Scanning comics

[gradejunky]

Need some advice. When I scan a book to sell what is the best way to get a really detailed scan? I've scanned tons of my comics but they never look as good as some other peoples I see. I usually increase brightness +2 and contrast +1 @ 350dpi. and then post them on photobucket @ the large size. Should I upload them @ the 1 megapixel? I've also played with a program called windows live photo where it lets you adjust shadows, highlights, and sharpness but those still don't look much better. Should I scan @ a higher dpi? Thanks for the help in advance.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but typical monitors display at 72 dpi. No need to scan any higher unless you are printing the scan.

[lookwhoitis]

a "scanning for dummies" thread would be nice. Trying to learn how to effectively scan myself right now.

 

Here is my first try:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=50&Number=3026712&Searchpage=1&Main=154156&Words=&topic=0&Search=true#Post3026712

 

took me over an hour to get from pt a to pt b

[Comicsarefun]

350 is way too high for normal internet (ie eBay use). Use 200 max for comics.

[gradejunky]

a "scanning for dummies" thread would be nice. Trying to learn how to effectively scan myself right now.

 

Here is my first try:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=50&Number=3026712&Searchpage=1&Main=154156&Words=&topic=0&Search=true#Post3026712

 

took me over an hour to get from pt a to pt b

 

thats a pretty good scan. what were your settings and what are u using for the background...constructuion paper??

[slym2none]

I find that my scanner still has too much "pixelation" at 150 DPI, and the next setting up is 300, so that's what I use. Also, my program has options for 'photo,' 'mixed graphics and text,' 'black text,' and 'magazine/newspaper.' None of the settings except 'photo' gives me a nice, crisp scan, so if your scanner/prog has these options, play around.

 

I use a Lexmark 3-1 X75, FYI. All scans that I posted in the PGM section were done on this scanner.

 

 

 

-slym

[mschmidt]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but typical monitors display at 72 dpi. No need to scan any higher unless you are printing the scan.

 

Well, technically you're right - but, then again, you're wrong as well

 

Screen resolution is 72 DPI (dots per inch) - but an image that's 800px wide & 600px tall in 72dpi is the exact same size on screen as an 800px wide x 600px tall image in 300 DPI. What this tells us is that on a computer screen the resolution is completely irrelevant - all that matters is how many pixels actually make up the image in question.

 

If you tried to print them, though, the 72 DPI image would print at 11.11" x 8.33", whereas the 300 DPI image would be 2.67" x 2" (because the higher resolution means that it crams more dots/pixels into a smaller space) - just like you said.

 

Because a scanner works off physical size (not pixel size), if you scan a standard comic book (which is about 6.7" x 10.2") at 72 DPI, you will end up with a digital image that's only about 484 pixels wide and 735 pixels tall - which is not big enough to really make out the details.

 

If you scan the same comic book at 200 DPI, the size of the resulting image file is now about 1345 pixels wide and 2044 pixels tall - even though the physical, eg. printable, size has remained exactly the same (6.7" x 10.2").

 

So ... when you're scanning, having a higher resolution than 72dpi means that you'll get a larger (on-screen), more detailed image. But when you're saving your image, having a resolution higher than 72dpi means absolutely nothing.

 

Does that make sense?

[Designer Toast]

350 is way too high for normal internet (ie eBay use). Use 200 max for comics.

 

(thumbs u

 

I scan them in at 200dpi and size them at about 500 <-------- advise from that sage greggy when I first started posting here.

[mschmidt]

I find that my scanner still has too much "pixelation" at 150 DPI, and the next setting up is 300, so that's what I use. Also, my program has options for 'photo,' 'mixed graphics and text,' 'black text,' and 'magazine/newspaper.' None of the settings except 'photo' gives me a nice, crisp scan, so if your scanner/prog has these options, play around.

 

I use a Lexmark 3-1 X75, FYI. All scans that I posted in the PGM section were done on this scanner.

 

-slym

 

"Too much pixellation" really wouldn't have anything to do with the resolution you're scanning at, though - that's a side-effect of the image compression that occurs when you're saving the image. If it's set too low, the image will loose detail as pixels are removed.

 

Here are a couple of examples from a random book I just grabbed - as you can see, there's really no noticeable quality difference between the various resolutions, it's all a matter of how large & detailed you actually want your image.

 

Scanned at 50 DPI:

 

 

Scanned at 72 DPI:

 

 

Scanned at 200 DPI:

(I made this a thumbnail because the 1700px wide image was breaking this thread - click on it to see the full-size)

 

 

 

[Designer Toast]

I scan at 200dpi and resize to 500, they work fine for me. But that 72dpi looks good too (thumbs u

[mschmidt]

350 is way too high for normal internet (ie eBay use). Use 200 max for comics.

 

(thumbs u

 

I scan them in at 200dpi and size them at about 500 <-------- advise from that sage greggy when I first started posting here.

 

Everybody has their own way of doing this ... I personally scan at 150 DPI, crop to 1077x1608, and then resize it down to 650x970. I then save it as a 60% JPEG and get results like this (filesize is about 130-140kb):

 

 

 

[str8rcn]

Mike what are you using to resize? PS or something else?

[mschmidt]

Mike what are you using to resize? PS or something else?

 

Yeah, Photoshop. I spend about 8 hours a day in that program, so no reason to use anything else

 

It also has some really nice batch & automated functions that are a life-saver when you're dealing with a never-ending stream of images that need to end up the same way.

[Boozad]

Is it Photoshop CS2 Mike?

[mschmidt]

We did a company-wide upgrade to CS4 when it was released a little while back - but this functionality has been there since Photoshop 5.5 or so. I also really can't tell the difference between CS2, CS3 and CS4, to be quite honest.

[Boozad]

I had a trial run of CS3 but like you say I couldn't really see a difference from CS2 which I'm still using, I was just wondering about the batch functions as I didn't know anything about that. So could you perform the same functions (rotate, resize) on several different images at once as opposed to singularly? I've just scanned over 40 books in for the site and it's a ballache having to rotate and resize every single one.

 

And did that Spidey #300 get there yet?

[sckao]

(assuming calibration has already been done.)

 

Scan at 200 dpi

Resize to 800-900 pixels wide (scaled) (It's hard to actually see the defects otherwise.)

After the resize, use SHARPEN UNSHARP MASK

When uploading to Photobucket, change the setting so it DOES NOT resize for you to fit 1024x768

 

If calibration hasn't been done, check the LEVELS to see if black is close to black. Check contrast as well. (If you use brighten to try and match the page color, don't brighten it TOO much as defects will disappear.)

 

(It also depends on the age of your monitor. Even LCDs will DIM with age.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gradejunky]

350 is way too high for normal internet (ie eBay use). Use 200 max for comics.

 

(thumbs u

 

I scan them in at 200dpi and size them at about 500 <-------- advise from that sage greggy when I first started posting here.

 

Everybody has their own way of doing this ... I personally scan at 150 DPI, crop to 1077x1608, and then resize it down to 650x970. I then save it as a 60% JPEG and get results like this (filesize is about 130-140kb):

 

 

 

ok so all I have is paint. how would I get a similar result in that archaic program?? Scan them at like a 150-200dpi, open with paint and then reduce size to 60%??

[lookwhoitis]

I also only have paint...

[kahml]

Get and use this: http://www.irfanview.com/

 

Larry