Scanning and Saving Images in Adobe Photoshop Basics

Adobe Photoshop is a powerful image manipulation program. This document will give you some pointers, but don’t be afraid to experiment with new commands, just remember to save first.

Crop Out Unwanted Space Or Material

Cropping selects part of an image to save. Use the Crop Tool to draw a box around the portion of the image you wish to keep. Adjust the box using the squares at the corners or middle of the sides. Once the box is placed properly, press the Return key on the keyboard and the crop will be performed. The Crop Tool can be found by clicking and holding down the mouse button on the upper left icon in the tool pallette. TIP: Crop out any unwanted area to decrease the file size.

To select the portion to save, choose the rectangular selection tool in the upper left corner of the tool palette. •Drag a selection rectangle around the portion of the image that you would like to save. •Choose Crop from the Edit menu. •Only the portion selected portion of the image should remain.

Changing Image Resolution – Decreases Size of Image

Select “Image…Image Size.” The top box is the current size and resolution of your image. Type your changes into the bottom box. – Try different combinations of sizes until your image is under 1.4 megs in size. If your image is destined for a web site, its resolution does not need to be greater than 72 dpi since this is currently the maximum resolution for monitors. Acquiring the image at a higher resolution (200 dpi for black and white, 150 dpi for color) gives you more image data to work with as you do your adjustments and manipulations. Once you are finished working on the image, you need to reduce the resolution. Select “Image…Image Size.” The top box is the current size and resolution of your image. Type your changes into the bottom box. Use this operation to adjust image size as well.

Note: Reasonable quality is maintained when images are reduced in size, but not if size is increased. To increase the size of an image, it is best to re-scan and be sure the scan contains enough pixels to meet your needs.

Save Your Image

Before you perform any more manipulations, save your image as it was acquired. “File…Save As…”. Make sure you are saving to the proper destination.  On the computer, look for the folder with your name on it. You may store your images here temporarily, then transfer them to your storage de vice later. Type in a file name. At this point save the file as a TIFF file. Continue to save as you manipulate the image. TIFF files can be large and slow to process, but you will achieve better results manipulating the image in TIFF form, and compressing the file after you complete your adjustments. TIP: If you plan to edit the image on a PC, add the file format identification extensions to your file name. E.g.: duomo.tif. PCs and Unix need the extension to recognize the file type. Make sure the extension matches the file type, though!