What DPI should i scan my prints at?

[Jim17x]

When i scan a print it always comes out very dull with not much detail.. Im asking this question so i can upload images to the gallery on Apug. I use a Epson V600 at 300 dpi and save the file as a Jpeg.. Is there away to capture the detail better by using a different dpi and saving it as something other than jpeg?

Thanks!

 

[L Gebhardt]

You really need to test this yourself. If there is more than 300dpi of data in the print (will depend on the paper, the enlarging lens and how well it was focused) you can capture it with most good scanners. Just make scans at higher resolutions and look at fine detail. Resize them all both up and down to the same pixel dimensions and see which give you the best scans for the purpose of the output.

Yes, scan to 16bit tiff if you will be doing major adjustments to them. Just to post online jpeg should be OK.

 

[Doyle Thomas]

i generally scan eveything at the max OPTICAL res for the scanner as a tif. you can always throw away information but you can never get it back.
jpegs are lossy, if you are doing any editing, each time you save the file it becomes more compressed.

 

[Dennis S]

Epson has quite good software for scanning. When I do negatives with my V500 I usually use 3200-4800 DPI and 16 bit in Tif. That is a large scan but I can always go through them an delete the bad ones. Some files are 1.05 GB but I have a whole HDD just for photography. That maybe a bit over kill but I need prints made that are display orientated.

 

[Jim17x]

Thanks for the great advice! I think i need to invest in some software because i cant open the file when i save it to the Tif format.. Im using the basic photo software the was issued with my computer and its sub-par at best,, Thanks again..

 

[Felinik]

After some testing with my v500 I came to the conclusion that there's a sweet spot somewhere around 3200, so for me that's my standard setting for scanning 35mm negatives.