Well, like most things, the more you know about scanning,
the less mysterious it becomes. Yes, there is a certain degree
of art involved, but I think a large chunk of art is knowing what you want and knowing ways of getting there. Still, scanning demands experimentation. If you are going to scan certificates and want good results, then experiment.
I've divided my discussions of certificate scanning into
small pieces. Click any of these sections and you will find "rabbit
tracks" of discussion that will weave back and forth across the subject
of scanning. Read as much or as little as you want. Come back to this
page when you want to learn more. Beginners: please read Quick Scan Hints.
| Autoexposure |
Manual exposure. Auto-exposure makes it easy to get adequate scans as soon as you plug in your new scanner. But that doesn't mean you can't get better results by turning auto-exposure off. |
| Autoexposure |
Autoexposure: Results when scanning certificates with normal weight paper. |
| Autoexposure |
Autoexposure: Results when scanning certificates with thin paper. |
| Brightness |
Brightness. Between 25% and 30% of the images of certificates you see in online auctions are dark. Why? |
| Color |
Color. "So how come my scanned images and my certificates are different colors?" |
| Contrast |
Contrast. You can control the attractiveness of your scans by "tweaking" contrast. It makes a world of difference. |
| Formats |
File formats. The differences, uses, and sizes of JPGs, BMPs, GIFs, and TIFs. |
| Formats |
Effects of JPG compression from too many saves. Don't overdo your saves. |
| Formats |
JPG compression. Discussion and examples of JPGs at various levels of compression. Compression is not a bad thing. |
| Hints |
Quick scanning hints. For collectors who want to get on with it. |
| Large certificates |
Large certificates. What if your certificates are too large for your scanner? |
| Purchase |
Purchasing a scanner. Entry level, letter size scanners can be had for under $100. Scanners capable of scanning 11x17 sheets are now available for under $250. I offer a few hints on buying. |
| Purpose |
Your purpose for scanning. The better you can define why you're scanning,
the better your scans will be. Learn why scanning a certificate for
printing is much different than scanning the same certificate for the web. Scanning for archive purposes requires still different approaches. |
| Sharpening |
Sharpening is great for ordinary typed pages. It is not necessarily great for engraved vignettes. |
| Reduction |
Reduction during scanning. DON'T! Beginners tend to send certificates that have been reduced during the scan process. I show an example of unintended results. |
| Resolution |
Resolution. Beginners always scan at much higher
resolutions than they really need. Here, I show you several real-life examples of variable certificate resolutions and I explain the math. |
| Sending images |
How to send images. I always need images from collectors. How you can send scans or photocopies. |
| Sending images |
Why didn't I use images you sent? Probably because of these common problems. |
| Terminology |
Pixels, dots, and samples. The pros argue incessantly about the proper terminology of imaging. Scanners sample spots, monitors display pixels and printers print dots. There is no agreement on terminology, so get over the confusion. Use any term you want. Dots are every bit as good as pixels. No one but the pros discuss samples. |
| Terminology |
Understanding bits. Grayscale images are typically called '8-bit' iimages and color images are often referred to as '24-bit' images. This is all computer jargon, it does have important meaning. |
