Scanning DVD's To Print Labels

[leebo]

What resolutions do people use when you scan a DVD for making a label for a back up?

I've tried 300dpi at the native file format my scanner software uses (Paperport), but when I export (to jpg) it looks like crap and is not worth printing. I'm seeking opinions on what resolutions and tecniques give good results.

Please no posts bad mouthing putting labels on DVD's. That has been debated to death.

[Treebeard]

why not just get them from www.cdcovers.cc ??

[leebo]

Well, ignoring the fact that it dosen't answer the question, it appears they only have box cover photos. Where are the DVD scans???

Edit: Nevermind. Found it.
Am still curious about my original question though.

[adam]

Most of the cd scans and pretty much all of the case/cover at cdcovers.cc look like complete crap in my opinion. All those jpeg artifacts are very visible after printing.

leebo, 300dpi is about right for scanning DVD/CD artwork. A disk scan should look very good at this dpi. Maybe you have your output set to a high jpeg compression amount. If possible, have your software save it as uncompressed .bmp files instead. There's no point in compressing it if you are just going to scan and print.

[Treebeard]

Most of the cd scans and pretty much all of the case/cover at cdcovers.cc look like complete crap in my opinion. All those jpeg artifacts are very visible after printing.

leebo, 300dpi is about right for scanning DVD/CD artwork. A disk scan should look very good at this dpi. Maybe you have your output set to a high jpeg compression amount. If possible, have your software save it as uncompressed .bmp files instead. There's no point in compressing it if you are just going to scan and print.

while not the best qualilty, they are acceptable to some individuals. But I will agree that a personal scan would be 4x better.

[leebo]

If possible, have your software save it as uncompressed .bmp files instead. There's no point in compressing it if you are just going to scan and print.

OK, I was wondering about that. Just thought I'd ask while I'm at work looking for ways to stay awake. Thanks.

[Fandim]

I scan at 1200dpi jpeg...although, this wont work with most applications, as the image is too large to load etc..

I use epsons printCD, and they import fine. The image will look like utter CRAP on my computer screen, but prints *fantastic*.

Seth

[dvdx_925]

c'mon, does it really matter for backup copies? i only print out the dvd covers (cdcovers.cc) and that's it, i leave the dvd's like how they are. I also print them in everyday quality, juz to save on ink
In my opinion, as long as the backup dvd works, that is all that is needed, unless you are wanting to sell the backup copies.........

[Bob W]

I scan at either 300 or 600 dpi on my Canon LIDE scanner and import the image into Epson PrintCD software then print using the Epson 900 printer. The image quality is outstanding IMO.

[jimmalenko]

I scan at 300dpi using Paint Shop Pro's TWAIN driver with a Canon D646U scanner and printing withthe software that came with my canon i865. I DL a lot of covers from cdcovers.cc and have found that while both the DL covers and my own scanned creations often look crap on the screen, the printer does a fantastic job. Very happy with my results, considering of course they're just my own personal backups.

@ vdk_au - you hit the nail on the head there, my friend.

[jetfan]

I scan mine at 150 dpi, they look great. I have an Epson 3170 scanner and scan them as bitmats. There's not much gained by scanning at a higher resolution other than large file sizes. The only benefit would be if you were increasing the size for some reason; ie.... if you had an item that you scanned being 4 inches and you needed the final project to be 8 inches, then in order to maintain a quality scan, you would have to double the resolution.

I agree that cc.covers scans are not that great, but do occasionally use them,
after all, it's not like I'm selling these things - there just a backup in case the
kids wreck the originals - how many times does one need to buy Thomas the Tank videos!

[PJGS]

I use 300dpi and they just look great. I use Canon Lide20 + Epson C84.

[GizmoTheGremlin]

I can't take credit, as I got this from another site, but here's how I get the best quality scan:

First wipe the top of the scanner to remove any dust, hair, etc... Scan the image at 600 dpi, apply a little bit of Guassian blur (less than 1), apply the filter "despeckle", then resize the image to 300 dpi. This will require photoshop to do.

I keep my images at 300 dpi because after the print I just can't see any difference between that and a higher res image. By this method, the image looks much better than just scanning at 300 dpi.

[leebo]

c'mon, does it really matter for backup copies? i only print out the dvd covers (cdcovers.cc) and that's it, i leave the dvd's like how they are.

Well if that doesn't answer my question I don't know what does.
Next time I have a question about how to fix my car I suppose you'll say to take a bus.

Anyway, I re-converted the original 300dpi scans to bitmaps and they look slightly better, but still crap. It looks like they're too small and the printing software has to enlarge them too much to make them cover a DVD. I don't see any way to tell the scan software what size to make the scans other than the dpi.

[RobertUSM]

I scan my discs at 300dpi and save as either a jpg or tif.

I also make sure I select "descreen printed images" in my scanner software just to make sure it doesn't pick up any of the dots some label images are printed in.

