About
It often seems like turning a piece of paper into a PDF should be an easy task that only takes a few minutes to produce a nice, clear, and clean digital document that you can put into your computer. While this is sometimes the case, more often than not, they are tricky. The next time you are faced with a large scanning project or need digital copies of everything try these “best practice” scanning techniques to make the task easier.
Consider
- What color is your document?
- Grayscale—this is best for OCR (Optical Character Software or scanning software) but can create large files
- Color—only scan in color when absolutely necessary due to large files that may be difficult to save
- Black & White—Great for everything else due to versatility and file size
- What quality or resolution do you need your document to be?
- 200 dpi—equal to a “high” fax quality
- 300 dpi – is best for most things (creates a clear, usable image with a easily managed file size)
- 600 dpi—This is typically more than needed unless scanning small text or photographs (large file size)
- What brightness does your document need?
- Start with your brightness at 50%
- Adjust in either direction if the scan is too dark or light
- Straightness is important
- Helps create a clear and easy to read scan
- Especially important for OCR software to read document
Suggestion: Review the manuals for your scanner for specific instructions.
Link to Send Google Drive Attachments in Gmail to be used when the attachment is too large for email.
To view, print and comment on PDF's download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.
For more help, please contact ITS at its@manhattan.edu or 718-862-7973.