There are a lot of reasons to scan handwritten documents, be it to preserve some sort of family historical documents, to save digital copies of forms, or save handwritten notes from friends and family. However, that doesn't mean that it's an easy task either. Scanners can be finicky creatures at best, but these tips are here to make sure that you get the best scan possible to preserve your handwritten materials.
1. Use Dark Writing Material
If you are planning on scanning a handwritten document you will want to use a pencil or ink that is very dark and make your marks as clear and legible as possible. Most commercial scanners will pick up pencils fairly well but it's still a good idea to use a black or dark blue ink.
2. Use Excellent Handwriting
Handwriting is important because you want to make sure that when the document is scanned it will still be readable. Take your time if you have to, it's better to have a clean finished product than to have it done quickly and illegibly.
3. Eliminate Any Unwanted Smudges, Marks, or Scratches
If at all possible you will want to clean up any smudges or scratches before scanning in your document. If the ink or pencil markings cannot be removed easily you may have to open up some image editing software (Photoshop or GIMP) and clean up the document there.
4. Allow Inks to Dry
Give your ink a chance to dry before placing it on the scanning surface to prevent the ink from smearing the surface and throughout the document.
If you have used pencil there may be bits of pencil debris strewn out across the paper which can accidentally be pressed and smudged into the paper. Gently shake or blow on the paper to remove these particles to prevent this from happening.
5. Flattening Handwritten Documents
Sometimes after working with paper it may bend and curl in certain spots. This creates bumps which will create shadows during the scanning process. Shadows can sometimes make it incredibly difficult to read part of the document so it's important to make sure the paper is as flat against the scanning surface as it can be.
Compress the document under something flat and heavy like a large book will gradually iron out the wrinkles and bumps making for a smooth and crisp piece of paper.
6. Clean Scanning Surface
Scanners will pick up anything placed on the screen. Dust, fingerprints, smudges, and other debris can show up as a result if the scanning surface is unclean. Most scanning surfaces are made of glass and can be cleaned with window cleaner and a clean rag, but make sure to read the cleaning instructions included in the manual.
7. Line Up the Document
When scanning handwritten documents, be sure to line up your document against the edges of your scanner before you scan. This will prevent the hassle of trying to rotate it to be straight and making cropping excess space easier in the long run.
Some scanners are equipped with built-in guides to hold a document in place and crop anything outside of the guide out.
8. Do a Preview Scan
Always do a preview scan to make sure the the document is lined up correctly and that there is nothing wrong with the image the scanner is producing. This is incredibly helpful because it can potentially save you a lot of trouble during clean-up.
9. Size of the Scan
You will want to scan your handwritten document in the highest resolution possible. It is easier to work on clean up if the document is very large and the quality of the image will not degrade if it is sized down.
However, some scanners can scan incredibly large resolutions which are impossible to save due to hard drive constraints and would impossible to work with realistically. In this case use your best judgment, in my personal experience I find scanning something at double its actual size is more than enough to work with.
10. Working With Thin Paper/Double Sided
Sometimes paper can be thin or ink can bleed through the paper making it difficult to read handwriting. If you are having this problem, write on another sheet of paper so that it will absorb the ink, rather than it bleeding throughout the document.
If you are noticing that the other side of the paper is showing up in your scans because your paper is too thin, place a thicker, blank sheet of paper behind it so that the scanner will not pick up on the other side of the paper.
Amber Neely - Amber is an experienced writer who believes that you can do anything as long as someone is willing to teach you and you're willing to ...
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