Final Resolution - Nikon Scanners Software Reference Manual

Table of Contents

Cropping and Sizing Images

dimensions of the ﬁnal image are typically known. For example, when a page layout

reserves a 4" x 6" space, a 4" x 6" scanned image is produced to ﬁt.

The resolution of the scan, either input or output, will determine the amount of

data that is present in the scan, e.g. the amount of data in the 4" x 6" area. If the out-

put resolution was set at 100 pixels or dots per inch, the resulting scan ﬁle would be (4 x

100) x (6 x 100) = 240,000 pixels or dots. If the output resolution was set at 200 pixels

or dots per inch, the resulting ﬁle would be (4 x 200) x (6 x 200) = 960,000 pixels or

dots. Both images would still, however, occupy the same 4" x 6" space when used at

their respective resolution settings.

So what is the basis for selecting resolution? The higher the resolution, the better

the scan detail, the longer it takes to produce the scan, and the larger the resulting ﬁle

size. Typically, the resolution of the scan is selected to best suit its intended use, in par-

ticular the device it will be output on. To match any output device that has 300 dots

per inch, the ﬁnal resolution might be selected to be 300 pixels per inch.

This simple rule does not necessarily apply for all applications. For example,

when your intended output is for offset or printed reproduction, the scan resolution

should be between one and two times the required printing screen resolution.