Depending upon your scanner, you may have two import standards to choose from when scanning an image on a Windows computer. One standard is available on all scanners: TWAIN, a cross-platform interface that ensures that the software you install on your computer works correctly and consistently when you use a peripheral device, such as a scanner. The other standard, WIA, is a more recent development from Microsoft and is installed with many newer scanners. The WIA standard ensures that the software installed on your computer uses the same dialog boxes and interfaces that you typically see in Windows XP. So, when you import images into Photoshop using a scanner, you may see both of these options on the Import menu.
Which one should you use? Either standard gets you to the scanning software installed on your computer. The WIA interface inserts a few more dialog boxes that allow you to select where to save scanned images and gives you a little more control over color management. Try both and see which one you prefer. For me, I tend to use the WIA interface because of the color management options. (To find out more about color management and setting up a color management system on your computer, turn to Technique 4.)
To scan and import an image using Windows, follow these steps:
Make sure your scanner is on and launch Photoshop
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Choose File>Import to view the submenu shown in Figure 10-3.
Figure 10-3: The Import menu displays installed scanners and lets you choose between the TWAIN and WIA standards.
Choose WIA Support from the submenu.
A WIA Support wizard opens. You can select a peripheral device (see Figure 10-4). (Of course, you can go with the TWAIN option if you want. For this example, I use the WIA Support wizard.)
Figure 10-4: The WIA Support wizard makes importing images using a scanner easy.
In the Destination Folder area, click the Browse button.
Use the Browse For Folder dialog box to select the folder where you want the scanned images stored.
In the Options area, select the Open Acquired Image(s) in Photoshop option.
You can also select the Create Unique Subfolder Using Today’s Date option, if you want. This option automatically creates a folder within the destination folder you specified in Step 4, and places the scanned images in this sub-folder.
Click Start to continue.
The Select Device dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 10-5.
Figure 10-5: In the Select Device dialog box, choose the device you want to use.
Choose the device you want to use in the Select Device dialog box.
Click the Properties button.
The Properties dialog box for your scanner opens.
Figure 10-6 shows the Properties dialog box for the scanner I’m using, an Epson Perfection 1660.
Figure 10-6: Check out the properties for your scanner to see if a color profile is loaded.
Click the Color Management tab.
The Color Management panel gives you access to the color profile associated with the scanner (see Figure 10-7). When you installed your scanner software, chances are the software automatically installed a color profile. This color profile tells Photoshop what color space the scanner is working in and helps Photoshop adjust an image’s colors as it is imported into Photoshop. If the color correction works as it should, the colors in the scanned image closely match the colors in the original photograph.
Figure 10-7: If you need to, find your scanner’s color profile on the Color Management tab in the Properties dialog box.
If a color profile is selected, skip to Step 12.
If you need to, click Add to load a color profile for your scanner.
In the Add Profile Association dialog box that then appears, use the list box to select the color profile for your scanner. If you’re not sure which profile is the right one for your scanner, check the documentation that came with your scanner.
| Tip |
You don’t need to select a color profile every time you use your scanner. You just need to set this up the first time. In the future, you can Skip Steps 7 through 12. |
When you find the color profile for the scanner, select it, and then click Add.
The Add Profile Association dialog box closes, returning you to your scanner’s Properties dialog box.
Click OK to return to the Select Device dialog box.
Click OK.
Your scanner’s software takes over, opening an appropriate dialog box, similar to the one shown in Figure 10-8. Refer to your scanner’s sofware manual for settings.
Figure 10-8: Select output settings using your scanner’s software.
Set the resolution of your scan.
As shown in Figure 10-8, the dialog box that I use to choose settings contains a Resolution drop-down list. I can use this drop-down list to select the resolution I need, 96 ppi for Web graphics, 300 ppi for a typical printed page, 720 ppi or 1200 ppi for a fine photographic print. No doubt the dialog box you’re using is different, but look around. Somewhere a text box or drop-down list is labeled Resolution.
Click Scan.
The scanner’s dialog box closes and the scan begins. The scanned image imports and opens in Photoshop, as shown in Figure 10-9.
Figure 10-9: The scanned image imports and opens in Photoshop.
| Time-Saver |
If you scan two or more photos at once, you can use Photoshop’s new Crop and Straighten Photos command to separate them and open them in individual image windows. |
Turn to the “Using Crop and Straighten Photos” section, later in this technique, to find out how to use the Crop and Straighten Photos command.