Digitalising Photos/Colour Slides

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi,
I'm a real plod when it comes to Computer stuff (well lots of things really ) so maybe you can offer some help.
My last purchase was a Brother DCP-135C Printer/Scanner/Copier & even my tame Computer mate cannot find a way to stop the thing doing a full A4 scan every time.
This results in a massive file even when just scanning a standard size colour print, also a lot of work is then req'd to cut the result down to the req'd size
Is there a trick we've missed?
Another thing I would like to know is, is it possible to make good scans of 35mm Colour Slides using that piece of kit or is something additional/special necessary?

Cheers
John

[Old English White]

Hi,
I'm a real plod when it comes to Computer stuff (well lots of things really ) so maybe you can offer some help.
My last purchase was a Brother DCP-135C Printer/Scanner/Copier & even my tame Computer mate cannot find a way to stop the thing doing a full A4 scan every time.
This results in a massive file even when just scanning a standard size colour print, also a lot of work is then req'd to cut the result down to the req'd size
Is there a trick we've missed?
Another thing I would like to know is, is it possible to make good scans of 35mm Colour Slides using that piece of kit or is something additional/special necessary?

Cheers
John

Hi John ,
No , I can not tell you what it take me years in a few lines ...
So , a good start will be to found the manual and read it near your machine .
In term of generality , it's good before scaning , to set or select a preview . On that preview , you can reduce the size of the scan operation .
For slides , some machines have slots , and some have pre programmed fonctions including light corrections and resolution .
To be complete , a scanner is allways welcome with Photoshop on top , for fine color setting ...
Keep going,
I am sure you have some treasures to show us.
Christian.

[69S4]

John, A quick look at the specs for the 135 would suggest that it doesn't have the ability to scan slides. As you've probably worked out the scanner part works by measuring the light reflected from a document, photograph etc. To scan a slide though the light has to travel through the image rather than be reflected from it and this usually involves a second light source (usually on top). I can't see any mention of it in the 135 section of the Brother website and tbh the scanning resolution (600x 2400dpi) isn't high enough for 35mm.

Choosing the scan area is usually done in the software that opens up when you start a scan. They're all different so it's hard to say what's happening in your case but roughly what should happen is that you put your eg photo on the scan plate and do a pre scan. This will scan the whole area so you'll have a small picture on a large white background come up. At this stage there is usually the facility (button or something) to autolocate the picture or you can manually locate it using the mouse. You may have to cancel the previous setting which sounds like it was set to scan the whole A4 area. There should also be the facility (eg drop down box) to set the scan resolution (300dpi for same size as original print, 72 dpi for screen).

Over the years I've had a few scanners (not a Brother though) and they've all had much the same adjustments as above.

Stuart

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Thanks guys,

I think I'll have to invite my tame Computer mate around again, so that we can do another search for the mentioned facilities.
Seems that the Colour Slide copies will need one of those specialised scanners.
Maybe Santa Claus will bring one

Cheers
John

[Elanintheforest]

Hi John
I use a little Epson 1660....a cheapo scanner from PC World, I doubt it cost more that ?60...I'm cheap too! It scans 35mm slides and negs just fine.

I use Microsoft Office Picture Manager to do the basics for chopping / enhancing photos. It's very easy to use, and I can crop a picture from a larger one, or from a full page scan, in a few seconds. It also allows a resize in seconds. If you have Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) you will have this as well.

No doubt Photoshop is the ultimate photo manipulator, but you do need to invest time to pick up even the basics, and spend a lot of time to get to use the more sophisticated features.

Mark

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi John
I use a little Epson 1660....a cheapo scanner from PC World, I doubt it cost more that ?60...I'm cheap too! It scans 35mm slides and negs just fine.

I use Microsoft Office Picture Manager to do the basics for chopping / enhancing photos. It's very easy to use, and I can crop a picture from a larger one, or from a full page scan, in a few seconds. It also allows a resize in seconds. If you have Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) you will have this as well.

No doubt Photoshop is the ultimate photo manipulator, but you do need to invest time to pick up even the basics, and spend a lot of time to get to use the more sophisticated features.

Mark

I went into Munich this afternon & have seen some tidy little scanners that are specifically designed for scanning slides & negatives.
I'll write a letter to Santa.
I feel sure that my tame computer mate will sort out the scan preview/scan size for my colour photos.

Thanks for all the help guys
Cheers
John

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

SORTED!
Had a session with the scanner with tame computer mate holding my hand & now I know where all the required features are.
Sky's the limit now; I'll be writing software by the end of the year.
Well anyway today I'm not so dumb as I was yesterday

Thanks for all the help guys
Cheers
John