Start with a visit to
comp.periphs.scanners - This is the place to find out about scanners
and which to buy/avoid.
Then go to ScanTips -
this is an on-line guide to using the scanner.
| Q: | Can I Jazz-up my scans? | |
|---|---|---|
| A: | It depends on what you mean by "Jazz-up". Certainly, repairing
defects in the original image (e.g., tears, folds) is desirable, as is adjusting the
brightness and contrast where necessary. The people who will be collecting your scans will either sort them by scanner, or by artist - most sort by artist. The focus of these collectors is on the faithful reproduction of the artist's work. Here is a list of various thing you might be tempted to try: | |
| Restorations: | Restoring the image to something close to what the artist originally intended. Frequently used to restore images that appeared on a magazine's cover; the removal of text, borders, labels, etc. can all be accomplished. An example might be to remove the Saturday Evening Post logo from a Norman Rockwell cover. | |
| Framing: | Applying a pretty frame or border to the image to "dress it up". While a common activity, many collectors will immediately "restore" the image by trimming off the non-artist border. On the other hand, creating a frame personalizes your work without damaging the image. | |
| "Signing your scan": | Some scanners put their name or an icon identifying their work on everything they scan. While this practice used to be common, it is falling into disfavor. If you must, constrain it to fit on your border. (In particular, any text you add to the image itself - especially the URL of a web site - is often considered to be a "Billboard Advertisement" and may generate complaints to your ISP for spaming the newsgroup! | |
| "Fakes": | The joining of several different elements from different images to crate a new image. While a popular activity for scanners (there are even newsgroups devoted entirely to publishing fakes), they are relatively rare in the art newsgroups; expect to encounter a flame-war if you post these regularly. Example: replacing the head of the Mona Lisa with the head of one of Norman Rockwell's truckdrivers! | |
| Wallpaper: | Reformatting the image to fit exactly into one of the standard
screen sizes: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x1024,
1600 x 1200 (currently, 1024x768 appears to be the most popular,
but I have seen (ancient) instances of the smaller sizes still
posted - even though obsolete). Again, there are newsgroups
specifically for publishing wallpaper images. The basic problem
here is that the shape used is 4 wide by 3 high; artists almost
never painted to that ratio; thus the art must either be cropped
to fit, or filled in to change to that format. It's not what the artist
painted (sometimes the shape was chosen to give a particular
effect; changing the shape loses the artist's intent). You probably
won't get flamed for posting wallpaper, but you'll have less people
collecting your scans. And, if you clip out part of the art and paste
it into your own background, it begins verging on being a fake. Further, many people are annoyed by walpaper that is fixed to a screen size other than the one that they use. And, "HD" screens are becoming common, these do NOT use the 4 x 3 format! | |
| I would strongly recommend that those who do fakes & wallpaper post them to the NewsGroups specifically designated for them. | ||
| Q: | There used to be a web site you could visit to set your monitor. If anyone has the info, lemmee know. | |
| A: | try Computer Graphics Calibration Reference. Even better is AIM (Accurate Image Manipulation for Desktop Publishing). | |
| Q: | How big should I make my scans? | |
| A: | The "Size" of a scanned image involves two
different parameters: The "Dots per Inch" (DPI) that the scanner is set for (a parameter for printing); the size of the image in Pixels (a parameter for viewing on a screen). A common screen size is 1024 x 768; few screens go bigger than 1600 x 1200. While some scanners often post images more than 3000 pixels high, most viewers are annoyed that they have to either resize the image, or scroll back and forth to see details, because it won't fit onto their screen (while a high pixel size will provide a better printed image, very few of the viewers of your picture will bother to print it - there are just too many pictures posted every day to print them all, especially considering the price of ink catridges :-} ). A good alternative is to post two copies of the picture - one of reasonable size for viewing (I like to limit mine so the largest dimension is 1000 pixels - JK), and a second (immense) image suitable for printing (and the two images addequately distinguished - some people suffex the screen image with "S".) | |
(Don't bother with "Photoshop for Windows for Dummies" - it's so photo-oriented that I found very little of use for scanning pictures.)
| Q: | I collected an image a long time ago - who's the scanner? |
|---|---|
| A: | Many scanners "'sign" their file names with some form of unique ID. |
| Q: | Where can I find a list of scanner ID's to know who scanned which image? |
| A: | Sj currently maintains the UBSL (Universal Binary Scanner List) which is
valid for most (or all?) of the art scan newsgroups. The list is posted periodically
(bi-weekly?) and updated when new scanners arrive on the scene and request her
to be added.
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