Best Resolution for Scanning Documents Leave a comment

Have you ever scanned an important document and the companies did not accept it? When the resolution of documents and images is not perfect, the authorities and online websites won’t accept it. Even social media sites don’t accept images with less resolution. Hence, you must find essential information about choosing the right resolution for scanning old photos and documents.

Generally, when the resolution is high, there is more chance that the person can enlarge the pictures, and there is less chance of finding a grainy and pixilated appearance. However, images and documents with higher resolutions are bigger and take a lot of space on mobile and laptop devices. You should avoid using high resolution for all the images and documents.

While choosing the resolution for documents or images, you have to remember that it will affect the following aspects:

• Editing possibilities
• Processing speed
• Readability
• File Sizes

Further reading: The Ultimate Guide To Choosing A Scanner That Best Fits Your Needs

Resolution vs. Size

Resolution and size of the image work together. When a person scans a smaller image at high resolution, he will be able to reprint the image at a larger size because of spreading those pixels out. Conversely, if the person takes a larger image and wants to shrink it into a smaller size, he will have to scan the image at a lower resolution and shrink it.

Whenever you are in doubt while scanning about resolution, choose too many pixels instead of too few. Although the bigger pictures might take a lot of space in the device, choosing less resolution can be an inconvenient option for the project.

What Is The Best Resolution For Scanning Documents?

In several cases, 300 is the ideal dpi value for normal paper documents. Moreover, for the desired result, you should always choose a color setting of 24 bits. Various printers include 600 to 2400 dpi resolutions. Hence, even if people choose a greater dpi value, they are unlikely to get results.

Most people consider 150 to 300 dpi as the most suitable resolution for normal files and documents. High-quality documents can be difficult to edit. Since most individuals scan documents for jobs or businesses, they should use average quality resolution so that the documents can be modified in the future.

Here are some best practices that you should keep in mind while scanning documents:

• You should scan documents in black and white, whenever possible.
• For good readability, 150 to 300 dpi resolutions are sufficient enough.
• Choose JPEG for photos.
• Always pick PDF files or GIF/TIFF for documents that include texts.

If the resolution is extremely low, you will be able to notice errors while recognizing characters. As a rule of thumb, you should keep the font size small when the resolution is high.

What Is The Best Photo Resolutions?

Hewlett-Packard is a maker of printers and scanners that suggests scanning photos at a resolution of no less than 300 dpi. When the resolution is less than 300 dpi, you won’t get a proper quality print after scanning the image.

Those who wish to reprint the photo at a larger size should use more than 300 dpi to get desired resolution. Choose a higher resolution to find a clear and quality image. You should rarely choose a higher resolution than the desired quality of the scanned photo.

If the original photo’s print provides all the required details in 300 dpi resolutions, avoid scanning at a higher resolution. The higher resolution won’t provide additional information. However, it can make the picture appear bigger.

What Are The Best Film Resolutions?

When people scan content on film like slides, they find the process extremely difficult. They have to acquire an image that they will be blowing up during printing time. They should choose a higher resolution compared to the one used in the photo or document scanning process. Moreover, the best resolution for the film is more than 5000 dpi.

You can figure the exact resolution required for scanning content on film by taking the largest size of image they wish to print in inches. Then, you need to multiply the size with the print resolution.

For instance, those who wish to make 8-by-12 prints at 300 dpi will require a 2400-by-3600 image file. They should locate the resolution that will pull image size by using that spec. Those who don’t want to do a lot of calculations can simply choose 2400 dpi resolution or higher for scanning.

Choosing Between The Color And Black And White To Scan Documents

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Most people make the mistake of scanning documents in color when it is not essential. Generally, when a document is scanned in black and white, they take less than 0.8 MB of space on mobile and laptop. The document can take more than 20 MB of space in the device when you scan it in 24-bit color.

Various individuals scan the documents for official purposes. There is no necessity to scan the document in color, and you must avoid it when you have to scan several documents regularly. The files can take unnecessary space and force you to delete or install various software and documents to use the device.

You must choose color while scanning documents like brochures, invoices, and forms because it represents a company. When the normal black and white photocopy is not accepted, then you can scan in color.

Summary

While the scanner should capture all details included in the document or photo, you will surely want quality results. Hence, the best trick should be to check resolution before starting the scanning process. You have to choose 100 dpi resolutions when scanning documents like a newspaper that includes a rough image.

However, while scanning official papers like forms or invoices, you will get a quality result. Hence, choosing 150 to 350 dpi resolutions is highly recommended by the printing companies to find quality print. Ultimately, the best resolution will always depend on the photo and document to be printed for a business.