How Operate Scanners

Scanners
Because there are so many scanner manufacturers and scanner operation and software varies greatly, it is impossible to go into great depth or provide multiple manufacturer links here. Since HP 6100C scanners were purchased for the labs, there is more specific information about this scanner. There is also generic information about scanner operation that may be helpful to users of other scanners.

install the HP 6100c scanner
You will need the scanner, connecting cable, SCSI card (triangular card that goes inside the computer) and scanner CD. If you are using Windows 95, you must install the software before you install the SCSI card in your computer and connect the scanner. Unfortunately, the scanner card causes hardware conflicts with the network cards installed in the EDS machines. For a successful install of the scanner in an EDS computer

If you are using Windows 98, simply plug in the card, hook up the scanner and follow the prompts to let Windows 98 install the software. Win 98 will install the SCSI card first, then the scanner. You can then install the Corel software to use with the scanner.

The HP 6100C software includes a test to see if it has been successfully installed. Look for the HP scanner program menu in Start/Programs Menu or click the HP scanner icon in Control Panel.

For further HP scanner information and support, go to Hewlett-Packard's home page. Since there are so many scanner manufacturers, you will need to locate your scanner manufacturer on the Internet if you have purchased your own scanner.

operate the scanner

Whatever scanner you buy comes with software to operate the scanner. Most come with the basic scanner software plus a graphics program. Since this software will vary with each scanner, install the software according to the instructions provided with your scanner.

Place your document face down on the scanner glass with the corner of the document in the top corner of the glass - some scanners have a arrow in the desired corner, if not use the top left corner. Make sure scanner is turned on and cables are connected properly.

To operate the basic HP scanner software, look in your Start/Programs Menu for HP Scanner or the icon in Control Panel. Others probably operate in a similar manner. To scan using a graphics program, you can usually run the program and click File and look for Scan. If you have more than one digital device installed on your computer, like a scanner and a digital camera, you may be asked to select the desired device. This should start your scanner's software.

Scanner software varies greatly, but here is the general process. Look at the settings offered. You often can select from a list of black & white and color options and even slide if your scanner has that option. Choose the one that best fits what you want to scan. If you can select resolutions (e.g. 50 dpi, 75 dpi), choose with care. Larger dpi makes for bigger files. Although scanning photographs in higher dpi can make them look better, the larger file size can make it impossible to use on the web or in a document. Try to strike a balance between quality and file size.

Select a Text option if you just want the words for use in a word processing document. This is called OCR (Optical Character Reader). OCR will try to convert the printed text characters on your page - not graphics, columns or tables - to characters and words that you can change like a text document. Some OCR software is better than others, so you may find many errors in the results. Some HP scanners came with full OCR software, while others only have 30 day trial software - it's not worth it to install this trial software unless you want to see what OCR can do (then if you want OCR, go buy it).

Once you've selected the options you want, click the Preview or Pre-Scan button. Your scanner will scan and show you the results. You should see a dashed box on your scan. You can click and drag these lines to cover only the area you want to scan. This can reduce file size and scan time greatly if you only want a portion of a document. As you see the pre-scannned image, you can change settings (like brightness, contrast, colors) to improve the quality of the image scanned. These changes should adjust the preview image you see.

When you're satisfied, click Scan. A final scan will be made. If you're scanning into a graphics program or OCR into a word processor, the scan should appear in that program's window. If you create a large file or want to make scan changes, just repeat the scanning process.

Computer Hardware

CD & DVD Technology

The Technology pages provide an introduction to the CD and DVD formats plus provisional information on the new higher density versions to be launched in 2005.

· The Compact Disc was launched in 1982 for high quality digital audio and has become one of the most successful examples of consumer electronics technology.

· In 1984 the CD Audio specification was extended to CD-ROM for computer applications and was subsequently extended to other formats all based on the audio compact disc format.

· In 1996 DVD became available in Japan and was then launched in the USA in 1997 and Europe in 1998. DVD is available in three formats: DVD-Video for high quality movies, DVD-ROM for games and other computer applications and DVD-Audio for high quality music. There is also the DualDisc, launched at the end of 2004.

· In 2005, two new formats will be launched offering movies in high definition video.

Deluxe offers our customers a full range of CD and DVD services including premastering, replication and fulfilment.

