Bitmap vs.Vector
Image Formats

To scan an image, place your copy face-down on the scanner bed. Start one of the "host" applications (iPhoto Plus or Picture Publisher). You'll find these applications in your Start menu under their own program groups (or possibly in "Mustek Scanner Solutions") under Programs.

Make certain that you have selected the Mustek scanner as your TWAIN data source:

• In iPhoto Plus 1.2, click on File and Select Source, then choose the Mustek source.
• In iPhoto Plus 4, click on File, select Acquire and Select Source, then choose the Mustek source.
• In Picture Publisher, click on File, select Setup and Scanner then choose the Mustek source.

This operation needs to be performed only once -- the proper TWAIN source should remain in place unless another is selected (in the event that you have another TWAIN device such as a digital camera, etc. installed on your system).

From the File menu, choose Acquire. You will then be presented with the scanner control screen, the TWAIN dialog box. This screen allows you to select the scan mode, either color, grayscale or line art. You can also select the resolution, or dots-per-inch (dpi), of the scan. The choices you make here are entirely up to your taste, and the needs of the project you are scanning for. It's recommended, for your first image scan, to use the 100 dpi setting in color mode.

Once you have chosen the parameters of the scan, you may prescan the image by clicking the Prescan button on the TWAIN interface. Once you have pre-scanned, you'll see a rough, thumbnail sketch of the material in the preview window on the right.

Along with the image, there will be a floating dotted line box in the preview window. This box is known as the crop frame. The entire purpose of a prescan is to adjust the crop frame so that it is surrounding the image to be scanned. Stretch the crop frame by dragging it's sides to include only the portion of the material that you want to capture.

You may now click on the Scan button, and the image will appear on the screen in a moment. In some cases, you will need to close the TWAIN interface to see the image.

Once the image is on the screen, you can either print it by going to the File menu and choosing Print, or save the image by choosing Save As. At this point, if you are going to save the image, you will need to type a path (see below), name the file, and give it a proper file extension.

The file extension (which determines not only what format the file will be saved in, but, in certain cases, whether you will be "compressing" the image to save space) can either be selected from a drop-down menu, or typed in manually. Two common extensions are the Windows Bitmap (.bmp) and the JPEG (.jpg). You can now save the file for later retrieval.

It is best to save all scans to the hard drive first, then transfer them to floppy. In many cases, a high-resolution scan will NOT fit on a floppy disk, due to its great size.

It's always best to save files (just as you would with money, jewelry, etc.) in a place where you know where to go to retrieve them. To best do this, you need a basic knowledge of something called "file management. Your Windows manual is the best possible resource to start learning file management. Here are some tips, however, to help you get started:

To make things easier, it's a good idea to create a directory on your hard drive specifically for your scanned images. In the Windows Explorer, go to File, then New and select Folder.

After you've created the folder, re-name it from "new folder" to "pix," "pics," or something short and easy to remember (and type). Now, you'll save all your images that you've scanned to that folder.

Then, when you want to open or import that image file into another program, you'll know exactly where to look.

To save scanned images to this folder, go to "Save As" in your image editing software (iPhoto Plus or Picture Publisher) and name the file C:\(the folder name)\(the filename).bmp, .jpg, etc.

When you need to get that file back, just "browse" your way back to that directory from wherever you are, and the images will be there.

Your e-mail program, Internet browser or on-line service provider's interface likely contains a function which allows you to "attach" a document.

Just select this option (you may need help from the program's publisher, or your on-line service provider if you're not familiar with this feature), tell the program in which directory you saved the image (you'll really need to understand file management as covered above), and the name of the file in question. It will then attach to, and send with, your e-mail message.

Make sure that you are not sending a super-large file, as this may take a very long time to upload (and, consequently, download on the other end). Resolutions above 100 dpi are unnecessary for on-screen viewing.

It is best to save image files for delivery over the Internet with the file extension .jpg, as this file format compresses the image in a relatively non-destructive way, and sends the file in the most compact, and therefore fastest, way.

For more detailed information on scanning and attaching to an email, consult our guide on Attaching Pictures to Email.

If you have a parallel port scanner, make sure of the following:

Make certain that you are using the Mustek-supplied cable to connect the scanner to the computer. Also, for the best possible performance, use the EPP mode for your parallel port if it is available. If you're system is not already set for EPP mode, you will need to access your system's BIOS settings to change your parallel port mode.

If the printer cable (the one going from the scanner to the printer) is NOT an IEEE 1284, standard bi-directional cable, there may be a problem with scanner/printer data pass-through.