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The
more the merrier
The latest professional scanning equipment is designed for
scanning several images at one time. If you commonly have just one
or two images scanned at a time, you could incur a premium.
Consider submitting art for an entire project or for several
projects at one time. A good number to aim for is at least ten
scans at a time.
Don’t
mix and match
Artwork is scanned according to its size: originals of equal size
are placed in the scanner at one time. Take advantage of the
efficiencies of professional scanning equipment, and submit
quantities of artwork with a similar dimension.
Good
things come in small packages
Due to their small size, transparencies can be scanned more
efficiently than artwork of another size. For example, up to 40
35mm slides can be placed in our Drum Scanners at one time,
compared with just two pieces of reflective artwork at 8" x
12" in size. For optimum pricing, work with transparencies
and keep your artwork under 4" x 5".
Minimize
color corrections
Color corrections, such as removing casts and airbrushing, require
additional production time. We encourage the use of high-quality,
professional photos to shorten the correction cycle and keep your
scanning costs down.
Get
it right the first time
Evaluate the quality, detail, and needs of your artwork before
scanning it. Retouching and airbrushing, if needed, should be
performed during the same production cycle as scanning. Waiting
until after the proofing stage to make changes will only delay
production and increase your proofing expenses.
Show,
don’t tell
For each piece of artwork you submit, be sure to include a stat
sheet (a photocopy of your page layout) to show how each image
will be used and where the image will be placed on the page.
Communicating this information up front can prevent speculation
and costly redos.
Cut
to the chase
If you will only be using a portion of an image, show what portion
you will use so other image areas can be eliminated. While this
won’t necessarily save you money on scanning, it will keep the
file size to a minimum, saving you time in virtually every
production step from page layout to output. (And time is money.)
If you are using slides, mark the mount with a pencil to indicate
what part of the image is needed. For reflective copy, try
photocopying the image and drawing crop marks on the photocopy to
indicate the portion of the image you will use.
Cleanliness
is next to godliness
Fingerprints, mounting spray, and other dirt particles will
transfer onto your scanned image. Before photos are scanned they
should be thoroughly wiped with a slightly damp cloth. Doing this
before sending them to your service provider will eliminate
additional steps and time that your service provider takes to
prepare your art for scanning.
Plan
ahead
If you’ve ever reserved a seat on an airline the day before you
were to leave, you understand the concept of paying a premium (if
you were even able to reserve a seat). Scanning artwork is not so
different. Longer turn-times enable us to plan and schedule your
project in conjunction with other projects and give you a better
negotiating stance for a more reasonable rate.
Go
digital
Digital proofing saves time and money. In addition to cheaper
material costs, digital proofs don’t require film processing and
output. A project that takes just five minutes to output on a
digital proofer could take 45 minutes to produce as an analog
proof. Request a digital proof such as an HP or a Epson rather
than the analog PressMatch or Matchprint proofs.
Just
ask
It’s seldom that just one factor influences the price you pay
for scans. Rather, many different constituents can be built into
your scanning price, from number and size of scans to quality
issues and how soon you need them. Because each publisher’s
circumstances are unique, the best way for you to get the very
best deal ever on scans is to ask for it.
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