Click on the links on the left or the logos on the right to find out more about these technologies and the various CD & DVD formats and how they are manufactured. There is also a glossary of terms relevant to CD, DVD and the applications they are used for

DVD technology

DVD technology was developed to provide an optical disc format with a much larger capacity than the CD, for a wide range of applications. Pre-recorded DVD discs provide capacities from 4.7 GB to 17.1 GB and can support a wide range of applications, including DVD-Video and DVD-Audio.
The term DVD-ROM is used to define both the physical/logical format of pre-recorded DVD discs and the computer multimedia applications of DVD. DVD-ROM discs, as opposed to DVD-Video or DVD-Audio discs, are being used for games, encyclopaedias and other applications where the large size is needed. In addition DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs often include a DVD-ROM section with data that runs on a PC, giving additional features such as Internet access

The Disc

As a disc, DVD looks very much like the CD. Both are shiny discs that are 4 3/4 inches (12.0 cm) in diameter. Both are optical formats containing digital information. This means a laser pickup is used to read the digital data encoded on the disc. But that's where the similarities end.
DVD is actually a family of physical and application formats. As far as the physical format, DVD can hold anywhere from seven times to over 25 times the digital data on a CD, depending on the the disc's construction. Additionally, the DVD may be used for video, audio, or data storage applications as a DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, or DVD-ROM application format, respectively.

The Physical Format

There are three reasons for DVD's greater data capacity:

1. Smaller pit size

2. Tighter track spacing

3. Multiple layer capability

Smaller Pit Size. DVDs have smaller pit size than CDs. Pits are the slight depressions or dimples on the surface of the disc that allow the laser pickup to distinguish between the digital 1's and 0's.

Tighter Track Spacing. DVDs also feature tighter track spacing (i.e., track pitch) between the spirals of pits. In order for a DVD player to read the smaller pit size and tighter track spacing of the DVD format, a different type of laser with a smaller beam of light is required. (This is one of the major reasons why CD players cannot read DVDs, while DVD players are capable of reading Audio CDs.)

A comparison of a CD's pit size and track spacing vs. that of a DVD

Multiple Layer Capability. Finally, DVDs may have up to 4 layers of information, with two layers on each side. To read information on the second layer (on the same side), the laser focuses deeper into the DVD and reads the pits on the second layer. When the laser switches from one layer to another layer, it is referred to as the "layer switch" or the "RSDL (reverse spiral dual layer) switch". To read information from the other side of the DVD, almost all DVD players require the user to manually flip the disc.

Based on DVD's dual-layer and double-sided options, there are four disc construction formats:

1. Single-sided, single-layered

2. Single-sided, dual-layered

3. Double-sided, single-layered

4. Double-sided, dual-layered

Single-Sided, Single-Layered. Also known as DVD-5, this simplest construction format holds 4.7 Gigabytes (GBytes) of digital data. The "5" in "DVD-5" signifies the nearly 5 GBytes worth of data capacity. Compared to 650 Megabytes (MB) of data on CD, the basic DVD-5 has over seven times the data capacity of that of a CD. That's enough digital information for approximately two hours of digital video and audio for DVD-Video, or 74 minutes of high resolution music for DVD-Audio.

Single-Sided, Dual-Layered. The DVD-9 construction holds about 8.5 GBytes. DVD-9s do not require manual flipping: the DVD player automatically switches to the second layer in a fraction of a second, by re-focusing the laser pickup on the deeper second layer. This capability allows for uninterrupted playback of long movies up to four hours! Frequently, DVD-9 is used to put a movie and its rich set of bonus materials on the same DVD-Video disc, or its optional DTS Surround Sound track.

Double-Sided, Single-Layered. Known as DVD-10, this construction features a capacity of 9.4 GBytes of data. DVD-10s are commonly used to put a widescreen version of the movie on one side, and a full frame version of the same movie on the other side. Almost all DVD players require you to manually flip the DVD, that's why the DVD-10 is called the "flipper" disc. (There are a few DVD players that can perform the side flipping automatically.)

Double-Sided, Dual-Layered. The DVD-18 construction can hold approximately 17 GBytes (almost 26 times the data capacity of a CD), or about 8 hours of video and audio as a DVD-Video. Think of DVD-18 as a double-sided DVD-9, where up to four hours of uninterrupted video and audio can be stored on one side. To access the content on the other side of a DVD-18, you have to manually flip the DVD. To date, few titles have been released using this construction. Content providers (e.g., movie studios) usually choose to go with two DVD-9s than a single DVD-18 because DVD-18s cost far more to produce