Intro to Scanning
Before you scan: Make sure that hands are clean and dry when handling materials for scanning or any type of digitization work; all materials should be handled with care, and cotton gloves worn when instructed by a supervisor. These items cannot be replaced or easily repaired if destroyed or damaged.
Why do we scan?
Digitizing materials by scanning them with a flatbed, large format, or feed scanner is sometimes the safest and most effective means of preserving the information in an item and allowing others to access it. Scanning items at a high resolution allows the item to be used in different ways without needing to make any manipulations to the actual item. This is why we aim for a minimum 600 dpi image; it provides a scalable image that can be used for large or small reprints while maintaining the original details of the item.
File Specifications
See the table below for an overview of the specifications at which we scan and process each item type.
| File Type | Photo | Document |
|---|---|---|
| initial scan | 600 dpi tiff | 400 dpi jpeg (sometimes scanned directly to pdf) |
| access copy | 600 dpi jpeg | |
| lowres copy | 300 dpi jpeg | reduced-size pdf (size varies based on output from Adobe Acrobat) |