The scanning surface being only 8 1/2 by 11 is a problem. I'd probably do some convoluted reductions on the copier, piece the pieces together and then scan the reduced and pieced together pieces depending upon the price differential between scanners. A while back, the following article and reply was in Ancestry.com's daily newsletter. If you are interested in picture or document repair before you scan, they might be of interest. It's not easy to weight the advantages of hardware or software either!! It takes months for me to make a decision about either!! So in the interest of more information and more difficult decisions, I copied the article and one reply below: Good Scanner for $200 Microtek 6800 is not the only flatbed scanner equipped with the Digital ICE. Microtek has shipped the i300, which not only features ICE but handles slides and negatives, and has a price tag under $200. It's on my Christmas list. Photo Restoration Service Online; Professional http://www.onlinephotofix.com Onlinephotofix.com ===================================================================== "ROOTSWORKS: BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY, PART III--USING THE SCANNER TO ENHANCE THE PHOTO," by Beau Sharbrough ===================================================================== We've been talking about basic photography. We've discussed the common mistakes that beginners make (http://www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=831&key=A779101 ) and some ways to make your photos into artwork. (http://www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=831&key=A784301 ) This week, we're talking about using the scanner to enhance the image. The scanner? You might be thinking that I have confused the scanner with a photo-editing program. Well, there is a bit of a gray area there, admittedly. First, let's define some terms. Scanners are controlled by programs called "Scanner Drivers." The Scanner installation program is the one that copies those programs to your computer. Just like there are many different kinds of scanners, there are many different kinds of scanner drivers. In general, we would rather perform a function (such as descreening) in the scanning stage than afterward. SIZE MATTERS A digital photo's size is measured in dots, called "pixels" for "picture elements." If you scan a 4x6 photo at 200 dots per inch (DPI), the resulting image will be 800 pixels high and 1200 pixels across. If you want to make the picture larger, you can scan it at 300 DPI. Most scanners sold today can scan at 1600 DPI or more. Here's one thing that confuses people--there is no difference in increasing the resolution and enlarging the image on the scanner. If you increase the resolution from 200 to 400 DPI, it has the same effect as enlarging the image 200%. Even though there are two different controls that you can adjust, they have a single effect. There is no better time to enlarge your photo than in the scanning process. Once you've scanned an image, you've got all the dots you're going to get. After that, if you want to enlarge the image, you have to "make up" the dots that will go between the ones you've scanned--a process called "interpolation." But if you want to scan at a "higher resolution" you can do that--and the dots actually come from the image. It's not just enlarging the entire image. I have a picture of my uncle when he was in the army. There must be 200 guys in the picture. My uncle's face takes up about 1/8 of a square inch on the page. If I wanted to make a 4x6 image of that, I'd have to scan it at the maximum optical resolution of my scanner. DESCREENING In the recent article about scanning newspapers, we talked about "descreening." When materials are printed in newspapers, magazines, and other media printed on presses, the artwork is "screened" and printed on the media at an angle. This creates an interference process, which needs to be "descreened" to make the image look right. If your scanner driver includes a descreening setting, you will want to use that one, instead of one in a graphics program that you use later in the process of enhancing the photo. HISTOGRAM A histogram is a name for a graph that shows how many pixels in the image have a given lightness or darkness. You can use the histograms to adjust the brightness before creating the scanned image. This same function is available in your photo manipulation program, but it's good to do it earlier if you can. If your scanner driver has brightness settings, you might want to adjust those before you save the scanned image. A histogram has a graph that looks more or less like a mountain, with a high middle and low ends. They don't all look like that, but work with me here, it's complicated. Below the graph are two triangles, one at each end. One is for black, and one is for white, but ignore that and just try to get the ends close to the data. If there's any air between the triangles and the mountain, you need to slide the triangles inward, until the triangle is under the edge of the mountain. If your mountain looks like several mountains, only move the triangles in until you get to the first one. If you scan them in color, you'll have a red, blue, and green histogram to fix. For three fun times, you get to bracket the mountain. But wait, there's more. Between the two triangles on the ends is a triangle in the middle. That's the midpoint, the gray value. If you slide it left or right, you change the brightness of the image. It's a great way to make a picture stop looking milky, and really pop. An example can be found at: http://home.att.net/~cthames/Histogram1.htm UNSHARP MASK The Unsharp Mask is a confusing name for a function that tries to sharpen photos that lack focus. What it does is increase the contrast wherever light and dark areas are close together. If you have an unsharp mask setting on your scanner, you might want to use that to sharpen the image while you scan it. DIGITAL ICE Applied