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Creating the Image File
Having the right scanner is important for capturing quality scans of your photos. Having the right software is also extremely important in creating the image file.
After the scanner takes an image of the photograph, it still has to be processed, cleaned up, and saved in a usable format. This is done by specialized scanning software.
There are three basic steps involved in creating a beautiful scanned image file.
Step One is a Quality Check. Tiny pieces of dust and debris may not be discernible on the original picture, but they can cause spots and streaks on a scanned photo.
As the scanner is running, the scanning software analyzes the images using complicated formulas to remove streaks and small spots on the fly.
Meanwhile, the scanner operator watches each image as it is scanned to ensure that quality issues do not get past the software.
The software also makes other minor improvements, including adjusting the scan’s alignment and orientation and monitoring the exposure settings of the scanner.
Step Two is Color enhancement. Your original photos have likely faded and yellowed over time.
Specialized software applies mild adjustments to faded photos so that their colors are more vibrant and closer to how they were when they were first developed.
Step Three is Saving the image file (into a format that you can easily view, use, and share)
E-Z Photo Scan typically saves images as JPEG files, the same type of files that most digital cameras generate.
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. This is the name of the group that came up with the compression standard used to shrink the file size of photos to a use-able size.
Without JPEG compression, the sizes of your digital photographs and scanned images would be around 10 times bigger! Files would take a long time to load, transfer, and share, and your photos would quickly fill up your computer’s hard drive.
Different degrees of JPEG compression can be used. Since high levels of JPEG compression can distort and ruin the digital image, Slide 13: IMG_3482 low compression (9 seconds) E-Z Photo Scan uses a mild compression setting to ensure the proper balance between quality and file size.
The last part of step 3 involves saving your photos to a CD or DVD for delivery and preservation.
Portable flash drives and hard drives are excellent ways to use data, but they were not meant for long-term data storage. After a certain amount of use, they tend to fail suddenly, often losing everything on them in the process.
That is why E-Z Photo Scan uses Kodak CDs or DVDs to deliver your scanned files. These are not just any optical disks... These disks use a special 24 karat gold foil inside them and are rated to protect your photos for 100 years under typical conditions.
Your finished disk is compatible with computers running Microsoft Windows and Apple’s Macintosh computers. It is also fully compatible with the more than 100,000 Kodak Picture Kiosks around the world for creating additional prints, photo books, and mementos.
E-Z Photo Scan makes it easy for you to Keep, Protect, Share, and Connect.
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