DT ScanDoc preferences - Scanner and image setup

This dialogue controls settings for the scanner and its TWAIN driver, which in turn control the size, quality and other features of the scanned image.

The default settings are suitable for most situations. You can click the Reset to defaults button near the bottom right corner at any time to reset all the controls to their default. However, because of differences in the way that scanners work and the different ways that users wish to use DT ScanDoc you can experiment with the settings on this dialogue to optimize the process.

· Scanning resolution

Most scanners can scan at different resolutions. 300 dpi (dots per inch) is recommended. If you scan in a higher resolution than necessary it will take longer to scan and produce much bigger files sizes. If you scan using a resolution that is too low, the resulting image may not be legible.

Change the resolution by clicking on the slider and dragging it to the left (lower resolution) or right (higher resolution).

· Show the scanner user interface while scanning

DT ScanDoc is designed to simplify the process of scanning tax related documents and saving the images as PDF files, and it therefore only supports a limited number of features to control the scanner. Most scanners include many more, advanced controls which allow the scanner to be used in a variety of roles. If you feel you have a special need you can select to show the scanner user interface while scanning with DT ScanDoc. You will then be able to select these additional controls.

You can also select to use the scanner interface from the DT ScanDoc Scan dialogue. This can be convenient if you just need to change scanner settings for one particular scan job. It is also suggested to show the scanner interface if you are experiencing any trouble scanning directly with DT ScanDoc.

· Use automatic document feeder (ADF), if available

An automatic document feeder (ADF) enables several pages to be loaded into a scanner, so that they can automatically be scanned in turn, without needing to insert each page individually.

If a scanner is of the flat-bed type with an ADF attached, then you should check the box to use the ADF. If the scanner does not have a flat bed, and the ADF is integrated into the scanner and there is no option but to use the ADF, then you should normally leave the box unchecked.

· Scan both sides (duplex), if available

Some scanners with integrated ADF are capable of scanning both sides (duplex) of a document in a single pass. This feature is not normally available with flat bed scanners.

If duplex is available for your scanner, you should assess whether the type of documents and type of archiving you work with need the reverse side of the documents to be scanned. You may wish to scan in duplex and discard blank pages automatically (see below). Or you may wish to scan only one side and rescan the second side where necessary to avoid scanning the backs of T-slips which contain unnecessary instructions.

Save image

This is the resolution of the image as it is saved in the DT ScanDoc (.PDF) file. 150dpi is recommended.

Change the resolution by clicking on the slider and dragging it to the left (low resolution) or right (high resolution).

· Image compression quality

Compression algorithms are used to store the images in the PDF files in a way that minimizes the file sizes. If you select a high compression, then the files sizes will be minimized, but the quality will be significantly reduced, and the images may not be legible. If you select a low compression, then the files sizes will be unnecessarily large. A setting of 60% is recommended.

Change the compression quality by clicking on the slider and dragging it to the left (low quality, high compression) or right (high quality, low compression).

Warning: If you select high resolution and/or high image compression quality, the resulting DT ScanDoc files could become very large.

· Colour mode

Select the colour mode for the image in the DT ScanDoc file.

Black and white images produce the smallest files, but may not be clear to read when reprinted (similar to fax quality.)

Greyscale offers the best trade-off between file size and the ability to read re-printed documents.

Colour is normally not necessary, and produces large file sizes.

· Automatically straighten (deskew)

Most scanners are able to automatically deskew scanned documents if they are out of alignment by a few degrees. This is especially useful when scanning on flatbed scanners. Deskewing normally becomes ineffective for angles more than about 15°.

· Discard blank pages

A blank page is considered a page with only a very small amount of high-contrast information. Automatically discarding blanks pages is most useful when you are scanning both sides of documents.

If you choose to show the Index or Review dialogues then automatically discarded blank pages will be marked to be discarded, and you will be able to review whether or not to discard each page as you do the indexing and review.

If you do not use the Index or Review dialogues, then the discarding of blank pages takes effect without any review.

· Automatically trim (crop)

Automatically trimming a scanned image will remove the white space outside of the scanned image. This could be the margin of a document, or the plain background behind a small document.

This feature is not set by default because for many scanners this works unreliably, and the images are trimmed far too much, losing valuable information. You can turn this feature on to experiment with your scanner and typical documents.