Scanner isn't scanning correctly

[TheFrozenRed]

Okay, everyone, here's a real brain teaser for you. Last week, I scanned an image in. Let's say, for visualation's sake, that the straight lines looked like this:

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Which is what they SHOULD look like.


Now, recently (all of a couple of days ago), I tried to scan a very similar picture in. This time, however, the straight lines (upon 100% magnification in Photoshop) looked like this:

Z
Z
Z


Zoomed out, at like 50% or less, the jagged lines look straight. However, at 100%, it's very obvious that lines that are supposed to be straight are jagged.


I have a Mustek 600 III EP scanner that worked fine until a couple of days ago. In what I do, I NEED to get images scanned in so that they appear as sharp on the screen as they do in real life. What do I do?

Thanks, everyone.

[richard_cocks]

the jaggedness is called aliasing, it happens because the resolution of the scanner gives a pixelated output, the best way to stop this is either anti-alias within something like photoshop if they can, or align best the lines you want sharp perpendicular or horizontally to the scanner.

Otherwise failing all that get a higher resolution scanner should cure any problems, how far zoomed are we talking here?

[TheFrozenRed]

The resolution, for both when it was fine and when it's bad, is 1200 DPI. When it was good, the picture was crisp and clean at 100% zoomed in. However, at the same 100% zoomed in, the lines are also jagged.


And, I don't think this is anti-aliasing. This is something more like...it looks like all the lines got blurred somewhat. Well, give me a little time, and I'll scan the image back in, and let you see and decide for yourself.

[richard_cocks]

ook, didn't see "100% maginification" in your first post, I thought you had zoomed in a long way (say 4-5x).

Yeah, upload a png or 2 or something, it may be that your scanner just needs cleaning or something.

[TheFrozenRed]

Alright, here are the images.

http://emissarycomic.tripod.com/previewpg2.jpg This is from a week ago.

http://emissarycomic.tripod.com/bad.jpg This is from last night; I tried to match the contrast/brightness of previewpg2.jpg

http://emissarycomic.tripod.com/cam.jpg This is a photo I took of the image in question with my Powershot A20 digital camera. As you can see in the photo, there are supposed to be straight lines instead of jagged lines in many, many places. In fact, this photo is actually of a higher quality than both of the previous scans...this image is the clearest, I mean.




Well, what do you all think? The glass on the scanner is clean, so it's not that. Is this an error with the scanner? Should I get a new scanner...? My scanner is getting kind of old...it's about 4 or 5 years old now, and I'm very aware of the fact that computer parts *do* "die" after a time.

[richard_cocks]

I see, (btw it takes some fiddling to be able to view those images :( ) it looks like either the scanning surface has become dirty, or it looks like it's scanning in with less d.p.i. Check if you can increase the resolution. I can't really think of much else that could cause that. :???:

[TheFrozenRed]

Well, I also tried to scan it in at 2400 DPI instead of 1200. The result was an image that took 3 times as long to scan in, and even then, 75% of the picture was just vertical lines. Maybe it was a Photoshop error, I don't know.

[cheekymonkey]

I would be interested to see the solution to this because at work the other day a scanner which has been working fine for months has suddenly started to do the same thing only on a much worse scale.
Now it scans a letter and is un-readable or images are very blurry and out of focus and when the paper has a white background on the preview page it looks greeny coloured . . .Is it foobared?

But nothing has been changed at all . . . NOTHING . . .and it was perfect the other day?!!

[TheFrozenRed]

YES. EXACTLY.


Only, in my case, the problem didn't happen the other day, it came up a week ago or so, but I wasn't keen enough to catch it until now. It looks as though it's actually gotten worse, not that more time has elapsed.


Monkey, what scanner do you have at your job? Is it a highend one, or is it a cheaper, more affordable one? (like the one I have)



Adendum: Well, at least my scanner chose one of the best times of the year to break! Most of my local computer stores are starting their Back to School sales, so hopefully, I can get a pretty darn good scanner for a smaller expenditure. :)



(Richard, sorry if the pictures were being a pain. They were giving me trouble, too, until I figured out that all I needed to do was reload the dumb page. Tripod was just being slow, I suppose. :p)

[cheekymonkey]

The scanner I had probs with was a Scanjet 5400, but since its not mine I dont know if thats high end or cheap?!!