Scanning and editing tips

[IronHerder]

Originally Posted by ellias

To prevent bleed through from the printing on the backside of the page, place a black sheet of paper behind the page you are scanning.

I can only repeat and emphasize ellias's advice. Please, please, please back the page being scanned with black paper. I find it excruciatingly painful to find a good scan marred by bleed-through from the other side of the page. Too bad this message won't reach the vast majority of scanners. (Who live in vain, ya know.)

I don't know about modern copiers (they're smarter than I am, but so's my dog), but older copiers would make a black sheet of paper when the lid was left up.

[effCup]

Today's tip for scanners concerns scanner artefacts. Consistent patterns of artefacts can be quite useful: they may indicate it's time we cleaned the glass on our scanner bed.

[smutwerx]

Is this the same problem as the moire pattern talked about previously? It really doesn't look like it to me. The first scan came out fine. The second, made a few minutes later looks terrible. And the third image is just a close-up of the second.

[effCup]

Originally Posted by smutwerx

Is this the same problem as the moire pattern talked about previously?

Yes.

Originally Posted by smutwerx

It really doesn't look like it to me.

What does it look like to you?

Originally Posted by smutwerx

The first scan came out fine. The second, made a few minutes later looks terrible.

My cheap/crap printer+scanner's software can sometimes "lose"/forget settings such as descreen filter, etc., so is it possible similar may have happened to you? /shrug/ Not saying that's the fault just offering something to check/eliminate. /headscratch/

[Jism Jim]

Originally Posted by smutwerx

The first scan came out fine. The second, made a few minutes later looks terrible.

The first pic is a drawing, the second is a photo of skin. That makes a lot of difference for a scan.

First, make sure you use the descreen function. If that function doesn't help or is absent, change the resolution.
Last resort: scan at a high resolution, then shrink the image.

[smutwerx]

Originally Posted by effCup

What does it look like to you?

It looks like an electrical problem to me, which I've read happens to scanners. But I was hoping it was a moire problem because I can't fix a problem in the scanner. However...

Originally Posted by Jism Jim

The first pic is a drawing, the second is a photo of skin. That makes a lot of difference for a scan.

First, make sure you use the descreen function. If that function doesn't help or is absent, change the resolution.
Last resort: scan at a high resolution, then shrink the image.

I changed the resolution a few times, changed it to very high, shrank the image, and got a similar result. I don't have a descreen function. This problem did pop up after I moved, so maybe it's the current in the new building or the scanner got knocked somehow. Before I give up, I will try to take it to someone else's house. That should eliminate a few possibilities. Thanks all.

[matt100qaz]

I had to replace my old scanner which generally worked pretty well without me ever making adjustments.

I bought an HP OfficeJet Pro 6978. I thought the "69" would make it perfect for scanning porn of course.

Now my scans look like this:
That one was scanned at 200 or 300 dpi, and saved with 90% quality. I've tried 80%, 95%, 99%...all pretty crappy. I cannot seem to find any settings related to de-screening in the HP software I downloaded.

Any thoughts or advice? My contributions to VEF look like crap!!!

Thanks