Prints, Photographs, and Transparencies

[Nov 23, 2009 14:09] Web access to Microsoft Live@edu accounts now works.

ITC-ACHS can help you digitize prints, photos, and transparencies, either in color, grayscale, or black-and-white. Please note that it is your responsibility to comply with all applicable copyright laws.

Digital images of photos, etc. are created by importing them from a flatbed scanner into Adobe Photoshop, and the resulting files can be saved in any popular format.

Originals up to 11" x 17" can be scanned on the large-format flatbed scanner. This machine has the useful feature of allowing you to pick several different regions on one page, and each will be put into a separate file.

Originals up to 10" x 14" can be scanned on the two Linotype-Hell flatbed scanners (see document ACHS-203).

Images that will be used primarily for video display (e.g. web graphics or PowerPoint slides that don't need to be perfect on paper) can be scanned at 72 dots per inch (dpi). Images that eventually need to be printed should be scanned at 300 dpi or better. The finer the resolution of your scan, the larger the file will be, so plan accordingly! The following table gives pixel density, file size, and an idea of disk space needed for a 3" x 5" image:

Dots per Inch File Size Capacity of Disk
72 (video graphic) 228 KB 4 per floppy, 436 per Zip
150 (compromise setting) 989 KB 1 per floppy, 99 per Zip
300 (nicely printed image) 3.9 MB 25 per Zip
600 (finely printed image) 15.5 MB 6 per Zip

Scans of published images in books or magazines sometimes contain artifacts due to the printing process. This varies from publication to publication, and the method of scanning the best possible image can only be determined through trial and error.

© 2009 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.

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