I bring it into Accoustica Label Maker and print at best quality.

Never had any problems doing this and have been doing it this way for almost 2 years now.

[adam]

You made the jpgs into bmps? Well that won't do anything, once its compressed the quality is gone.

If you meant that you rescanned them and saved as bmp, or that your scanning software retains the scans and you just saved as bmp, then the quality should be sufficient. Yes, changing dpi is how you would adjust the scan size.

I guess its possible that your scanner just really sucks, but it seems more likely that the scan is fine and just looks bad. Alot of disk printing utilities do not display the image in full resolution. Go ahead and try printing one to see how it turns out.

[Supreme2k]

Well if that doesn't answer my question I don't know what does.
Next time I have a question about how to fix my car I suppose you'll say to take a bus.

Actually, it's morelike you are saying that you want to paint your car, and he's saying "why? as long as it runs." You're not "fixing" anything, just making it prettier.

What scanner are you using? Even with $30 scanners, I've had excellent results at 300 dpi. If there is a default settings button, press that then change only the dpi. If you still get bad prints, or have to resize too much for your software, something is definitely wrong that probably can't be fixed here.

[leebo]

You made the jpgs into bmps? Well that won't do anything, once its compressed the quality is gone.

Not what I meant, but I guess I wasn't clear. You would have to read my original post to realize what I meant was that my scanner software saves in a proprietary format. You drag the scan to an icon representing whatever program you want to open it up in and it is converted into whatever format you like. I just didn't want to re-type everything.

Opened in an image editing program as a bitmap (not converted from jpg).
Saved and opened in my printing program. Looks like crap onscreen and also when printed. Looks like a small image enlarged too big for any use (very blocky). Scanner is a Umax Astra 6400,Firewire connected. Software is Paperport 8.0. No filters have been used.

[stiltman]

I scan at 600 tif
open in photoshop and apply Guassian blur at 2.5
Then I apply sharpen (unsharp mask) at
amount 50%
radius 3
threshold 25
save
I don't down sample or save as jpg

I can also do it straight from my scanner as there is a filter to apply 75,100,150 pixel scan art, but I think photoshop does a better job

[Mawdryn]

I scan at 300 dpi on my HP scanner, and print on an old Epson Stylus Photo 700 printer. They come out great! I tried a few at 600 dpi but I could not see any improvement in the finished product.

Even though the image is only 300 dpi, I always print my labels on the best quality setting, which I think is 1440 x 720 dpi. If I print them at standard 360 dpi, which is still higher than the image resolution, they really don't look good at all.

I sometimes use cdcover.cc files. They're ok but vastly inferior to my scanned images. Too compressed in my opinion.

Oh, and for pictures or any graphis, I always use glossy labels. I set the printer for glossy phot paper. Matte labels are ok for text only, but the image quality, even on best print setting, is only a bit better than regualr paper. The glossy labels are expensive, but they're worth it. I get mine from Meritline.

[leebo]

Yes I use glossy labels, and print on an Epson 960 at best quality (though it has one quality level higher).

As an example, the labels I downloaded from cdcover look much better than my scans, so what does that tell you?

[adam]

Either there is something wrong with your scanner or you are not using the scanning software properly. If you have Photoshop or another imagine software then can import straight from your scanner, then just use that to scan directly into the program. If not, try using another dedicated scanning program. There is a trial version of software called, Sprint Office Try and Buy and it works well.

If you still can't get decent scans your scanner is defective.

[leebo]

Thanks Adam. I suspect user error, which is why I started this topic. I'll try your suggestions this week.

[jtoolman2000]

The way to do a good scan of an original which has been printed through halftone screens is to use "Descreen" setting on your scanner interface. Most upscale scanner do. You have several choices for descreen depending on the original halftone screen frequency used for printing the original disk. You have to experiment. Normally screens come in several frequencies from 85 to 166. The fisrt usually used in newsprint offset printing. Finer screens are used in glossy magazines and the 166 usually reserved for pictorial and very high quality book photographic layouts. I usually stick with the 133 screen setting and use twice that as the final scanning resolution. That is the proper way to avoid weird patters from a mismatch of the halftone frequency and the scanning rez.

[leebo]

I usually stick with the 133 screen setting and use twice that as the final scanning resolution. That is the proper way to avoid weird patters from a mismatch of the halftone frequency and the scanning rez.

OK. Diagrams and baby words please.
What exactly does it mean to stick with the 133 setting, yet use twice that?

Thanks.

[overloaded_ide]

I think he meant use 133 for the setting to descreen and sacn at twice the resolution which would be 266?? Though I am not sure.

In my opinion, as long as the backup dvd works, that is all that is needed, unless you are wanting to sell the backup copies.........

Huh not really, you ever wash your car?? Why bother if it still runs without washing it

Some of us just like thing to look really nice even if we ain't selling them.
I don't sell my backups, but yes I would like them to look as nice as the originals anyway. Sometimes BETTER. I have several comercail disks that look like crap, so I made my own disk images which are way better even though they are different.

