scanning several pictures at once...

[clou]

I have a LOT of old pictures I need to scan. Is it best to scan each one by itself or scan as many as will fit on the scanner bed at one time? If you scan several at once, how is the best way to seperate them out for editing after the scan is made?

[Janet]

It's really best to do them one at a time - when you do them all together, the color usually isn't as good as when you eliminate the extra white space - and mixing the colors like that won't be as good as doing each one individually. I edit as I go with each one, so once it's scanned, it's done except for a final viewing for quality. I hate to have multiple steps when I don't need to. But try them both ways and see what will work for you. :)

For my clients, I scan them individually, and number them sequentially. Then print out a contact sheet to go with it. I also write down any notes that are on the back of the photos as I go (or scan those if they're extensive and/or the client wants the handwriting) For my own, I keep them in a three ring binder with everything listed by number so it's easy to go through and pull all the info back together.

[clou]

The photos I am needing to scan are B & W. Does the same scanning them 1 at a time hold true?

[Janet]

Yes - I find when I add in that extra white border to the B/W ones, they come out pretty dark. Though with a batch of them, often you can lighten and adjust with the scannning software. I just find it a PITA to cut out the ones I want, but that's just a personal preference. Like I said, play around with it and see if you like the results. :)

[Diesel350]

Photoshop Elements does a great job of batch scanning and then with a click you it will separate them. Love it, no color problems w/ this program

[Janet]

If it works for you, that's what matters. :) I tried it and still see a difference, but it's up to each to do what works. :tup:

BTW, welcome to DSP, Diesel! :D

[dmrdm]

I scan as many as I can lay on the bed. I now have PS CS3, which separates them all out for you. Works great and is a lot less work. Actually now that I think of it, I believe my scanner has that same capability, but now I use the Photoshop way. Think when I first got my scanner I used it's capability to do that.

[Janet]

Yep, it's all about what works best for you! :)

[doda]

Photoshop Elements does a great job of batch scanning and then with a click you it will separate them. Love it, no color problems w/ this program

So how do you separate them with a click? I have PSE 4. Right now I scan 1 at a time.

[Janet]

To do this, you go:

File --> import --> from (choose your scanner) --> scan the photos --> Image --> divide scanned photos.

Voila!

[Janet]

One of the main reasons I don't choose this method is that I've timed doing it this way and doing one at a time - and the increased time to adjust each photo after it's scanned took me more time than just doing each one individually. It was closer when you had correctly exposed photos, though. Try it and see what works for you. :)

[doda]

Thanks Janet, I'll give this a try. I can see how this would be just as time consuming, but it would help on some album pages, that have several pix and you can't get them off safely...

[Janet]

I suppose it also might depend on your scanner. With mine main one (Epson 4990), I can do a preview scan of a bunch, and then zoom in on one, edit, scan and then go back to the preview to zoom in on another.

Here's the workflow for me for individual photos:
1. Put as many images down on the flatbed as possible.
2. Preview scan
3. Select one photo and zoom
4. Adjust curves or levels and apply what's needed (color correction or adjustment, unsharp mask, make sure the cropping is straight, etc)
5. Set ppi setting (I change it to create similar output size which shows on the preview screen - so ~5MB or ~10MB or ~50MB or whatever is needed.)
6. scan (it saves automatically)
7. Go back to preview and start over.

For the batch method it's:
1. lay down as many photos on the flatbed as possible.
2. Import into PS/PSE (File --> Import --> choose scanner which opens the same window as I normally would use otherswise)
3. Scan and let PS/PSE come back up
4. Tell it to separate out the photos and let it do that.
5. Open a photo and make adjustments in PS/PSE
6. Save photo
7. Open next photo and make adjustments in PS/PSE
8. Save photo
etc.

You still have to work with each photo individually unless you're not at all picky, or choose to leave that step until you want to do something with the scans. The extra clicks for me to do it through PS/PSE drive me nuts. Both ways work. I do see a difference in the color with the extra space around the photos, but I didn't used to notice it so much, and maybe some scanners don't really produce a huge difference. I'm not sure. But again, it all comes down to what you like and what meets your needs.

Oh, I also do a very different and more involved process for producing scans to submit to stock agencies - this process is what I use for regular every day use.