Scan Setting Options

There are specific settings to consider, depending on the purpose of your scanning. Two of these are scan mode and resolution.

Scan Mode

The main options are colour scanning, grey scale, or back and white.
Select the mode that matches what you are scanning.

Resolution

Resolution basically refers to the quality of the scan. Digital photo images are made of tiny dots, and the resolution of an image is measured in dots per inch (DPI). The higher the dpi, the higher the resolution and the larger the file size (much much memory space it will take up). Scanning at a higher resolution will allow for either a higher quality image or a larger image size.

 

Lower resolutions, like 72dpi, are used for images that will only be seen on a screen, like on a web page. These images load more quickly and increasing the resolution higher than 72 dpi will not have any effect on quality.

 

Higher resolutions, like 300 dpi, are used when scanning a colour photograph and when you plan on printing a hard copy of the same size as the original. You may want to use an even higher resolution, like 600dpi, if you wish to be able to print out a photo at a larger size than the original, or to crop and enlarge part of the photograph.

 

Note: You cannot improve the quality of a low resolution image simply by scanning it at a high resolution. You will simply get a very large copy of a low resolution image.

 

 

Why not always scan at a high resolution?

 

If the images are to be used on a web page or emailed, larger image files will slow things down, or possibly not even work. High resolution images from a scan can be reduced if necessary after scanning as well, such as by using photoediting software that optimizes images.

 

Task

 

What mode and resolution would you use for the following scenarios, and why?

• scanning a newspaper article for archival purposes?

• a colour photo that you want to enlarge and print in colour?

• a colour photo that you want to put on a web site?

• a colour image that you want to print at "photo quality"?