If you scan your photos or have a third party do it for you please follow these scanning guidelines to get the optimal photos for your DVD slide show.
  1. Clean the glass surface of the scanner with a lint free cloth to remove any surface dust or blemishes.

  2. Configure the scanner to scan for photos (not documents) and save it in JPEG (.jpg) format at the highest or next to highest quality level. Set your document size to auto-detect.

  3. Configure the scanner so that automatic photo adjustments such as color, brightness, contrast are OFF.

  4. Adjust the DPI of the scan as follows:
    • photos smaller than 4x6 scan at 600 dpi
    • photos 4x6 scan at 400 dpi
    • photos 5x7 scan at 300 dpi
    • photos 8x10 scan at 200 dpi


 

Q: What is JPEG format?
A: JPEG (pronounced "jay-peg") is a standardized image compression mechanism. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the original name of the committee that wrote the standard. JPEG is designed for compressing either full-color or gray-scale images of natural, real-world scenes. It works well on photographs, naturalistic artwork, and similar material; not so well on lettering, simple cartoons, or line drawings.
Q: What quality levels should I use?
A: Depending on your scanner, quality levels may be expressed numerically (e.g. 1 through 10) or semantically (e.g. Low, Standard, High). Keep in mind that the higher the quality you choose correlates to lower compression and results in a larger file size. We recommend you set your quality levels from 9 to 10, or use Standard to High levels.
Q: Should I let my scanner software adjust the photos?
A: No! Most scanners come with software features to adjust color, brightness, and contrast of photos. We recommend that you turn this feature off and do not alter your pictures once they have been scanned. We use professional higher quality applications to adjust your photos to their highest potential.
Q: What if there is a white border around my photos?
A: There is no need to crop the photo yourself. Cropping is part of the basic photo optimization offered with each package.
Q: What is DPI?
A: DPI (dots per inch) is a measure of the amount of detail in a photo independant of the photo size. A 400 dpi 4x6 photo will show a lot more detail than a 100 dpi 4x6 photo. To get the resolution of a photo, multiply the dpi by the photo size. For example, a 4x6 400 dpi photo would be 1600x2400 pixels of resolution. A higher DPI factor results in a higher resolution picture and also a larger file size. If you intend to enlarge a smaller size photo (e.g. 2x3) it is best to scan at a larger DPI to retain the detail in the photo.