Transform Your Art into Digital

Desktop Flatbed Scanners: Scanning Artwork at Home

A desktop flatbed scanner is likely the first type of scanner you imagine and is a popular option for digitizing smaller artworks, typically up to 11×17 inches. These scanners feature a flat glass surface where documents and art can be placed for scanning, and most come with an adjustable lid to accommodate thicker materials like books.

Thanks to technological advancements, many consumer flatbed scanners for home use offer good image quality, making them one of the most accessible and convenient choices for scanning artwork.

Here are some key considerations when thinking about flatbed scanners:

• Artwork Dimensions: Flatbed scanners generally have a maximum capacity of 11×17 inches for scanning. Larger artwork can be scanned in parts, but this would necessitate extra effort to digitally merge the sections.

• Output Size: If you want to use your images for printing, the desired print size will influence the ideal resolution you will want to scan at for a high-quality print. Depending on the possible resolutions of the scanner you are using, you may be limited in print sizing choices.

• Medium/Art Type: Flatbed scanners require placing your artwork face down on the glass. They work well for drawings, photographs, or paintings with minimal texture. However, for highly textured or fragile pieces, there’s a potential risk of surface damage.

• Textures: In addition to the face-down scan not being ideal for highly textured work, scans from a flatbed scanner may not be able to actually capture those details properly and scans may come out looking flat. Depending on your desired output and expectations, this may rule out flatbeds for some artists.

For many artists, the affordability and convenience of flatbed scanning make it an unbeatable option for beginning to digitize their artwork.

Photography: Capturing Artwork with a Camera

Capturing artwork through photography is a common method for artists looking to digitize their creations. There are various approaches available, from using a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera to employing a specialized camera setup tailored for art reproduction. Regardless of the equipment chosen, achieving the best results demands technical skill and attention to detail, as image quality can significantly vary based on several factors

Here are some considerations when thinking about having your work photographed:

• Positioning: To accurately capture the geometry of your artwork, it must be perfectly aligned with the camera lens. Achieve this by either hanging the artwork flat against a wall or adjusting the angle of your camera. This step can often be one of the more difficult parts of photographing your art at home.

• Camera Setup: Since positioning is such a crucial part of photographing your work, fixing your camera in place to avoid shake is also suggested, even if you are using your smart phone.

• Lighting: Consistent and proper lighting is crucial for capturing a high-quality photograph of your artwork. The best approach is to have light sources on both sides of the piece to create even illumination and provide sufficient brightness for accurately representing colors. Inconsistent or uneven lighting may require extensive post-production editing to correct.

• Size of Artwork: One key benefit of photographing your art is that you can capture virtually any size – even large wall murals! Depending on the size, you will likely need to break the piece down into multiple sections, all while trying to keep the ideal lighting and positioning in mind.

• Output Size: Like with flatbed scanning, the desire output or print size will have an impact on the resolution and file size you’ll need from a photographed image, and may dictate whether you can achieve high-quality results with a smartphone (which actually can shoot very high-quality with technology advances), or will require a more powerful camera.

While photography can yield excellent results for fine art reproductions and printing, the technical requirements for capturing a high-quality image can be a challenge for studios or photographers without the proper set-up or experience. Furthermore, a common frustration we hear from artists who try photographing their art is the difficult task of controlling reflections that either make the image unusable or require a lot of post-production work.

Fine Art Scanning: Purpose-Built for Museum-Quality Reproductions

When it comes to preserving the true essence of your artwork in digital form, opting for a fine art scan, provides unparalleled quality and precision in capturing details, texture, and colour accurately. Fine art scanners are purpose-built for the fine art, design, and culture & heritage industries to capture artwork and other materials with exacting accuracy. These fine art scanners generally address many of the pitfalls and limitations that other scanning methods may present.

Lighting: Fine art scanners, like our Cruse Synchron table scanner, are built with a lighting system that provides even, consistent lighting throughout the entire scan. There are also texture lighting settings available, allowing for the scanner to capture texture, shadows and highlights consistently across your entire image in a way that no other manual set-up can.

All art/media types: Unlike flatbed scanning, most fine art scanners feature a flat scanning table that allows for artwork to be placed flat and face-up, allowing for the art to be perfectly parallel to the scanning lens which sits directly above. The scanning table or camera (depending on the scanner used), then moves without having to make direct contact with the capture device, avoiding the risk of damaging textured or delicate work. The height and distance of the camera lens also adjusts to the size of the original and the desired scanning resolution, giving you flexibility in the output file.

Large format capabilities: Fine art scanners come in many sizes, however, they can generally accommodate larger artwork sizes.

Archival-grade results: Fine art scanners offer exceptional resolution, colour fidelity, and tonal range, making them the ideal choice for high-quality reproductions and archival purposes. Many of the world’s largest museums, galleries, and cultural institutions either have their own fine art scanners in-house, or work with providers like Colourgenics to digitize and archive art and other documents.

Professional Expertise: Trained professionals with experience in fine art, colour management, and digital imaging handle the scanning process with most fine art scanners. Because of their specialization and expertise with digitizing art, the image quality you receive will often be far superior to less specialized offerings.

A true fine art scan is the best starting point to digitize and/or reproduce your work. However, due to the highly specialized nature of the service and scanning equipment, fine art scanning will tend to be the most expensive, but reliable, option.

Editing your digitized artwork

Whether you use a scanner or a camera, the digitized art will unlikely come out perfectly. Every professional artist edits their photos before selling artwork online. You can use software like Adobe Photoshop (or a free alternative like Photopea or Krita) to crop the image, adjust the colors, and remove any imperfections. Follow these editing tips:

• Crop and straighten. Use tools in your image editing software to crop and straighten your digital art files. This helps remove any unwanted borders and backgrounds and ensures your files are ready for printing on products.

• Correct colors. Adjust the color balance, brightness, and contrast to ensure that your digital artwork matches the original as best as possible.

• Remove imperfections. Use an eraser tool or a healing brush to remove scratches, dust spots, or any imperfections. This tends to happen more often during the scanning process.