TPC 10-1 Digital Imaging

Flatbed scanners, which somewhat resemble a copy machine in their functionality, are the most common type of desktop scanner. Documents are placed onto a glass plate which the head moves underneath. Flatbed scanners are versatile. They have the ability to scan flat originals of various sizes and can even scan small three-dimensional objects. Flatbeds usually give the best combination of quality and flexibility.
Sheetfed scanners resemble a fax machine more than a copier. This is because a sheetfed moves the paper being scanned past the scanning heads instead of the other way around. Sheetfed scanners tend to scan pages less clear than a flatbed scanner because of the difficulty of moving the sheet of paper without introducing distortions in the document. Sheetfed scanners still work well for handling paperwork (mainly text).
Photoscanners, as their name implies, scan photos to turn them into digitized images. This type of scanner is usually fairly small and made especially for scanning color photos.
Resolution - is how many pixels a scanner can see in a given image. With a higher resolution you get a sharper image. With a lower resolution you would get a lower quality image. Higher resolution scanners tend to cost more but provide the best results. How much resolution do you need? If you will be printing your scans on a traditional printing press, and working with several different sized images, get the highest resolution you can afford. If you will be displaying items primarily on screen then a 300 dpi scanner should give you the resolution you are looking for.
Bit Depth is also another consideration. Different scanners record different amounts of an item scanned. These amounts are measured in bit depth. The higher the bit, the more details and color your scanner will record. Most color scanners are 24 bits. What does this mean for you? It means that they capture 8 bits of each of the primary scanning colors (red, blue, & green), and can capture over 16 million colors.
Dynamic Range is very similar to bit depth in that it measures how wide of range of tones the scanner can catch. The scale of measurement used for this ranges from 0.0 being a perfect white to 4.0 being perfect black. The dynamic number given for a scanner tells how much of that range it can distinguish.
The Scanning Method is also important to consider when choosing a scanner. In part, the scanned image's overall quality is determined by how the scanner collects data. Flatbed scanners take two different approaches:

CCD (charged coupled devices) scanners pass a light source over a document on a scanning bed and use mirrors and also a lens to focus the item on the chip.
CIS (contact image sensor) scanners have a single row of sensors placed very close to the document. The result of this is a scanner that is more slim and cheaper then CCD scanners, but does not offer the quality of images that the CCD's do.

Scanning Area should also be a consideration when buying a scanner. Most flatbed scanners have a range of 8.5" x 11" to 8.5" x 14".
Scanner Speed - How often you scan will determine how fast you need your scanner to scan. Generally if you scan a couple items a day, a slow scanner will probably not matter. But if you scan large numbers of documents, then you are going to want more speed.

http://www.apogeephoto.com/july2000/scanner.shtml - 6 steps to buying a scanner

http://desktoppub.about.com/compute/desktoppub/library/weekly/aa031097.htm - online info on buying a scanner

http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/stories/main/0,5594,2242674,00.html

4. File Types and Sizes

Basic File Type - http://webs.kodak.com/US/en/digital/dlc/book2/chapter4/index.shtml

Relates file type to Program - http://basil.plu.edu/~libr/workshops/scanning/output.html

Which File Type to Use? - http://www.scantips.com/basics09.html

Saving Scans - http://home.att.net/~cthames/Saving1.htm

Memory costs of Images - http://www.scantips.com/basics1d.html

Arithmetic of Image Sizes - http://www.shortcourses.com/how/resolution/images.htm

5. Software

List of Software Help Sites - http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/scansw/index.htm
Great course with tutorials on using different software packages http://basil.plu.edu/~libr/workshops/scanning/contents.html -
http://www.scanhelp.com - lists software and reviews

6. What is OCR?

Basic definition - http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/o/optical_character_recognition.html
Short course - http://basil.plu.edu/~libr/workshops/scanning/ocr.html
Helpful tips - http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/stories/main/0,5594,905366,00.html
Lots of resources - http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/ocr/index.htm
Using TextBridge - http://www.mustek.com.tw/Class/ocr.html
ScanSoft's TextBridge page - http://www.textbridge.com/scanners

7. Let's Do It! - Performing a Basic Scan

The Digital Imaging Revolution: Legal Implications and Possible Solutions - http://www.umassd.edu/Public/People/KAmaral/Thesis/digitalimaging.html
Some copyright information - http://www3.utsystem.edu/ogc/IntellectualProperty/image.htm
The copyright and fair use web site - http://fairuse.stanford.edu
Using an HP Scanner - http://k-12.pisd.edu/techs/dhitt/scanHP.pdf
Using a MicroTek Scanner - http://k-12.pisd.edu/techs/dhitt/scanMTEK.pdf
Great course with tutorials on using different software packages - http://basil.plu.edu/~libr/workshops/scanning/contents.html
Getting better scans - http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/scanbetter/index.htm
Scanning photos http://nebulus.org/hosted/pixelpub/page34.html
A scanning calculator - http://www.infomedia.net/scan/calcs.html
Another scanning calculator http://graphicdesign.about.com/arts/graphicdesign/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.infomedia.net/scan/calcs.html -

Taking a Scanned Image and Inserting It In Another Program

Use one of the scanners provided to scan an image (can be a photo or text pages, just remember, a basic scan of text pages converts the page into an image file, not a text file you can edit, you need special OCR software that does not always work well).
Save the image to a floppy disk. Make sure the image saves as a .jpg or .gif file (you can usually change this when you choose the Save As command from the scanning program).
Take the disk with your image back to the computer. Open Word (an icon should be on the desktop).
Click on the Insert Menu and point to the Picture option. Click on From File.
Navigate to the A: floppy drive. Find your file and left double click. You should now see your image.
You can resize the image the same way you would resize clipart. Right-click on the picture and choose Format Picture for more options (including the option of wrapping text around a picture).

