Below is a quick guide for how to scan photos to meet Pediment press specifications.
Because there are countless versions of scanning software, this guide cannot run through the process in step-by-step fashion. Instead, here are the areas to look for in your scanning software’s settings…
Clean up
This isn’t a software setting, but it’s always a good idea to be sure you photo is free of any surface dust and your scanner’s glass is as clean as possible.
Resolution
Set this to 600ppi (or 600dpi, depending on your software’s terminology).
Output size
This area should either ask you for a desired percentage to scale the image to, or desired width and height dimensions in inches. The goal is to have a final image file that is 4,200 pixels on the long edge. If we assume the resolution is locked at 600dpi as laid out in the step above, setting the output to 7 inches wide for a horizontal image, or 7 inches tall for a vertical image, will do the trick.
Scan type
Set this to grayscale if you’re scanning an old black-and-white photo. If you’re scanning a photo with color, set this to RGB color. Some scanning software labels scan types with bit depth settings as well, such as 8bit, 16bit or 24bit. Any bit depth will work, but the higher the better in most cases.
Crop
It’s best to set the frame of the image (or crop) to just the actual photo itself, not its border or any other surrounding elements. This isn’t essential, but helps.
File type
The options are typically BMP, TIF, PSD and JPEG (or JPG). TIF is preferred because it is lossless and high quality. JPEG can work in a pinch so long as it has been minimally compressed.
Success!
And that’s it! You should have a high-quality image file saved to your computer, ready to send to us for book publishing. We hope this helps, but be sure to contact us if you have any trouble.
Need to supply us with a vector logo? Learn about vector files here.