All you need to know about how to scan your art
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DIGITAL IMAGE files are now the standard way images are recorded
One of the best ways of generating a digital image of your artwork is to scan it
This section looks at:
  • Why scanning is the best alternative to photography
  • Different types of scanner 
  • DIY: how to scan artwork
  • Upgrade to a large format professional grade scanner
  • Professional digital imaging services
  • Glossary of scanning terminology
After reading this you should understand more about
  • how scanning works and
  • why scanning is often a preferable route to creating a good digital image record of your artwork - especially if it is going to be published in a book or as a reproduction print.
Picture
a professional grade large format canner by Epson

SCANNING - the best alternative to photography

Scanning is the best alternative to photography.

A scanner can give you a fast and good result for small works.
  • Most non-professional scanners are usually only suitable for images not exceeding 8.5 by 11.0 inches (i.e. 'A4 paper size' or US Letter size). (I have been known to size artwork to fit the scanner!)
  • heck also that it produces a scan of at least 150 dpi.

​Indeed if your work is small and on paper and you have a scanner with a high resolution scanning tends to produce better results than photography - because it's very easy to control the light

If you produce a lot of small work and have the space you might want to invest in a professional quality scanner.  You can get ones up to A3 size before they become seriously expensive.
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When buying a new multifunction printer my main obsession is with the quality of the scanning function! 

Some tips:
  • you do NOT want anything marketed as a document scanner
    • scanning text and scanning fine art are two totally different tasks.
    • You want a scanner which is optimised for scanning graphic or art images or photos
  • while print resolution is normally 300 dpi, you want to get as high resolution as you can get because it picks up much more of the detail in the work - which is then very useful if you want to print a small crop as a macro
REFERENCE:

What are flatbed scanners?
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A flatbed scanner is something an artist can afford - and it's sensible to buy. However you need to weigh up size against cost to purchase
A scanner that provides a flat, glass surface to hold a sheet of paper, book or other object for scanning. The scan head is moved under the glass. Flatbed scanners often come with sheet feeders for scanning multiple sheets of paper rather than one at a time.

​Contrast with "sheet-fed scanner," which accepts only paper, and contrast with handheld scanner and drum scanner.
PCMag Encyclopaedia
  • Amateur scanners have a relatively small platen and lower dpi - most are A4/Letter size; see my scanner below
  • Professional scanners can and are bought by artists. These offer higher resolution scanning of large format images ( up to A3 / 25.8" longest side) - see an example used by artists below
  • Professional / commercial flatbed scanners are very large, extremely expensive and can scan artworks measured in metres - see commercial scanning services below

What are drum scanners?
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A drum scanner is ​a type of scanner which produces a very high digital resolution image of small to large size images e.g. photos, transparencies, artwork - which can be taped to the drum. Drum scanners can be very difficult to locate and sometimes the ones you do find are prohibitively expensive. That's essentially because they are set up to create scans of items far larger and sometimes more complex than your artwork and their equipment and fees are set to match
Benefits of a drum scanner
  • produces very high resolution images
Features of a drum scanner
  • the item to be scanned is fixed to a transparent drum
  • the drum rotates at very high speed eg more than 1,000 RPM
  • light focuses on the image one pixel at a time
  • the scanning process moves down the item being scanned very slowly

Why use a drum scanner?
  • if you want very high resolution images of very large or very difficult images

What's it used for?
  • used for photographs, transparencies,
  • used for very large artwork (i.e. artwork which will be damaged if pressed using a flatbed)​
A drum scanner acts essentially as a precision digital camera, used to scan reflective and transparent materials at an extremely high resolution. It captures the image with analog light, producing the most detail possible in each color channel and then converts it to a digital file. With this, you achieve essentially noise-less shadow areas, increased detail in the shadows on transparency film, and overall increased sharpness and tonality.
Drum Scanning - What exactly is it?​
REFERENCE - DRUM SCANNERS

What are large format colour scanners?
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These are VERY expensive and are the scanners used by professional printing services to produce large format images.
They are not something most artists can afford to invest in. However, you access them if you pay for a professional colour scanning service. I recommend you ask them what technology they use.

What are mobile scanners?
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Mobile and cloud scan services allow you to scan wirelessly . Hence you use your smartphone or tablet - within the home, studio or on the go -to do the scanning and then save the file on your device or send it to a remote device you use for printing.

​They're typically used for DOCUMENTS not images.

​What are handheld scanners?
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Handheld scanners can be used to convert physical documents into digital images - by holding the scanner over the document - or the digital product code.

Most advanced mobile phones and tablets can now scan documents and images.  However the element of handholding means that distortion of the image is likely as the image will not be precisely lined up with the scanning device.

