Scanning Photos?

TwistMyArm · May 23, 2003

I was just wondering how most people scan there photos. I mean how many dots per inch (dpi) are your photos when you scan? I've noticed that a lot of photos that are posted in the gallery are a lot clearer that the ones I have on my web site. That's not to say mine aren't that clear.
I guess I'd just like to know what the norm is as far as dpi goes. I'd also like to know how to get scans that are crisp, clear, and true to the original photo.

ismael · May 23, 2003

Mine are not that great but, I typically use 300 dpi, then play a bit with resize and sharpness. I don't play with colors or try to enhance them. I simply setup the scanner to automatic selection of the best parameters. Unfortunately, my little cheapie scanner died, so I need to get a new one.

Thanks,
Ismael

n_ersha · May 23, 2003

usually the least DPI for scanning a photo (thats going to be printed) is 300. I was reading somewhere something about..267 DPI being a perfect..ammount..i cant remember where i read it though..i'll try and find it and get back to you. 72 DPI is the screen resolution so for websites and email thats all you need.

MDowdey · May 23, 2003

you guys are right. scanning at 72 dpi is all you need for websites, anything else is overkill.

md

troome · Jun 1, 2003

what about scanning prints and negs for printing at home or at a pro lab? i thought about buying a neg scanner to retouch/restore/store my old images. i also thought about a flatbed scanner to retouch/restore/store my old prints with lost negs. any help is welcome.... i am very new to digital. thanks again.

MDowdey · Jun 1, 2003

i actually just bought an hp 3500 series. i didnt mess with any settings and the default is 300dpi. the pictures look good!

md

jazze · Jun 1, 2003

I need to get a new scanner, my 2 & 3 year old managed to trample mine to death. I have alot of photos I would love to post, but their all from my film camera....I haven't taken anything interesting with my digital yet.

TwistMyArm · Jun 1, 2003

i got one of those all-in-one jobies. It's an HP 750 and it's all right for a multipurpose machine (Print, Scan, Copy), but I'm not a big fan of it as a scanner. It's too small for me to scan 8x12s nicely, which I was able too do on my old Umax.
About all I can recomend is to look for one that's USB, which is pretty much standard now.
You might want to check out that HP 3500 that MD mentioned. If you're looking for a new printer as well though the 750 is good as long as you don't plan on scanning many large photos.

rsmithgi · Jun 11, 2003

I have an Epson 2450 Photo. I scan prints at 300 dpi, slides & negs at 2400 dpi. The 2450 is a great scanner for the price.

I've scanned some 50 yr old slides from my father and the results are great. I'm planning to shoot slides when I know I'll be scanning the photos. Scanning slides is much easier than scanning negs.

John A · Jun 24, 2003

I use a HP Scanjet 5470c & have no problems scanning prints or slides, I just let the thing figure out the appropriate numbers all by it's self & the results are pretty good. However I had a brainwave & decided to try & save a few dollars by only having the negs processed, then I would scan whichever neg I wanted. Results disappointing. Then I was told that the general run of the mill scanner is not really suitable for scanning negatives, so it's back to scanning prints.

Just wonered if anyone has had similar results, or if I have been doing something wrong.

e_ · Jun 28, 2003

...here's a useful resource:

http://www.scantips.com/

e_

ganimede77 · Jun 30, 2003

Dude, don't listen to MD

. You SHOULDN'T scan at 72dpi!

MD, you should know better! :shock:

Scan at 300dpi. This is a good place to start. Why? Because scanning higher does in fact affect the outcome of your image. Remember, you can always scale down, but you can never scale up (without detriment).

What's more, when you're working on a larger (pixel size) image, then it's easier to do than if working on an image that will be used on a 1:1 ratio.

Me personally - I scan at 600dpi on my Agfa scanner. I like to get in close (at actual res (100%) the details are bigger) and I know better what I'm doing. When you come to publish, you're condensing your work (say eiminating dust and scratches) into your final output image eg: PSD -> JPEG.

What's more, if you wanna come back to that image and say print it out, you certainly don't want to print the 72dpi version. That 300+ dpi image you saved will print much better.

Hey, I just read through that website that is posted above by e_ and it's pretty good. Owh, owh! Read the story on why 72dpi is bad!

I hope I've helped, if not, I hope I've stirred things up.

Regards,
cHUCk in Melbourne

John A · Jun 30, 2003

Now I am confused!!

Whenever I try to scan at a higher resolution than that recommended by my HP 5470c Scanjet I get the message that the scanner knows better than me & asks if I really want to use a higher number.

Now I'm going to be real brave & disregard Mr HP's advice & see what difference I finish up with. :shock: