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Flatbed Scanner

An overview of digitization equipment in the Freedman Center with step-by-step instructions.

Scanning Material


1. Locate the scan settings portal. This section is dedicated to changing the document type, image type, resolution and to initiate a scan preview. 

From top to bottom of this section, change the information:

a. "Settings": Keep "Current Setting" selected.

b. Original:

1. "Document Type": Switch between paper items and film/ transparent items to get the best scanning results for your material. Select 'Film' if using for transparency purposes.

2. "Document Source": Keep "Document Table" selected. 

3. "Auto Exposure Type": Switch between Photo or Document depending your material.

c. Destination

1. "Image Type": Choose between Black & White, Grayscale, Color, and other images techniques like Halftone & Color Smoothing.

***For most purposes, users will choose 24-bit color or 8-bit grayscale. 48-bit color and 16-bit grayscale will make many features of photoshop disappear and also many file formats.

2. "Resolution": Clarity and sharpness of image. The higher the resolution setting, the longer and larger the scan will be. Maximum 800 DPI for documents or illustrations between 1,200 to 2,400 DPI. Setting the resolution any higher will not get you additional data.

***WARNING: If users scan at any higher resolution, the software may crash.

3. "Document Size": Adjusting the marquee tool will change this size throughout the scanning process.

d. "Adjustments": These have been disabled on our Epson scanners.

2. Before any scanning occurs, pre-scan your images in the preview portal.

3. Using the on-screen buttons found on the bottom of the Scan Settings portal, click "Preview."

4. With this preview, adjust the selection window to the material.

***Since scanning times increase with higher resolution, users should decrease the amount of negative space the scanner captures so that they are not wasting their time.

5. The "Preview Mode" offers the option of zoom as well. Adjust the selection window to area you'd like to zoom into and select the tab "Zoom." The scanner will take a few moments to zoom into that selected area.

          

6.  When ready to scan, click the "Scan" button. The "File Save Settings" pop-up will appear. 

From top to bottom of this section, change the information: 

a. "Location": Toggle "Other" and click "Browse." Locate your network ID file folder in the "Not Secure Temporary Storage" D:drive from the "Browser for Folder" pop-up.

 

b. "File Name": Change the name of the file here.

 

c. "Image Format": Choose the image file type for your needs. We recommend keeping the default TIFF file type.

 

7. Once all of the areas of "File Save Settings" window are changed, click "OK." The scanner will begin scanning, and the scans will deposit in your file folder automatically upon scan completion.

***The higher the scanning resolution, the longer the scan will be. A 800 DPI, scanning will be 4-6 minutes. Between 1,200 and 2,400 DPI, the scanning time will be upwards of + 8 minutes. Setting the resolution any higher will not get you additional data.

8. Please return the White Background to the Flatbed scanner if the Transparency guide was used.