

If you want to keep a copy of the image for additional uses or manipulation (like resizing), save it first as a PhotoShop file (psd). This format contains more information; you can resize it without as much loss of clarity as with other formats designed for web browsers. (You can also save it as a Tagged Information Format (tif) file, which more applications will recognize & open, but the files will probably be MUCH larger.) Generally, scan & save the image in the largest size you plan to need.

For color, the formats that are recognized by the browser are jpeg (or jpg) & gif. If it is a painterly image (like a photo), the best format is usually jpeg. If the image is more linear (with large areas of flat color &/or sharp edges), gif is a better choice. Black & white materials are almost always better as gifs. If you’re not sure, choose gif.

 

To save as a psd file:

  1. In File pulldown menu, choose Save As.
  2. Go to the directory you created.
  3. Under File Name, type in the title.
  4. Under Save As, choose psd format.

 

To save as jpeg file:

  1. In File pulldown menu, choose Save As.
  2. Go to the directory you created.
  3. Under File Name, type in the title.
  4. Under Save As, choose jpeg format.
  5. A Jpeg Options window will appear. Medium resolution is the default. Click OK.

 

To save as a gif file:

  1. In the Mode pulldown menu, change to Indexed Color.
  2. In the dialog window, say OK to defaults: resolution, 8 bits/pixel; pallette, adaptive; dither, diffusion.
  3. In File pulldown menu, choose Save As.
  4. Under File Name, type in the title.
  5. Under Save As, choose gif format.
  6. A box warning you about loss of image data will appear. Click OK.

 

To crop an image in PhotoShop

  1. Choose the Cropping Tool (shaped like a dotted box). You can Zoom in if needed; select that option in the Window pulldown menu.
  2. The cursor will be + shaped. Place the cursor at one corner of the area you wish to retain, click & drag to the opposite corner of the area.
  3. Choose Copy or Cut.
  4. Choose File, then New. The new window will automatically be the size of the area you just defined.
  5. Say OK to defaults.
  6. In the Edit pulldown menu, choose Paste.
  7. Go to your directory, choose Save As, & follow above instructions to save as whichever format is appropriate.

 

To resize an image:

  1. In Image pulldown menu, select Image Size.
  2. To keep the image proportional, put an "x" next to Constrain Proportions.
  3. Choose Pixels as the unit of measure.
  4. Change either width or height & the other proportion will automatically change. Make sure you check your image & file size before you proceed, so that your file isn’t too large.
  5. Say OK.
  6. Go to your directory, choose Save As, & follow above instructions to save as whichever format is appropriate.

 

To scan a greyscale image:

  1. Follow directions for scanning in color, except that in Step 7, you will choose 256 Shades of Grey.

 

To scan line art:

  1. Follow directions for scanning in color, except that in Step 7, you will choose Line Art.
  2. You will probably want to slightly blur the edges for better online display. In PhotoShop, this is called Soften or Diffuse or Blur. These are found in the Filter pulldown menu. It is sometimes known as anti-aliasing. This creates an edge of pixels that blend background & foreground colors, making the image appear less jagged.
  3. Convert the image to Greyscale (under the Mode pulldown menu) to enable Blur menu items.

 

To scan a slide or transparency:

  1. Follow the directions for scanning in color, except that in Step 1, you’ll use the masking template (that hangs on the wall behind the scanner), & in Step 6, you will choose Positive Transparency.

 

 

TROUBLE SHOOTING

If, when you try to open scanning software, an error message tells you that "it can’t find the scanner", check to make sure the scanner is turned on. If it is, you may need to restart the computer to get it to recognize that scanner. Always use the Start button, Shutdown commands to turn off or restart the machine.

If you have trouble getting the software to preview an image, try scanning the whole area. That may reset to preview function.

If your scans look weird, unlike your originals, go to the Untitled Job 1 window & click on the arrow in the bottom right-hand corner. This will expand the window to reveal more options. Make sure the options None, None, & Master are selected, then choose the Reset button. When the dialog window appears, make sure all the options are checked & choose Reset again. You can also use these options to enhance your images. Feel free to experiment, but be sure to reset everything to default settings as a courtesy for the next user.

 


Return to Open Studio Resources Page

This page is maintained by Lydia Arnold, lydi@mindspring.com