I agree with the suggestions above. Scan at a higher resolution, and a "larger" size.
I would also add, consider scanning in a different file format. JPEGs (jpg) format is terrific in many instances, but it is most often used for compressing an image, and it does this by "cheating" which will always mean some loss of image quality. It is possible to save a file as a JPG file without using compression, but it sounds as if you do not have a handle on the scanning, so it is possible it is compressing the image, without you knowing it. Can you choose one of the formats that will keep the image "uncompressed," so that you are certain you will not lose quality? I usually scan in the BMP ir TIF formats, if quality is very important. I use .JPG images only if I have to make some graphic fit on a web page without taking forever to load, or if I must make it fit on a floppy disc, for example.
Scan at a higher quality. Avoid compression. Keep the resolution high, and the overall size large. Then, if it needs resizing, you can use almost any graphic program out there to do this, before you even load it into your Epson printing software. I use Photoshop for this, in instances where it is necessary. (Those instances are usually for an image I did not scan myself, where someone else scanned it and did not know what they were doing or chose to change the size as they scanned it). I also use Photoshop to rotate, touch up the image, crop it so it is perfectly centered, and fix any problems (for example, the image might not extend all of the way to the center hub, but I print on center hub printable DVDs, so i fill that space with something). I add any sharpening or color correction effects at this stage. Then, I re-save the image, sized perfectly for the Epson software.
-Bruce
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22. September 2005 @ 19:35
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