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REPRODUCING A WATERCOLOUR/WATERCOLOR PAINTING - Page 2 of 3
This page (page two) contains details on how to scan a painting. Page one has an overview of equipment and materials needed to produce a reproduction of a watercolor/watercolor painting. Page three is getting the scanned file ready for printing.
Getting the painting ready for scanning.
When the painting is completed and removed from the board I draw the final trim/crop marks on each corner of the painting using a large set square. These short lines help with the scanning (see below) and with the placement of the artwork on the undermount/undermat when framing.
I then cut all four edges of the paper to 12mm or ½" outside of these trim lines with a sharp knife and then select one edge (mainly the top) for the next process. Knowing that the edge of the paper is now parallel and square to the trim marks, I can then place the artwork on the glass of the scanner and up against one side which has a small lip (the metal edge that holds the glass in place). I can then move the artwork along this lip knowing that it will remain square, which is vital if more that one scan is needed (when the artwork is bigger than the scan area of the scanner).
Open the photo or image editing software (Adobe Photoshop CS is being used for this demo but other programs are available) and go to File > Import > then select whatever software connects the Image editing software to the scanner (Epson Twain Pro is highlighted). This brings up a blank area into which the preview of the scan will come.
Click on the Preview button. The scanner will start and produce a quick preview scan. This allows you to check that the painting is placed correctly, has not moved when closing the lid and to see the area that can be scanned. Reposition painting if incorrect.
Next drag a selection box to cover the area to be scanned (as per the dotted line on the left). This covers all the area of the painting plus the bleed (area around the painting which contains the trim or crop marks).
First thing to set is 'Resolution'. This is the dot per inch (dpi) that the scanner will scan at (from 50 to 12800dpi). The larger the dpi the longer it takes to scan and the larger the file size produced. If reproducing prints the same size as the original painting set the resolution to 300dpi - the standard for most commercial printing - nothing is gained by higher resolution (unless the image is to be enlarged) as the top quality inkjet printers available produce superb prints from 300dpi files.
Next is 'Image controls' which contains (not all software has these options to adjust).
exposure - '0', Avoid using "Auto exposure" as this will give different exposures for each scan.
gamma - '2.20 (for windows)', or 1.00
highlight - '245'
shadow - '30'
Note: these work for my combination of scanner, printer, inks etc yours may/will be very different.
'Colour/Color' - Much better to adjust later using image editor.
One last thing before scanning, turn Unsharp Mask Off as even on the Low setting it can capture too much of the paper texture. If required, sharpen (using Unsharp Mask) later in the image editor.
Click on the Scan button. The scanner starts scanning the painting and when complete, the scanned image will appear. With Epson Twain Pro the scan comes up in a window behind Twain.
The scanning stage is now complete, unless the painting is larger than the scanner window, if so repeat steps 2-5 after moving the painting on the scanner.
