Scanners

What's the fastest way to scan something to high-quality .pdf or .jpeg?

Most scanning can be accomplished using the Canon multifunction machine in our printer room. The Canon will deliver photo-quality, color scans at 300dpi directly to your email using a feature called Scan and Send. You can choose between .pdf and .jpeg. You can also scan documents with the Canon using its top-loading document feeder. Please feel free to ask one of our student consultants for help if you need a hand.

Flatbed scanners are available in various labs on campus including the Media Center and Language Center.

Scanning tips: Make sure your scans can be seen by everyone

Not all documents can successfully be made accessible. Consult this guide on high-quality scans from the University of Washington to understand what makes a scan able to be seen and read by most people. A high-quality scan contains

easily-readable text,
is free of marginalia,
and is not skewed.

What about OCR?

Adobe Acrobat performs fairly accurate Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and its OCR functionality has been integrated with all Canon multifunction machines on campus. We no longer support separate OCR tools. Whether you're starting with a new scan, or working from an image file or .pdf, Acrobat can perform the OCR for you.

Working with OCR

OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, is a technology that enables you to convert different types of documents, such as scanned paper documents, PDF files, or images captured by a digital camera into editable and searchable data. Copiers installed by ITS at Swarthmore default to OCR.

However, if you need to execute OCR, you can use Adobe Acrobat Pro to convert the material.

Open document in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Open the Tools tab.
Select Scan & OCR.
Select Recognize Text.
Choose the relevant settings, such as language.
Click on the Recognize Text button.

For more details on this, explore Adobe’s How to scan and get text from an image with OCR article.

OCR doesn't handle some languages that well, particularly if they don't use the Latin alphabet. Please ask for help if you have questions.

Can I scan slides, film strips, and other transparencies here?

Yes, the large flatbed scanner attached to the Mac in the back right corner of the Media Center will scan slides, film strips, medium format negatives, and large transparencies. The scanner can be accessed directly through the Mac application called "Preview." Please ask for help.

How large a thing can I scan?

Our largest scanners will handle 12"x18" flat material. If you need something larger scanned, please consult with the Friends Historical Library for book material or Facilities for large maps or other flat content.

Can I scan Microfiche here?

Sorry, we can't help you with Microfiche; you'll have to contact the libraries.

Teaching, Learning, Research