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Topic: Advice on scanning old documents (Read 300 times)
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JustinL
RootsChat Senior
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Posts: 491
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I have just been lent a family pedigree in booket form that was started on 23 Oct 1837 and continued in to the 1840s.
The notebook is about 8" high and 3" wide, i.e. 6" when opened, and is bound so that I can place it on a flatbed scanner (Epson GT-30000)
The paper is fairly thick with a vertical 'grain'. In places ink can be seen through the page.
Could anyone please advise me about the optimum settings? Should I go for colour or grayscale? What resolution would be best - storage would not be a problem.
I shall be sharing the images with other family members and I want to do it properly.
Thanks, Justin
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Les de B
RootsChat Senior
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Posts: 498
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Not so much an answer to your scanning query, but another option which I use when I can't scan.
I use my digitial camera and take a close up, normally without flash but in good natural light. If need be, I can then crop, straighten and use the original colour or make it B/W or sepia. The camera comes in handy when the document can't be scanned on a flat surface.
I suppose a digital camera is the same as a scanner 
Les
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de Belin, Swindail, Willcock, Williams, Moore, Watts, Searjeant, Watson, McCready, Reid, Spink, de Lancey, Van Cortland, and of course, Smith!
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mike175
RootsChat Veteran
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Posts: 577
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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I wouldn't pretend to be an expert, but I have scanned quite a lot of old documents and photos. I usually scan at 300dpi in colour mode, which produces a better reproduction, either on screen or paper. I normally use 600dpi when I intend to enlarge part of the original.
Sometimes I find you need to play around with different settings until you find the best for the job in hand.
Mike.
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Baskervill - Devon, Foss - Hants, Gentry - Essex, Metherell - Devon, Partridge - Essex/London, Press - Norfolk/London, Stone - Surrey/Sussex, Stuttle - Essex, Wheate - Middlesex/Essex/Coventry/Rutland/Oxfordshire/Staffs, Gibson - Essex
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Nick29
RootsChat Senior
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Posts: 481
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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I agree - colour is best. You can always convert colour to mono, but not vice-versa, and some things can show up in colour (like faded or over-written text) that won't show up in mono. I'd also agree that you should scan in the highest resolution that is practical, because you can reduce the resolution with image editing software.
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Field - Luton & Islington
Hole - Somerset, Suffolk & Surrey
Farnish, Parker, Cattermole, Last, Wasp - Suffolk
Martin - Eltham & Greenwich, Kent (London)
Lewin/Lowin/Lowen - Hertfordhire
Stead - Greenwich, London (Kent)
Wood - Hertfordshire
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JustinL
RootsChat Senior
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Posts: 491
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Thanks folks for your advice.
However, my first disappointing attempts were in colour at 300 dpi. You can see some snippets in this topic:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,301032.0.html
Although, the writing is very clear, I do not like how the paper itself comes up. Am I hoping for too much?
Should I be using 24-bit true colour do you think?
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JustinL
RootsChat Senior
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Posts: 491
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The only problem is - there are 50 pages to be scanned!
I'll try some gray-scale scanning at 400 dpi.
Justin
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mike175
RootsChat Veteran
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Posts: 577
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Just another point to bear in mind . . . I always save the original scan as an uncompressed .tif file. If you re-save a .jpg a couple of times, especially using compression, it will rapidly deteriorate. This seems especially noticeable with handwritten documents.
Mike.
PS. I have a few greyscale scans from my early experiments, and constantly regret not scanning in colour . . . especially since the originals have now been returned to their owner. If space is not a problem, I would always use colour.
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Baskervill - Devon, Foss - Hants, Gentry - Essex, Metherell - Devon, Partridge - Essex/London, Press - Norfolk/London, Stone - Surrey/Sussex, Stuttle - Essex, Wheate - Middlesex/Essex/Coventry/Rutland/Oxfordshire/Staffs, Gibson - Essex
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