DDS Flatbed Scanner Guide

Placing your material on the scanner 

Place your material face down on the scanner, make sure to align the top right edge of your document/photo/artwork to the arrow at the top right corner of the scanner. Close the scanner lid gently, as the top half of the scanner also contains a scanning mechanism. If you are scanning material with depth (like the sketchbook in the photo below) the scanner's hinge will adjust to compensate for the object.

Upon launch, the Epson Scan 2 window will give you a number of options and settings to adjust before scanning. When scanning photos or artwork we suggest these settings, reflected in the screenshot and explained below:

Scan Settings: Default Setting

This is the standard setting for scanning artwork and photos. 

Mode: Photo Mode

Photo mode ensures that the scanner is scanning in color, using the entire surface as a source. 

Document Source: Scanner Glass

"Scanner glass" refers to the bottom surface of the scanner, on which your material is placed.

Document Type: Reflective 

This refers to the kind of material being scanned. Reflective documents include any printed material, photos, artwork, etc. The alternative options in this dropdown are for film negatives and slides, which are covered in this section of the guide.

Image Type: 24-bit Color

This setting determines the color depth of the resulting file when your material is scanned. 24-bit color is appropriate for almost all color images, though if you are not concerned about file size and would like the most accurate representation of your material you can change this setting to its highest value, 48-bit color. Scanning at the highest color depth will result in a much larger file, but if you will be doing professional-grade photo-editing or are doing archival work this may be appropriate. If you are scanning black-and-white documents change this setting to 8-bit grayscale. If you are scanning black-and-white photographs or artwork you may want to compare how a color scan and a grayscale scan represent the image, and use the color depth you prefer.

Resolution: 300 dpi

This number adjusts the number of dots per inch (dpi) that your material will be scanned in. 300 dpi is the lowest setting recommended for photos and artwork, and is appropriate for most cases. If you are planning on enlarging material that you're scanning it is recommended to increase dpi to 600. Higher dpi settings result in larger file(s), and take longer to scan. If you're curious to know more about dpi Adobe has a thorough article explaining it.

Scanning Quality: Standard

At 300 dpi the difference between "standard" and "high" is negligible, as is the file size.

Once your material is in place on the scanner and you've made initial settings you're ready to begin scanning. Click the "Preview" button in Epson Scan 2 to run an initial scan that will generate a preview image of your material. It may take a few moments for the scanner to do its first scan, as the lamp inside needs to warm up to its optimal operating temperature. Please be patient. Upon completion of the preview scan your software window should look similar to this:

On the right side of the image above you can see the preview of the material being scanned. The slider at the top of the application will allow you to zoom in and out of the preview. If you'd like to adjust where your material rests on the bed of the scanner, or feel the need to straighten it you can do so, and then click the "preview" button again to generate an updated view of your material. By default the scanner will include areas of the scanning bed that extend beyond your material, as seen in this detail screenshot:

If you would prefer to adjust and crop your scan to remove unwanted/extra space in another application like Photoshop or Preview you can skip to the bottom portion of this section that explains saving a scan. If you'd rather use the Epson 2 software to select specific portions of your scanning bed to save continue to the next section on cropping.

If you'd like to scan specific areas of your material, or place multiple items on the scanning bed and scan them simultaneously, it's possible to do so in Epson Scan 2. In order to make these options available you must un-check the "Thumbnail" box found at the top of the preview pane. A warning will appear explaining that some options will be reset as a result. Select yes, and proceed.

Now that you have exited Thumbnail mode Epson Scan 2 will give you the option to select portions of the scanning bed, rather than scanning the entire area. To do this simply drag a box around the part of your material that you would like scanned. After you've drawn your selection you can refine it by hovering over the corners until arrows appear, at which point you can click and drag to resize it or line it up with your material. You can create multiple selections at a time, and scan all of them in sequence when you are ready to save.