Newbie: Why is image in editor so big ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Martin
  • Start date Start date
M

Martin

Hello,

I'm a newbie to scanners and I've got a canoscan 3200f and although
basic has had good reviews .

I'm trying to get to grips with the scanner by trying to scan a 6 by 4
print and selecting "flexible" or "6 by 4" in output size so that I can
then manipulate it in a basic photo editor, and then print it out. What
is happening is the scanner is transferring an image to the editor
(irfanview) which is huge and too big to handle.

So what happens, should I reduce the size when transferred to the editor
so that I can then work on it (lighten/darken etc) and will it then
automatically print out at 6 by 4.

Ideally I would like the idiots guide to scanning of a 6 by 4 photo and
then hopefully progress.

Thanks.

Martin.
 
Hello,

I'm a newbie to scanners and I've got a canoscan 3200f and although
basic has had good reviews .

I'm trying to get to grips with the scanner by trying to scan a 6 by 4
print and selecting "flexible" or "6 by 4" in output size so that I can
then manipulate it in a basic photo editor, and then print it out. What
is happening is the scanner is transferring an image to the editor
(irfanview) which is huge and too big to handle.

So what happens, should I reduce the size when transferred to the editor
so that I can then work on it (lighten/darken etc) and will it then
automatically print out at 6 by 4.

Ideally I would like the idiots guide to scanning of a 6 by 4 photo and
then hopefully progress.

Thanks.

Martin.
Click to expand...

Scan at actual size at no more than 300ppi ("dpi"), if you want same size
prints. 600ppi if you want twice the output size.

And take the tour at:
http://scantips.com

M
 
Hello,

I'm a newbie to scanners and I've got a canoscan 3200f and although
basic has had good reviews .

I'm trying to get to grips with the scanner by trying to scan a 6 by 4
print and selecting "flexible" or "6 by 4" in output size so that I can
then manipulate it in a basic photo editor, and then print it out. What
is happening is the scanner is transferring an image to the editor
(irfanview) which is huge and too big to handle.

So what happens, should I reduce the size when transferred to the editor
so that I can then work on it (lighten/darken etc) and will it then
automatically print out at 6 by 4.
Click to expand...


No, images for printing are correctly much larger than images for the
video screen, and that is how it should be.

If you want to print a 6x4 inch copy of the 6x4 inch photo, then
scanning at 300 dpi is a good plan. This will give an image size of
(6 inches x 300 dpi) x (4 inches x 300 dpi) = 1800x1200 pixels,
which is larger than a 800x600 pixel or a 1024x768 pixel video screen.
That is the correct result for printing 6x4 inches at 300 dpi.

Editors have two ways to resize the image... The View menu (for example,
IrfanView View - Zoom Out) provides a TEMPORARY copy only for the current
screen, so that it all fits on the screen, but which does NOT affect the
original data, which is still large enough to print well.

Or IrfanView has the option View - Display Options which controls its
default in this matter. I think this is what you want, for example "Fit
images to the window" (or perhaps the "Fit Only Larger Images to the
Window" option). This works only in this temporary way, which is a good
thing.

The second way is that the Resize or Resample menu (for example IrfanView
Image - Resize/Resample) will PERMANENTLY make the actual image data
smaller, if that is the actual goal, for example for only video viewing
purposes, but which is probably not what you want to do for printing.
To print 6x4 inches at 300 dpi, then you need 1800x1200 pixels, which is
indeed larger than your video screen, and you dont want to make it
smaller.
 
Martin said:
Hello,

I'm a newbie to scanners and I've got a canoscan 3200f and although
basic has had good reviews .

I'm trying to get to grips with the scanner by trying to scan a 6 by 4
print and selecting "flexible" or "6 by 4" in output size so that I can
then manipulate it in a basic photo editor, and then print it out. What
is happening is the scanner is transferring an image to the editor
(irfanview) which is huge and too big to handle.

So what happens, should I reduce the size when transferred to the editor
so that I can then work on it (lighten/darken etc) and will it then
automatically print out at 6 by 4.

Ideally I would like the idiots guide to scanning of a 6 by 4 photo and
then hopefully progress.

Thanks.

Martin.
Click to expand...

Since you are using Irfanview to scan and view the image, change the display
setting in Irfanview to reduce the view of the image to fit the screen. In
Irfanview View>Display Options>Fit Only Big Images to Window. Will reduce
the entire image to fit the screen, but will not physically reduce the
actual image size.

DPI (Dots Per Inch) is used interchangeably with PPI (Pixels Per Inch).
Technically, they are not the same.

The Scanner setting you are using is not the best choice. The basic idea for
scanning a 6 X 4 print is to scan at what PPI that is needed to produce the
correct size image for the purpose you plan to use the image for. If you
want to Print the 6 x 4 at the best quality, then scan at 300 PPI. If you
want to post the picture on the web then, say you want a 640 x 480 pixel
image to display on a web page then the setting is 106.66 ppi. Math: 640
pixels / 6 inches=106.66 pixels per inch.

The Idiots Guide:
For good tips and an education on scanning go to:
http://www.scantips.com/
 
Thanks everyone for the advice . I've printed off the messages and will
check out the web address.

Martin
 
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