8. Finding More Information

***http://webs.kodak.com/US/en/digital/dlc/plus/index.shtml - kodak main page, lots of digital imagine fun and info
http://webs.kodak.com/US/en/digital/dlc/book1/index.shtml
***http://graphicssoft.about.com/compute/graphicssoft/cs/photoprojects
http://home.att.net/~cthames/index.htm - basic scanning
http://www.scantips.com/begin.html - never used a scanner before?
http://www.macworld.com/2000/12/howto/scan.html - 3-D scanning
http://arttech.about.com/hobbies/arttech/library/howto/ht_scanner_images.htm
http://graphicssoft.about.com/compute/graphicssoft/cs/framesedges
http://www.mccannas.com/book/chapter4/ptile4.htm - turn an object into a web background
http://graphicssoft.about.com/compute/graphicssoft/cs/photofunswpc/index.htm?terms=digital+imaging+projects - use a software program to enhance/alter a digital image
***http://www.hp.com/printing_ideas/index.html - HP's Printsville - lots of ideas and activities mainly K-8 (but neat things for secondary too J
http://desktoppub.about.com/compute/desktoppub/library/weekly/aa981229.htm - good intro and list of things to do
http://www.dtp-aus.com/dtpscnrm.html - a free program that calculates scanning resolutions
http://graphicdesign.about.com/arts/graphicdesign/msubduse.htm - good site
***http://playground.kodak.com/cgi-bin/filterFactory/asCgi.pl?app=home&laf=playground - Kodak Picture Playground
http://arttech.about.com/hobbies/arttech/blfreebies_graphics.htm?terms=digital+imaging+projects - some free programs and images to work with
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/stories/main/0,5594,2411805,00.html - things to do with scanners - has good links
http://www.scanjet.hp.com/default.htm - HP's main scanning page
http://desktoppub.about.com/library/weekly/aa031097.htm - Good list of resources
http://peripherals.about.com/compute/peripherals/library/weekly/aa081999.htm -The basics and good links
http://desktoppub.about.com/compute/desktoppub/cs/moire/index.htm - More tips on scanning from a book
http://www.kotev.co.il/scantips.htm
http://www.infomedia.net/scan/The-Scan-FAQ.html - very good basics
http://www.scanjet.com/learn_to_scan

9. Using the Scanner in the Classroom

http://www.liberty.k12.ga.us/techconnect/classactscan.htm - Classroom activities - try this elementary activity http://www.liberty.k12.ga.us/techconnect/classabcscan.htm
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~wazmac/news_items/1999/march99/mosi.html - Using the scanner in the science classroom
http://198.41.70.4/CarencroMid/workshops/scanner.htm - Classroom projects using a scanner
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/webcamp/final_projects/fitzpatrick/teachtips.html - example of a large project that uses a scanner.
http://www.classroom-activities.com/article1056.html - a newspaper activity that uses a scanner
http://edtech.denver.k12.co.us/planner/idbank/ibperif.htm - some examples of scanning projects
http://www.wilsonvhs.wlwv.k12.or.us/projects.htm - Classroom activities
http://asterix.ednet.lsu.edu/~kfossey/4507/Ancient3.html - example of a lesson with scanner integrated
http://204.169.139.223/infohound/FourthGrade.html - many of these lessons use scanners
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/childdev/snappyscannerideas.htm - some basic ideas
http://www.serct.vic.edu.au/capc/multmed/trudy.htm - KidPix and scanners
http://webs.kodak.com/US/en/digital/dlc/plus/index.shtml
http://webs.kodak.com/US/en/digital/dlc/book1/index.shtml
www.sikeston.k12.mo.us/mgilmer/dig_cam/
www.4j.lane.edu/~ketterer/digital
http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/lon/lonlinks/digicam/home.html
http://graphicssoft.about.com/compute/graphicssoft/cs/photoprojects
http://arttech.about.com/hobbies/arttech/library/howto/ht_scanner_images.htm
http://www.wilsonvhs.wlwv.k12.or.us/projects.htm
http://graphicssoft.about.com/compute/graphicssoft/cs/framesedges
http://www.mccannas.com/book/chapter4/ptile4.htm - turn an object into a web background
http://graphicssoft.about.com/compute/graphicssoft/cs/photofunswpc/index.htm?terms=digital+imaging+projects - use a software program to enhance/alter a digital image

last updated March 25, 2002