Lab: Scanning to acquire images

Image and texture of a memory

In this lab you'll scan two items, a photograph (or other image), and something else which you'll scan to use for texture on your web page.

Save the scan of the photo as a .jpg file at a "reasonable" size (e.g. think of 1000 pixels wide as a bit more than "full screen" for many people.)

Scan some other thing that has a relationship to the image (which can be about anything, as long as it is not greasy, grimy, dirty or otherwise a hazard to the health of the scanning beds!) We'll sample this for texture.

Using DreamWeaver we'll put together a scrapbookish kinda web page with:

• the photo image on one movable layer.
• some text about the image on another layer, and
• Some part of the texture image on a third layer.

Using the scanners to acquire an image

Acquiring an image

1. Start Photoshop -- If it's not already on the Taskbar, go to "Applications folder / Adobe Photoshop CS / Adobe Photoshop"
2. "Preview" what's on the scanner bed -- Place the photo/other graphic on the scanner bed. In Photoshop, "File | Import > Epson Perfection...". Chose the Professional Mode.
   Now, on the dialog box which pops up (below) choose the correct "Image Type" for what you're scanning. You'll probably want "24-bit color" for photographs, or "8-bit grayscale" for black and white images.
   Set the resolution to about...
   • 75 dpi (dots per inch) for a "quick and dirty" scan to produce an image that looks (on the screen) about the same size as in real life, with no Photoshop editing/re-sizing.
   • 150-250 dpi is a general purpose setting if you want to edit the image a bit, and then save it with fewer pixels to get back to something that looks about the same size as the original.
   • 300 dpi and up if you want to "blow up" your original and sample some part of it, or have a very small, but very high-quality original (e.g. a photographic negative.
   
   Hit the Preview button.
   
   
   
3. You'll see a window with a picture of what's on the scanner bed. Use the rectangular marquis to draw a rough rectangular box around the portion of the scanner bed you want to scan, and then hit the Scan button.
   
4. After the scanning process stops, you'll have an image in Photoshop that you can edit/save/etc.
   Before you do anything else, you may wish to save an 'original' copy of your scanned image, in .psd or .png format.

Handing in the lab

Labs from May 2008