Ain't gonna sell the car, but I am putting side pipes, air shocks ect.. on it soon. Mostly just because it will look better and it's fun to do too.

[jtoolman2000]

In offset printing since halftone screen have been stardard to those frequencies for decades, 85-133-166 lines per inch, images that are to be printed are saved to twice the resolution. SO if the image is to go to a newspaper at 85 halftone screen, it is saved to twice that = 170 and so on. It just prevents moire patterns from mismatched resolutions. That's why you DO get them when you try to scan a printed photo off of a magazine. The photo already is composed of many different size dots. Than you scan and that image is also made of dot. The problem is that not the new dots do not match and you get a moire pattern. If you scan at tuice the original line/dot per inch frequency ( or resolution if that's easier to grasp ) you will not introduce a moire. I can scan an original DVD face and it looks almost identical dot for dot. You don;t need to use "gausian blur" just to minimize the problem.
And by the way, I don't think we need BABY talk here.

[stiltman]

In offset printing since halftone screen have been stardard to those frequencies for decades, 85-133-166 lines per inch, images that are to be printed are saved to twice the resolution. .

My Microtek default descreens are
85 (newspaper)
150 (magazine)
175 (art magazine)

I tried each of them with my resolution set to 300 and 600. I still think manually applying filters in photoshop to a 600dpi scan looks better.

[leebo]

I still think manually applying filters in photoshop to a 600dpi scan looks better.

Which filters may I ask?

[james_stewart]

This is from DAprogger

The Scanning Regulations...

PREPERATION

First of all, you have to make sure you scanner's surface is clean, get a soft cloth and gently wipe it, getting rid of any dust that may have settle on the surface. You may want to use some Spray and Wipe or Windex if there are marks on your scanner glass, but make sure you wipe the glass dry before you place down the cover.

Make sure the cover is straightened in the corners of your scanner - If the cover is out of line, use Photoshop's straightening technique which will allow you to rotate it down to 0.01 degrees if you need to, which is alot more precise than most image editing software...

FLATTENING OUT THE COVER

Then make sure that the cover is perfectly flat, I use a my Lord of the Rings heavy hard-cover book to clamp the cover down, phone books also work well, but I would recommend a hard cover book. This extra weight will not damage your scanner, it will just flatten the cover more than it would have been originally, giving you a much better scan.

Now your ready to go! - Scan the cover following the regulations below...

Covers - Originally scan the cover at 600dpi, this should give you an approx resolution of 6480x4350. Then open in Photoshop (or which ever program you like to use) and apply the apropriate filters (SEE HALFTONE DOTS FOR MORE) then resize it down to 3240x2175 at 300dpi AFTER APPLYING FILTERS.

Labels - Originally scan the label at 600dpi, this should give you an approx resolution of 2800x2800. Then resize that down to 1400x1400.

I will assume the majority of people are using Photoshop, since that is the feedback i got from my poll on the topic.

STRAIGHTENING UP THE COVER

Open up your 600 dpi scan in Photoshop, go to the toolbar on the left-hand side of the screen. Find the Eyedropper tool, right-click it and select Measure Tool. When the measure tool is selected, view the scan at Actual Pixels. Then click and hold the measure tool from one corner of the cover down to another corner. Then go to Image --> Rotate Canvas --> Arbitrary. Click OK and the cover will now have been rotated so it is perfectly straight.

Then go to Image --> Rotate Canvas --> 90 CW or 90 CCW depending on which way you scanned your cover. Select the one which applies to you and your scan will now be perfectly straight.

CROPPING

Then go to the select tool on the toolbox. Select a rectangular shape around the border of the cover, try to chop off as little of the original cover as possible when doing this. Then go to Image --> Crop.

HALFTONE DOTS

Now we will try and get rid of the Halftone Dots while still keeping as much quality as possible. Go to Filters --> Blur --> Gaussian Blur. Set the radius from 0.8 - 1.0 but no higher or lower. Try not to blur the image too much...just enought to be able to rescue it later on.

Then go to Filters --> Noise --> Despeckle. Make sure your scan is still 600 dpi (6480x4350) then apply the Despeckle filter 2 times, because the image is larger, we need to apply this filter more, but DONT apply it more than 3 times, otherwise you will lose too much information and the cover will look too edited.

Then resize your cover down to 3240x2175, with 300 dpi

Then go to Filters --> Sharpen --> Unsharpen Mask. Set Ammount to 60%, Threshold to 1, and the Radius to anywhere from 1.2-1.6 but no higher. I would recommend 1.4 because I feel this is the ideal setting.

SAVE YOUR WORK

File --> Save the image at number 11 quality setting in Photoshop. And Your Done!

These regulations will stamp out low quality covers and help make this site the best cover site on the Internet! - So please follow them