Scanning existing photographic prints is a popular use for digital imaging. By scanning existing digital images, you can preserve vintage photographs on CD-Rs and CD-RWs, repair and retouch your family album, and share images with friends and family without losing control of your valuable negatives or original prints. You can email or post your images on a Web site, even when they were not shot with your digital camera. In order to take advantage of these opportunities to use and share your existing photos in a digital format, you need to scan them into digital images.
The steps provided in the following sections apply to a commonly available Hewlett Packard (HP) Scanjet scanner. The first example uses the generic Windows Scanner Wizard to scan a photograph. The second example uses the more flexible HP software that comes with HP scanners. Scanners from other manufacturers and the software that comes with them are likely to have slight differences. Even if you're not using an HP scanner, these steps help guide you through the process.
From time to time, clean the scanner bed with an ammonia-based glass-cleaning product. Doing so helps to prevent unnecessary dust, fingerprints, and dirt from scanning along with your images.
Scan a Photo Using Windows Scanner Wizard
Follow these steps to use Windows Scanner Wizard:
1. Place the photo you wish to scan face up on your scanner glass plate and close the cover.
2. Choose Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> Scanner and Camera Wizard.
Your specific scanner may have special requirements or special software to scan with. In this case, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
3. After the Scanner and Camera Wizard Welcome screen opens, click Next to move to the Choose Scanning Preferences screen.
4. Select the type of image you wish to scan from the Picture Type option buttons. The options are:
• Color picture: Choose this option when scanning color pictures.
• Grayscale picture: Choose this option when scanning a black and white photograph. Grayscale pictures contain shades of white, black, and gray.
• Black and white picture or text: Choose this option when scanning a black and white drawing or text. A black and white picture consists of solid black and white.
• Custom: Choose this option if you wish to modify the color and brightness attributes of the scanned image.
5. Click Preview to have the scanner create a preview scan of your photograph.
This scan is not final, but allows you to choose the section of the image you want to include in your final scan.
6. After the preview scan is complete, drag the dotted select box around the portion of the photo that you want to scan.
7. Click the Next button to continue to the Picture Name and Destination screen.
8. Type or select (by clicking the downward-pointing arrow on the right side of each list box) your preferences for the image's location and file type.
Specify these preferences:
• Type a name for this group of pictures: Create a folder name for your scanned images.
• Select a file format: Select the finished file type. The choices are: JPEG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, FPX, and PNG.
• Choose a place to save this group of pictures: Select the folder on your hard drive to store the scanned images.
9. Click Next to begin the scan. After the scan finishes, the Other Options screen appears.
Here, select whether you want to:
• Publish these pictures to a Web site: Select the picture or pictures you want to place on a Web site. You have to tell the wizard where to publish the pictures online.
• Order prints of these pictures from a photo printing Web site: Select a picture or pictures you want to print and you're offered a selection of online printing services to choose from.
• Nothing. I'm finished with these pictures: A summary window appears; click Finish to exit the wizard.
Scan a Photo Using HP Photo and Imaging Director
Follow these steps to use the HP Photo and Imaging Director:
1. Place the photograph you want to scan on your scanner glass plate and close the cover.
2. Start the HP Director software. For example, to start an HP scanner, choose Start --> Programs --> Hewlett-Packard --> HP Digital Imaging Device, and click Photo and Imaging Director.
Some scanners have shortcut buttons on the hardware to give you a different method of starting the scanner software. Consult your scanner's instruction manual for the instructions for starting your model. (You can also find this information at the manufacturer's Web site.)
3. When Director opens, select your scanner from the drop-down list.
4. Choose Scan --> New Scan to begin a preview scan of your photograph.
5. When the preview scan is complete, drag the dotted select box around the portion of the photo you want to scan.
6. Click the Accept button to initiate the scan.
The HP Image Gallery window stores the finished scan for additional image processing or use.
