Always save as JPEGs with the least amount of compression. When scanning, place a black sheet of paper behind the page being scanned; it will eliminate print show-through. When I scan, I do it through a plug-in that runs thru Adobe Photoshop with my UMAX Astra 6400 Firewire scanner on a Mac. I scan at 300 ppi, and then in most cases physically resize the scans slightly for a smaller file. Resizing compresses the halftone dot pattern of the printed page. I never scan using a descreen filter that purportedly reduces the dot pattern as they tend to soften the images doing more harm than good. I try to keep sizes to around 5-6 megs per images with a physical dimension of 5" tall that originally are full page size. When scanning a truly great pic of one of my favorites from a beautifully printed magazine like Japan's Bachelor magazine, I will save a 10-12 meg image. I enjoy creating morphs and starting with a great file is beneficial. I find it helps the image to add a bit of contrast and a bit of sharpening. Lastly, why go through the process of scanning if you're going to archive or post crappy scans. Doing it right makes the most sense to me.
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