How to scan artwork - DIY 

Get your own scanner
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You can scan your own artwork yourself IF you have:
  • your artwork is small enough
  • ​your artwork is flat (2D)
  • access to a scanner
  • with a flat platen (the part you lay your artwork on)
  • which exceeds the size of your image.
It's possible to buy flatbed scanners at an A3 size

Buying a scanner can be quite an investment. However you can also buy good quality scanners for artwork which is no more than A4/Letter size for an economical price.

You need:
  • a scanner with a surface the same size or larger than your artwork
  • a pristine clean glass platen (clean it first to make sure)
OR you need to be prepared to stitch scans together to make a larger digital image - using image processing software.

The dots per inch (dpi) resolution is important
  • Scan at a minimum of 300+ dpi for images that will be printed / used for reproductions
  • For digital images to be seen online only you can scan between 72 dpi and 150 dpi - depending on the size of the image file required​
TIP: BEFORE YOU START
  • Clean the platen glass with glass cleaner and a lintless cloth andwipe to ensure there are no smears
  • Check between scans that there is no dust on either the platen or the item being scanned. 
  • If you can see dust, use a rubber air blower or an electrostatic brush (the sort used by photographers) to remove all dust from the platen
  • Place the image face down on the platen. Make sure that it fits within the area being scanned
  • Complete all the commands as to what type/size/format/destination of scan you want
  • Use the scope to check your scan before you scan properly
CASE STUDY

​This is my Canon Printer Scanner MG7751.
  • It produces excellent scans with an optical resolution (horizontal x vertical) max: 2400 x 4800 dpi
  • My previous printer/scanner did 9,600 dpi but I couldn't find a replacement in a multi-functional unit!
  • It's also limited to letter size paper.

TIP I get the best results when I put a heavy book on top of the lid so that there is a tight fit when the lid is closed on top of the platen and all light is excluded

You can also scan 3D objects if you keep the lid up and cover the objects in black velvet or some other dark dense cloth.  

​I used to use Photoshop to scan my images. I now use Apple's "Image Capture" - see the image below.

Upgrade your scanner
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If you aim to produce professional quality scans you:
  • EITHER need to source access to a professional grade scanner (some art schools / organisations own an A3 scanner which they let members / students use)
  • OR upgrade your own scanner to a professional standard scanner

UPGRADE Requirements
  • buy a graphics scanner used by professionals and/or designed for artwork (NOT a document scanner)
  • focus on large format scanning i.e increase image size  to A3 by increasing the size of the platen
  • increase optical scanning resolution to achieve better quality images
  • CHECK whether it will work with your computing device's operating system

There are various large format scanners on the market - and they are NOT cheap.
TIP: SCANNER UPGRADE OPTIONS

Given the expense of a professional quality scanner, be sure to look at
  • the alternative options and read the reviews they get.
  • ask other people you know who have invested in a superior scanner what they think of theirs. 
  • consider options for an art community purchase 
  • remember you can usually offset the cost of business machinery required for your professional business against tax BUT check the tax laws that apply in your country of residence for how these work for
    • self-employed artists
    • or art societies
  • (NOTE: Tax allowances for business machinery are generally not available for hobby artists i.e. you need to making enough income to justify your business status)
PROFESSIONAL GRAPHICS SCANNER

​This is the Epson Expression 12000XL
  • Professional large-format scanning offering superior performance for graphic art scans
  • Image Size: A3 / 25.8 x 18 x 6.2 inches
  • Resolution: 2400 x 4800 dpi resolution, micro Step drive technology and a 3. 8 Dmax for brilliant clarity and detail
  • fast warm-up LED lamp​
  • Hi-Speed USB cable.
  • ​save files to a PC or Mac
  • ​NOT inexpensive - but you get what you pay for!

Software for scanning
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​If you want to produce your own scans you also need software to
  • capture the scanned image and
  • process it.

You can
  • either buy this
  • or pay a monthly charge for the software (ie what Adobe wants you to do because they make more money!)
  • or use the software provided on your computer or with your printer.
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I use (Apple) Image Capture on my iMac and what my screen looks like is displayed below. This allows me to specify a number of variables and also make a number of adjustments. For example it allows me to specify the resolution level.
TIP: THINGS TO THINK ABOUT RE. SOFTWARE

