tips for scanning images -> archiving

Michel · 2005-02-12 14:11:55

Heya,

I'm going to scan some pictures for archiving purposes and there are some questions I'm hopeing there are some people here that could give some hints, ...

I have an epson perfection 2580. It works with linux(I'v tested it), but I still have my doubts. I want to use the full capabilities of the scanner and I'm not sure if the linux-backend (snapscan) can complety handle it ... so I'll be using the windows software which has a great feature: I can put 4 pictures or so at once in it and it autodetects it as 4 pictures ... and it seems to work.

What I think is ok:

I'll be using 48-bit and 4800 dpi. I can't seem to set the horizontal(?) en vertical dpi separate, but it seems 2400x4800 is the maximum native dpi of the scanner. Maybe this is overkill, but anyway.

Questions:

1) after the dpi stuff, there is an option for setting the target document: original size, in pixels, A4, A3, ... I'm not sure what to choose here. I read some things about the difference between the dpi and pixels, but I don't uderstand it complety ... Any help on the target format would be welcome.

The purpose: I want to make a dvd with the pictures on it, but I should also be able to print them. Short: I want the best (original ... like I want no interpolation, ... that can be done if needed afterwards) quality ...

2) for now it tries to do colorcorrection automatically. This seems to be the best option for me and seems to work. But another option (which disables the automatic one ...) are ICC-profiles? I think this si about the presentation on screen? There are a lot: the default one is true RGB, there are also (srgb), adobe, ...

3) the image format: I'm using bmp at the moment, will this have all available meta-info if there is extra info? I'll convert these to PNG afterwards which supports 48-bits color-depth I think. There is also pdf: which I don't complety get. pdf is vector, is there something else? I saw something about dpi ..., there is also tiff (hmm don't remember which tiff-format).

4) Although I have not much used the scanner yet, there are some dirty spots on the surface of the scanner (finger-oil). Is there a good way to remove it? There is still nough place to scan 2 pictures at a time, but it would be nice if there is a good way to clean the scanner? I was thinking about something like "white-spirit" since it evaporates quickly.

Thanks,

Michel

sarah31 · 2005-02-13 10:39:54

The one thing that I was wondering is if you have the negatives why not take them to a photoshop and have them put them on CDs? That is what I did and it worked far better than trying to scan them myself. I realize you want to get used to using your scanner but if you are like me there are plenty of other things you will be scanning.

As for removing the finger oil you can probably just use regular window cleaner (Windex?) and a soft cloth. You want to use a soft fiber or maybe even Kleenex. Even breathing on the glass and wiping it with a tissue should remove finger oil without streaking it.

(Look at the photo gallery on my sight to get an idea of the quality of a photoshop's transfering negtives to CDs http://www.sarah31.ca/ )

Michel · 2005-02-13 12:38:19

Thanks for the tips.

Well, I don't have the negatives for these pictures, otherwise I would probably use them. These are some older pictures ...

thanks,

Michel

sarah31 · 2005-02-14 16:34:45

As for the size ... i would assume that you would choose the size of the letter paper standard for your country. If you would like I can check out what the resolution is for the photos on my web page (the large images are unaltered). Or your browser may give you the info (it will be in pixels wxl and you can extrapolate from there what size you may need to set.

Michel · 2005-02-17 19:32:15

Heya,

I'm not sure if there is interest in this, but I looked around a little bit and found some good links on which format to use, hwo scanning works a little bit. Also some links on icc-profiles, but very limited.

Is there any interest in me writing this info in the wiki or so. or maybe this isn't necessary?

Michel

sarah31 · 2005-02-17 19:47:25

I would say go for it. you would be surprised at how interested people get if they are just presented with the info. saving the few that do have more than a passing interest the trouble of searching is a super thing for you to do.

So I am saying yes it is better to have it in the wiki than not to have it.

phrakture · 2005-02-17 19:54:32

sarah31 wrote:

http://www.sarah31.ca/

....who knew....

sarah31 · 2005-02-17 19:57:44

obviously not you

Arch Linux

#1 2005-02-12 14:11:55

tips for scanning images -> archiving

#2 2005-02-13 10:39:54

Re: tips for scanning images -> archiving

#3 2005-02-13 12:38:19

Re: tips for scanning images -> archiving

#4 2005-02-14 16:34:45

Re: tips for scanning images -> archiving

#5 2005-02-17 19:32:15

Re: tips for scanning images -> archiving

#6 2005-02-17 19:47:25

Re: tips for scanning images -> archiving

#7 2005-02-17 19:54:32

Re: tips for scanning images -> archiving

#8 2005-02-17 19:57:44

Re: tips for scanning images -> archiving

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