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Best Scanners For Illustrators Scan Area 12 X 15 Of 2024: Completed List

Brandon Forder
  Mar 29, 2024 6:13 AM

You have created a masterpiece of painting or illustration.

So what? To achieve any level of success in the arts is a difficult task. The first thing you should do after you finish anything very impressive is to make a digital copy of it.

This is a good idea whether you're doing it for personal security or planning to produce copies to give away.

Worse yet? In reality, many scanners do a lousy job of capturing visual art.

I've sorted through the best and worst to bring you this list of the finest scanners for illustrators with a scan area of 12 by 15.

I included both inexpensive and high-end models, as well as those able to handle large and tiny formats, all of which have a variety of useful functions.


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Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API


Buying Guide

High-Quality Scanning 

Excellent image quality at the highest achievable resolution is guaranteed by only using the best scanner for artwork. In this scenario, the scanned image can't have any dirt or dust on it. And a big scale scanner would be required to digitize such massive paintings.

Consequently, remember that when making a purchase. Because of this, it is important to check the dimensions of any flatbed scanner you are considering purchasing. Plus, the scanning area of some scanners may be expanded with an extension arm, allowing you to preserve and scan even thicker volumes and papers.

Scan Speed 

You'll need to be mindful of the scanning rate if you intend to scan many photographs or documents. Determine a scanner's speed by the number of pages it can scan in one minute.

Standard document scanning software can process 30 pages per minute. However, this is not always the case when scanning high-resolution artworks. Traditional art must contain sections with rich color detail and shading in order to be scanned. These might slow down the machine, but that's fine. After all, you should only ever use the highest-quality versions of the source images.

Keep in mind that due to the volume of paperwork, professional scanners will need a scanning speed of 30 pages or more. A slower pace may be acceptable if the product's intended use is document scanning in the home.

Scan Resolution 

Only the most advanced scanners will never compromise image quality. If an artist wants to see subtle differences in color, texture, tones, or shadings in their work, they require a high resolution.

If you want your scans to look their best, aim for a resolution of around 600 dpi. For most document printing jobs, a resolution higher than this is probably unnecessary. However, the scan resolution is crucial for artists because it determines the final image quality.

Size

Many scanners have a maximum paper size of A4, which can be a problem if you need to digitize artwork that is larger than that. If you're working on a bigger scale, your scanner needs to be able to accommodate that.

This could also necessitate further financial outlay. Larger size are no problem for certain scanners. You should verify everything before making a purchase.

Scan Area

A basic flatbed scanner will have a scan area that is 8.5 inches by 11.7 inches. A larger scan area of about 12 by 17 inches is available on some models. If you have a lot of huge paintings, the effort spent piecing them back together could add up and make it worthwhile to invest in one of these models. However, if your paper sizes are less than 8.5 in. × 11.7 in., the standard scanner size should be adequate.

Color Depth

Like resolution, modern art scanners can reliably produce 48-bit color data. The CanoScan LiDE 400, an inexpensive scanner, is no exception to this rule.

Keep in mind that 48-bit color depth is ideal for printing, while 24-bit depth is the industry standard for web use.

Supported Media

You can scan those old family photos or film photography with ease if you have a scanner that can read film. Art scanners that support film are the way to go unless you know for sure you will never need to scan film negatives, 35mm slides, or medium format film.

Connectivity

The more common connection types for current scanners are USB-A and USB-C. While most people will use wireless, a USB connection is the quickest and most reliable way to guarantee that your artwork is digitized.

Make that the scanner and computer are properly connected to each other before going out and buying an adapter, as some older models may employ incompatible connection techniques.

Price

When deciding on a new piece of technology, cost is always a consideration. The purchase of a scanner is no different. It's possible to spend more money on a scanner and unlock additional options if you have a higher budget.

Do you really need all the bells and whistles it might have? It's possible that, even if you have a sizable budget, you won't use every single one of the bells and whistles that come standard on such an item. The first step is to carefully consider the tasks for which you will require a scanner.


FAQS

Scanner vs Camera – Which is best for my artwork?

It would be impossible to provide a definitive response in this case due to the sheer number of factors at play. What genre of art is this, exactly? What sort of camera is that? The size of the artwork. I was wondering whether you had a nice setup for art photography.

Many pieces of art are best captured with a high-quality DSLR or other professional-grade camera with optimal lighting.

The case is even stronger for specific forms of creative expression. It makes more sense, for instance, to photograph an imprint on fabric than to attempt to scan it.

It is possible that a scanner could produce the greatest results for many types of illustration, including cartoons, but only if the user is very familiar with the scanner's settings.

Line drawings scanned as JPEGs will have extra noise in the image. This issue is often avoided by scanning as a PNG or PDF. To avoid the difficulty, those illustrations can be photographed instead.

Create vectors from your drawings by scanning them first. The next step in creating a vector will involve using a suitable application to do line tracing. A basic JPEG scan should be adequate if you have sketched a brief storyboard and do not require high resolution.

A scanner will be useful if you deal with paint or film and your projects aren't particularly large. Scanners, in general, have a simpler setup need than cameras.

How much DPI do I really need for prints?

So, how many dots per inch (DPI) do you think you'll actually need? No one can give you a universally accepted response to that query. Just like a work of art is a reflection of its creator, religion is deeply personal.

A digital representation of our artwork is called a scan. Naturally, you'd like it to be an exact replica of the source material. Even while 300 dpi is sufficient for some artwork, most of us prefer greater resolutions.

What Is The Ideal Bit Depth ? 

When we talk about "bit depth," we're referring to the number of bits used to represent a single color in a pixel. A deeper scan would provide additional information for analysis. Contrarily, a reduced color depth will result in fewer specifics.

Nowadays, 32 bits is the minimum acceptable depth, however 16 bits is also acceptable. However, a higher bit depth is recommended when scanning artwork.

What Is The Process Of Scanning Original Artwork ? 

A flatbed scanner is ideal for scanning artwork in its original form. They offer a level surface that allows for equal lighting and clear, undistorted images. There is a good chance that you'll get high-quality results, making this a reliable choice.


Conclusion

Whichever art scanner provides the highest-quality images at the highest resolution will be the best option. We also favor auto-scanning technologies since they streamline the scanning and digital storage process.

If you have access to a high-quality printer, you may then print the artwork. We have come to the end of our tutorial; please accept our condolences.


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