The basic variables for any scan are:
  • type of scan: monochrome or colour (or text) - they each require different capabilities of the scanner
  • resolution: 300 dpi is good enough for printing. Higher resolutions create much better scans and much bigger files - but your scanning device must be capable of scanning at these levels (eg my scanning is limited by the maximum resolution of my Canon Printer Scanner MG7751 - which has an  Optical resolution (horizontal x vertical) max: 2400 x 4800 dpi)
  • dimensions: pixels or inches or centimetres - and how many. My scanner has a number of presets for standard formats
  • destination: the destination folder on your computer. The better organised your folder system is, the easier it is to locate digital files when you want them!
  • name of file: detail a unique name for your scan file - I recommend artwork name and date of scan. You can also add in your own name if the can is being sent to other people.
scanning coloured pencil drawing
What I see on my screen when scanning one of my coloured pencil drawings: type of scanning (colour); resolution (300 dpi); size of the scan (9x12 inches); where to save it: a specific folder on my iMac
REFERENCE:
​These articles discuss and display various different ways of creating SCANS OF ARTWORK
- including scans used to create a digital image larger than the platen size.
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  • ​How to scan artwork | Art Web (2011/2020)
    • It includes a method for scanning artwork larger than your printer.
    • You can pay a scanning bureau to scan your work with a drum scanner, but you can often achieve good quality results with a flatbed scanner at home.

Professional Scanning - Digital Imaging Service

A digital imaging services creates digital images in specified image formats (e.g. high print quality resolution in a TIF file) for a fee.

The equipment they use may either be:
  • a very large and very high resolution professional flatbed scanner
  • a drum scanner
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If you want to scan larger images you're best investing in a professional digital image service
TIP Ask what sort of scanner they have before you commission a service.
Then check out the equipment online. In particular:
  • check the resolution that the equipment is capable of
  • check the price competition.

Bottom line - make sure you are not being charged a high price for not very sophisticated equipment which just happens to have a bigger flatbed than your scanner!

Recommended Professional Scanners - in the UK
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Glossary

What do the words mean?

Below are my definitions of the different words you may encounter in learning more about digital images and scanning
A-M
  • Bit depth - the number of bits used to define each pixel. Hence, the greater the bit depth, the greater the number of tones (in grayscale or colour) that can be represented.
  • CMYK - Subtractive colour model used in printing. C = Cyan; M = Magenta; Y - Yellow; K = Key (meaning Black). A printing press uses dots of ink to make up the image from these four colours (hence dpi).
  • Compression - this is relevant to file formats. Compression is used to reduce image file size for storage, processing, and transmission - otherwise we would be using very large files all the time. Image compression can be either lossless (i.e. no data lost) or lossy (e.g. jpeg - loses the least relevant information to reduce the image size)
  • dpi - means dots per inch (a hangover from imperial measurement!) 72 dpi is the common resolution used for web-quality images; print quality images start at 300 dpi. If you put 300 dpi images on your website you are giving away print ready images!
  • Drum scanner - a type of scanner which produce a very high resolution image. The drum scanner scans the artwork while it is fixed to a cylindrical metal drum. Typically produces the best high resolution images. Very expensive machines - and not something an artist should contemplate buying. (see What is a drum scanner?)
  • File format - The specific way digital information is made and stored by the computer. Not all software applications can read and/or manipulate all file formats.
  • File size - multiply the surface area of an image (height x width) to be scanned by the bit depth and the dpi - then divide this number by 8 because an image file size in 24 bit colour is represented in bytes, which are made up of 8 bits.
  • Flatbed - this is a type of scanner which has a flat surface on which the art work is positioned for scanning. The majority of scanners you can buy are flatbeds. (see also drum scanner)
  • Image file size - how much computer storage space a file requires. Expressed in terms of kilobytes (kb) or megabytes (mb).
  • Image size - The physical dimensions of the image. Usually measured in pixels (small squares).
N-Z
  • Pixel - The term "pixel" is short for "Picture Element." It combines pix (from "pictures", shortened to "pics") and el (for "element"). A pixel comprises a small square coloured space. These create digital images irrespective of the type of screen. The more pixels used to represent an image, the closer the result can resemble the original.
  • Pixel dimensions - the horizontal and vertical measurements of an image expressed in pixels.
  • Platen- a flat surface used to exert or receive pressure. In a scanner it provides the flat bed on which the image is placed face down. Typically glass in contemporary flatbed scanner. It may be metal in a drum scanner
  • Resize - changing the dimensions of an image. This can be achieved by reducing or increasing:
    • either the resolution and
    • and/or the physical dimensions - in pixels
  • Resolution
    • ​​High Resolution - required for printing. Normal MINIMUM resolution for high quality images is 300 dpi
    • Low resolution - usually set at around 72 dpi - suitable for showing an image on a computer screen
    • the higher the resolution, the slower an image will load on a digital screen e.g. for a website.
  • Scanner - a device which creates a digital version of an image by recreating it as dots in an image file