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Scanning Line Art

Line art is artwork which only contains black and white pixels. Line art images always contain sharp edges with no greys or colours. You would think that it would be the easiest to scan. The problem is that bitmap images often end up either lacking detail or clogged in darker areas. The "Bitmap" or "Black & White" settings in your scanning software will rarely yield favourable results. I'll show you how to achieve optimal results. This will be how all Graphic Design students scan artwork destined to be in black and white.

Project Highlights

  • This project is worth 10% of your final grade.
  • It is due at the end of class in my Drop Box.
  • Convert the provided photos to line art using the technique explained in the podcast.
Scanning Line Art
Scanning Line Art

Today, you will watch the provided podcast and read this page. After that, you will download the images on the left and convert all of these. You will use this technique to make them high-quality bitmap images. We want to avoid too many broken lines, clogged dark areas and excessively white light areas.

Additional Tips

Now we have our image looking like a bitmap image. What we need to do is adjust any areas which either look clogged, have broken lines or have paper texture.

Fix broken lines
Use the "History Brush" with the mode option set to "Multiply" or "Darken" to make the lines thinner. Lower the Opacity settings if the changes are too extreme.
Reduce line thickness
Use the "History Brush" with the mode option set to "Screen" or "Lighten" to make the lines thinner. Lower the Opacity settings if the changes are too extreme.
Scanning Line Art

Once you have refined the image, make sure there are no excessive white areas around it — that the canvas is not too big for nothing. You can use "Image >Trim" and check all the boxes. This should crop the image to its smallest practical size.

Wrap-up

Save the resulting image as a ".PSD" file to preserve all its layers.

We are almost done. You have an image which looks like a good bitmap image, but it is still in grayscale mode. Simply go "Image >Mode >Bitmap". The resulting dialog will allow you to change the resolution. No damage will come to it, but you have scanned it at the right resolution and dimensions, so no change should be necessary. Click "OK".

The best way to save bitmap files is as an EPS, if you need to place it against a coloured background. The resulting dialog will give you the choice of making whites transparent.

Scanning Line Art

Place all your images in InDesign on one tabloid-size page. Organise your files as pictured below an copy them to my Drop Box.

Scanning Line Art

Resolution & Printing Line Art

Scanning Line Art

Here's the low-down on printing line-art to various devices. Since line art contains only black and white pixels, we want to match up one image pixel to one device pixel to get the best clarity. Most of today's monochrome laser printers print at 600 dpi. So if you're printing to one, set the resolution of your image to 600 dpi at 100%.

If you are sending the bitmap image to press as part of a layout, you would need to set the resolution of the image to the same resolution of the printer's raster image processor (RIP). Current RIPs use a 2400dpi line-screen. This would make quite a large file. 1000dpi is sufficient to capture the finest line.

How to Get an "A"

To earn top grades, you will have to:

  • Use the provided tools and method to process your images
  • Not damage your images
  • Name all of your layers
  • Clear up all clogged areas
  • Reveal dropped-out areas
  • Finish all of the provided images