Problem with scanner - anybody can help? :(

[Moonracer]

I wasn't really sure, where to put this thread, so I'm putting it here. I'm trying to scan the ATCs I prepared for the ATC swap, but I can't seem to get the scan looking right: the colors either come out looking too bright or too grey... I don't want it to be, like 100% perfect, I only want to make the colors look as close to the original as close to the IRL drawing as possible.

I scan my pictures using HP Deskjet F4500 All-in-One printer. I'll be greatful for any help.

[Marlin]

This probably won't sound very helpful... I'm not very technologically minded, and since I work in pencils, I photograph my work to keep digital records. Been ages since I tried a scanner, mostly because I've not been happy with the results.

Other people will likely have better suggestions! Good luck 

[StarSwirl05]

Have you tried an image editing program like Photoshop to fix the image?

[flowersinherhair]

I second what StarSwirl05 said! I also use an awful all-in-one printer/scanner, and I put my images right into Photoshop and adjust the levels, hue, saturation, and I even recently discovered the selective color levels, which help immensely in getting my pictures to look accurate. If you don't have Photoshop, there are similar free programs, like Gimp. Sometimes, though, I really can't work with a scanned image (usually because the scanner washed it out too much), and then I have to take a digital photo. I process those in Photoshop too, though! Basically, image editing software is your friend! 

[Griffin]

What other said; post-processing is pretty much necessary, whether you scan or photograph your traditional art. I can't afford Photoshop so I've been using GIMP and it works for my needs. Some media are harder than others to scan (e.g. coloured pencils), and some colours do not come out accurately (turquoise is notoriously hard to scan... and glitter is impossible, lol) so you may have to resort to photographing instead. I do that with traditional pieces which have glitter or bulky 3D embellishments.

I have an HP Deskjet all-in-one, too. I rarely mess with the scanner's colour adjustments, but what I always check is the lightness/darkness levels. (Sorry I'm not sure what the menus are called in English, my programme is in Finnish...) Anyway, it's the third from top in the scan preview window. The shadows and mid-tones are usually okay, but I always make sure the highlight value is less than 20. This is especially important if your piece has very light colours overall, a lot of white etc. Marker pieces and other bright coloured artworks are much easier to scan, you rarely need to do any adjustments.

In Gimp then, I always adjust the 'input levels' (Colors > Levels). The same adjustments can be done with adjusting the 'Curves', too. If the overall colours are off, you can experiment with the Color Balance options to adjust the levels of red/green/blue & cyan/magenta/yellow, or the Hue-Saturation options where you can pick a single primary colour to adjust. E.g. if your hot pink is too washed out but the other colours look okay, it's possible to adjust the pink only. Of course, you can change the hue, lightness or saturation of the whole picture as well, if needed.

Those are the most important tools I use in addition to changing the size (Image > Scale Image), cropping and sometimes rotating the picture a little since I never seem to be able to scan my images straight.

Hope this helps! 

[ZennaBug]

I find that taking a photo is often better, unfortunately.  Like last year's bookmark swap...

Scanned: visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 Photo: visitors can't see pics , please register or login


The scanned image was imported straight to photoshop and then adjusted... and was still washed out.  Only in the photo can you tell there was glitter.  And it would have been better if I hadn't used my cell phone. 

I wish I had more helpful advice.

[Griffin]

^ In that case I agree. Lots of white AND glitter -> impossible to scan.

[Moonracer]

Hey guys.

Sorry all for belated reply... fortunatelly enough, I managed to solve the problem before lurking back into this thread... I just got one of our spare all-in-one machine (also a HP) and connected it to my laptop, lol. To my surprise, it scans way better from the other one. I can also make some minor adjustments in Photoshop and it looks almost like IRL.

But thanks a lot for all the advice: I didn't expect such a response! Thanks a lot everyone - I'm sure all your advice will come in handy someday. :>