Hello friends! I’m sharing a quick tutorial that shows you how to scan artwork for prints. There are just a few things to keep in mind and it’s as easy as can be!
This is not digitizing. This is my way of artwork scanning to then make my artwork into printables or reproduce them easily to sell. I hope you find this tutorial useful and if you have any questions, let me know in the comments below!
ALSO READ: PRINTING ON WATERCOLOR PAPER AT HOME: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
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Is it better to scan or photograph artwork?
I always prefer to scan my artwork rather than photograph. Photographing can work, but you need to get a crisp click with the entire artwork in focus without any blurriness.
How to Scan your Artwork for Prints: I have a basic wireless Canon Printer/Scanner combo and use it for scanning. This connects wirelessly to my laptop (Mac OS ) where I use the Image Capture software. You can also launch the Printer on your computer and hit the scanner button there.
Previously, I have used this dedicated flatbed scanner (I have an older version that is still good) that is useful to scan not just artwork but also film negatives and photos. I still have and use this scanner when needed, it just isn’t as convenient as the wireless option that I use more often.
how to scan artwork for prints
A quick tutorial that shows you How to scan artwork for printing step by step in under 5 minutes using a Canon Printer and Mac OS Laptop
1. Place artwork onto the scanner bed
2. On your computer, launch your software. I’m using Image Capture
3. Press overview scan first. Check if your artwork is seen completely or if you need to angle the artwork.
4. HOW TO SCAN ARTWORK FOR PRINTING: Choose 300 dpi (or more) if you plan to create art prints.
I love to scan at 600 dpi if I want to print enlargements. You can even go upto 1200 dpi to create prints that are double the size of your artwork. Bottom line, the higher your dpi, the better your print quality will be. But higher dpi will also make the file size larger, and the time taken to scan each artwork will be longer.
5. Using the selection tool, crop the artwork. Select your destination folder, add a file name, and press scan!
6. And done!
And that is it. You have now created a digital jpg file of your artwork. And this is how to scan artwork for printing.
artwork scanning
I hope you found this How to Scan Artwork for Printing Tutorial useful. You can use this to easily print copies of your artwork!
You can use this method to scan paintings, any artwork and even pictures! Yes, this is the exact same way how to scan pictures into computer. Any pictures. I like to scan the crayon drawings my kids make onto my computer and then create an album of them.
Hi I’m Smitha! I live in Minnesota with my husband and two daughters. You’ll always find me painting florals in my sketchbook. And I love the sheer joy of making something with just my hands! But my bigger love is capturing it all on camera Read more.
Thanks for stopping by today! If you learnt something from this tutorial, do share this post with a friend or on social media! Tag me @smithakatti #smithakatti I’d love to see what you create!
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