Have you been stumped by the blurred images when
you scan your slides or negatives of some of
your best shot pictures? It could be because
your scanner’s default JPEG settings are not set
correctly, which can reduce the pixel quality of
your scans. Thus the next time when you need to
scan any images, spare a thought at the JPEG
"compression" level, which has a great bearing
on the quality of the scanned snap shots.
To get started, you have to know two important
factors on the image files in JPEG format. Once
you get the hang of this step, fine tuning the
quality of the image would be as easy as 1-2-3!
1. Compression of JPEG Files
Typically graphic designers and professional
photographers use TIFF image files, which are
relatively big. These files could run up to 500
MB file size or more, which makes a humongous
lot of data in digital format. Most
photographers prefer big data images as these
are easier to edit and enhance using special
effects.
However, for ordinary users, TIFF files would
mean slower transmission and greater data
storage needs; moreover, the redundant digital
data would do nothing to increase the general
quality of the picture as well. So, to clean up
the useless data and to enhance the picture
quality, compression methods are used where the
TIFF files are cut down to as small as 5 MB from
their original size of 500 MB that too without
compromising on the picture quality. Thus,
compression would help you to come up with short
and sharp digital images that are easier to
upload and transmit. The best part is that these
images won’t choke your computer storage.
2. Compress the JPEG as Per
Your Needs
While
scanning your slides or photos in JPEG format,
the scanner will give you a choice to adjust the
compression levels of the digital images.
However, in some cases the default settings of
the scanner will be set at a higher level and an
overly compressed JPEG image will lack clarity
and details. Even if you had scanned the images
at 4000 DPI, you could lose out on clarity if
the slide is scanned in a high compression mode.
3. Changing the JPEG
Compression Level While Scanning
To find
out the settings to change the compression
levels of the scanner, just browse through the
user’s manual of your scanner as the setting
change methods differs from scanner to scanner.
In some scanners, the option to change the
compression levels of the JPEG settings are
given along the save scan option. Just click the
“JPEG Option" box to fine tune the compression
level and it is done.
For
instance if the default compression level is 6
out of a level of 10, it will give you a compact
file size but not high quality pixels. In case
you are concerned about the richness of the
images, you will have to change the compression
to 1 out of 10. Now that you know the simple
compression tips of scanned images, you would
indeed be astonished at the quality change in
the richness of the scanned image.
