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Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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I just purchased a new all-in-one printer from Brothers and although it comes with scanning software, I need a good photo program that would allow me to customize my photo scans as I would like to enlarge my smaller photos and fix some minor defects. Does anyone have any recommendations other than Photoshop (too expensive). This is for scanning my family photos and not used for commercial purposes. Thanks for your recommendations
I just purchased a new all-in-one printer from Brothers and although it comes with scanning software, I need a good photo program that would allow me to customize my photo scans as I would like to enlarge my smaller photos and fix some minor defects.
You don't want to enlarge the image with software, you want to set the scanner to gather a lot of infomation. For 4*6's set the scanner at least 600DPI. Depending on the physical size of the item you're scanning there is different "sweet spots."
As far as photo editing software GIMP is free but like any software there is learning curve and for GIMP it's little steeper.
Do you want scanning software, or photo editing software?
For scanning software, I use Vuescan. It gives you total control of your scanner's capabilities, but is very different from photo editing software. That's not to say you can't do some editing during the scanning process, but it's really for scanning, and not for editing.
For photo editing, I use Photoshop. But you might take a look at Lightroom. I don't have it, but it's very popular and everyone who does use it, seems to love it. And it is reasonably priced, too.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,025,682 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
You don't want to enlarge the image with software, you want to set the scanner to gather a lot of infomation. For 4*6's set the scanner at least 600DPI. Depending on the physical size of the item you're scanning there is different "sweet spots."
As far as photo editing software GIMP is free but like any software there is learning curve and for GIMP it's little steeper.
Do you want scanning software, or photo editing software?
For scanning software, I use Vuescan. It gives you total control of your scanner's capabilities, but is very different from photo editing software. That's not to say you can't do some editing during the scanning process, but it's really for scanning, and not for editing.
For photo editing, I use Photoshop. But you might take a look at Lightroom. I don't have it, but it's very popular and everyone who does use it, seems to love it. And it is reasonably priced, too.
Thanks guys ... I will try to adjust the DPI settings on my scanner and see how they come out ... I just don't want to magnify the specks and other flaws inherent in older pics. I'm trying to enlarge my photos ... I was able to do that easily with the software that came with my HP printer but now I have a Brothers printer and still trying to make sense out of the scanning software.
BTW: Could you clarify something for me ... I have the option of selecting TWAIN or WIA for scanning ... What is the difference and which setting is recommended for scanning photos?
You may remove specks but that is only because they get soft and blurry along with the detail in your image. This is a 4*6 that was scanned at 600DPI I've scaled down for here.
Now if you were to zoom on the original image this is what it looks like, this is the actual detail in the original scan:
If you were to scan this at a lower DPI and then increase the size you get a soft and featureless image:
The point is scaling an image up really has no purpose. The only time there is legitimate reason to do this if you want to print a low resolution image and you don't have access to the original.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatteress
I just don't want to magnify the specks and other flaws inherent in older pics. I'm trying to enlarge my photos ...
I know photoimpact has a despeckle filter and any other software you use is going to have similar features. Neat Image is excellent program for removing all kinds of crap. There is free but limited demo:
Ultimately it depends on your goals but if your goal is to archive these scans and you have intentions of scanning a lot of them I'd urge you to look into getting a scanner with digital ice or similar technology.
Quote:
BTW: Could you clarify something for me ... I have the option of selecting TWAIN or WIA for scanning ... What is the difference and which setting is recommended for scanning photos?
A quick research shows WIA is proprietary Microsoft communication protocol, I'd avoid it.
Quote:
What are TWAIN and WIA?
WIA (Windows Image Acquisition) is a Microsoft utility that is supplied as part of Windows. Like TWAIN, WIA allows you to scan directly with a "WIA compliant" scanner into any application that supports WIA or TWAIN - all TWAIN compliant applications support WIA as well.
Unlike TWAIN, however, the scanning dialog that appears when you scan and the controls on it are variations on a basic Microsoft design. This means that the level of functionality and scanning control that are available in a WIA interface are less comprehensive than in a well-written TWAIN interface.
Last edited by thecoalman; 08-01-2020 at 05:30 PM..
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,025,682 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
You may remove specks but that is only because they get soft and blurry along with the detail in your image. This is a 4*6 that was scanned at 600DPI I've scaled down for here.
Now if you were to zoom on the original image this is what it looks like, this is the actual detail in the original scan:
If you were to scan this at a lower DPI and then increase the size you get a soft and featureless image:
The point is scaling an image up really has no purpose. The only time there is legitimate reason to do this if you want to print a low resolution image and you don't have access to the original.
I know photoimpact has a despeckle filter and any other software you use is going to have similar features. Neat Image is excellent program for removing all kinds of crap. There is free but limited demo:
Ultimately it depends on your goals but if your goal is to archive these scans and you have intentions of scanning a lot of them I'd urge you to look into getting a scanner with digital ice or similar technology.
A quick research shows WIA is proprietary Microsoft communication protocol, I'd avoid it.
Thanks for clarifying this for me
So if I were to increase the DPI to 600 or 1200, would I be able to scan a wallet sized photo so it can print at 4 by 6 (or larger)?
There is no downside to increasing DPI, there is one caveat. Check the max optical resolution of your scanner, you don't want to exceed that even though it will. There is no benefit going beyond the max optical resoltion becsue it's just like increasing the size with software.
While on the topic if you get a lint free cloth and/or can of compressed air you can use them on the images and the scanner bed to help with the dust.
There is no downside to increasing DPI, there is one caveat. Check the max optical resolution of your scanner, you don't want to exceed that even though it will. There is no benefit going beyond the max optical resoltion becsue it's just like increasing the size with software.
While on the topic if you get a lint free cloth and/or can of compressed air you can use them on the images and the scanner bed to help with the dust.
Perfect ... This is the info I was looking for ... I just did not know exactly what I needed to get the job done! Thanks a bunch!
Just a little bit more of information on DPI (dots per inch) and how it pertains to scanning. If you had an image that is 1 in. wide and 1 in. high and set it for 600DPI the resultant image would be 600 pixels high and 600 pixels wide. If it were 2 inches wide and high and you set it at 300DPI the resultant image is still 600 pixels wide and 600 pixels high.
Those DPI settings I gave you will result in similar sized images when you consider the pixel dimensions. The reason you don't use higher DPI with the larger images is because there isn't that much information to gather.
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