Science Fiction makes a computer program named Digital ICE. This program can repair cracks and scratches during the scan. There is only one flatbed scanner that contains this firmware--the Microtek 6800. It's priced between $340 and $400. You can find examples at: http://www.asf.com/gallery/ice/flat/ . If you've ever spent hours trying to clean up a scratched image, you will want to check this out. SUMMARY You can use a scanner to enhance an image in more ways than you might have imagined. Try them all, and have fun. Next time we'll talk about the basic use of photo editing programs like Photoshop Elements. MORE INFORMATION For links and more information about basic photography, please see the RootsWorks site at: http://www.rootsworks.com/basicphoto . If you want to discuss your photography challenges, please drop by the RootsWorks Forums at: http://www.rootsworks.com/forums . Registration is free, and I'd be interested to know what kinds of issues you are facing. ___________________________________________________________________ Beau Sharbrough is a product manager at Ancestry.com. His articles contain his own views and opinions and do not reflect any corporate policy or statement by the company. The RootsWorks series of articles focuses on genealogical applications for generic technologies. Beau would like to hear from you. Whether you have something to add or something to ask, please point your browser to http://www.rootsworks.com/forums and discuss this or any topic related to the use of technology in family history. Tell us about your experiences. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual computer problems. Visit the RootsWorks website (http://www.rootsworks.com ) for links to previous articles and Beau's lecture schedule. Copyright 2003, MyFamily.com. PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION http://www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=831&key=A789401 Photo Restoration, Enhancement, Keeping photos "A picture is worth a thousand words--but only as long as it can be viewed and appreciated. This is as true for our cherished heirloom photos as it is for the family photos that were shot during the last holiday season. If you haven't given much consideration to preserving and sharing those old family photographs, it's time to take advantage of the possibilities available. "While preservation of your old photos should be a top priority, there are a variety of ways you can make reproductions of your photos to give to family members and those that will come after you. Aside from the opportunity to share the genealogical wealth in your family, a more practical reason for copying your photos is to ensure that your family images are spared in the event of a catastrophe..." Follow link below to read more: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redirect.asp?targetid=5255&sourceid=10772&ATT=ahN TBREjYZUU%5Fzorowo7xE%2ACvPwtGNCAJJRoAE The following articles contain more information: * "Using Photoshop Elements to Enhance a Photo," by Beau Sharbrough http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redirect.asp?targetid=5256&sourceid=10773&ATT=ahN TBREjYZUU%5Fzorowo7xE%2ACvPwtGNCAJJRoAE * "Scanning Slides and Negatives," by Beau Sharbrough http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redirect.asp?targetid=5257&sourceid=10774&ATT=ahN TBREjYZUU%5Fzorowo7xE%2ACvPwtGNCAJJRoAE -----Original Message----- From: WoodworthW@aol.com [mailto:WoodworthW@aol.com] Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 10:18 PM To: GEN-COMP-TIPS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [Gen-Comp-Tips] Scanners and printers The problem with that is the legal paper (8.5x14, 8.5x17) extends beyond the 8.5x11 glass, and even though the "copier" has the capability of reduction, whatever is outside the glass gets chopped off. Woody ~~~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~ peer@mindspring.com writes: If the copier has a reducing feature, couldn't the legal pages be reduced to letter size by using the reducing setting, then copying them, then scanned; then enlarged on the computer if the reduced size is too small? Marie -----Original Message----- From: Doris Mathis [mailto:doris40@aeroinc.net] Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 8:05 PM To: GEN-COMP-TIPS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [Gen-Comp-Tips] Scanners and printers Pat, I have an HP psc 2210 (printer, scanner, copier and fax) and I love it. It isn't the legal size but you can get them that size. I've copied pictures on photo paper and they've come out great. I don't have a digital camera, so I can't tell you how that works. Doris ----- Original Message ----- From: marsha moses To: GEN-COMP-TIPS-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 8:52 PM Subject: Re: [Gen-Comp-Tips] Scanners and printers I have been totally happy with my 4 in one. It is an Epson Stylus CX6400. I do not print out my own photos--I take them to Walmart, so I can not tell you how the photo printing is. But I am totally happy with everything that I do with this printer/scanner. Marsha in WV Pat Fite wrote: >I am interested in buying a 4 in 1 combination printer, scanner, copier and >fax machine. >I want it to do color pictures and be able to scan legal size documents, >preferable on >a flat bed rather than sheet fed. I will be using this for my genealogy >work. > >If this is not the proper place to ask this question, could someone give me >the proper >newsgroup. > > >Pat ==== GEN-COMP-TIPS Mailing List ==== DO NOT open unexpected file attachments from people, even if you know them. Verify with the sender first. This may be your only line of defence, other than AV Software, against mail "viruses" ============================== Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.760 / Virus Database: 509 - Release Date: 9/10/2004 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.760 / Virus Database: 509 - Release Date: 9/10/2004