I often get asked how to take your artwork from paper and turn them into prints and greeting cards. At first this can be hard to learn because there is so much information out there, so I wanted to break down the basics of what I use to scan my artwork and turn it into beautiful prints and greeting cards.

A Scanner for Artwork

A quality scanner is important as this is what creates the digital copy of your creation. I use my Cannon 400 LIDE and it’s a really great quality scanner that I’ve been using for a while. If you’re serious about selling your artwork and turning it into prints, investing in a high-quality scanner that scan’s at high resolutions so you have flexibility when you are scanning smaller artwork.

One of my biggest tips when scanning artwork is to make sure glass on your scanner is free of dust or even small bits of paint as they will show up in your scan. I always recommend using a glass cleaner and a soft cloth to keep it clean before you scan your next piece! You know all of those cloths you get when you buy a pair of glasses or sunglasses?! Those work really well too!

The Process of Scanning Your Artwork

To start scanning, ****after giving the scanner a quick wipe with your glass cleaner to ensure everything is good to go, place your painting face down on your scanner. Once you turn on your scanner, you can open the scanner’s software on your computer to get a quick overview of what your piece looks like on the scanner. Some of the options that I like to adjust are DPI, Name, Size and Format.

You’ll see there’s options for DPI (dots per inch) or resolution, I always recommend scanning in at least 1,200 DPI, if you go higher it’ll create a larger file size which is okay if that’s what you need. Unless you’re printing your artwork on really large paper or canvas I recommend sticking to 1,200 DPI.

You can adjust the size of the final scan in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator depending on which program you use to touch up, re-size and create your final print file with.

The format will also depend, but typically if you’re planning on using the artwork for greeting cards or wall art, a JPEG works fine as it’s the best file type for print. The other file types may come in handy if you’re working with a client, another company or following specific print guidelines from a printer.

Some other things to note:

• I always scan in color but there’s options for black and white or text

• Your scanner might have different settings than mine, but the overall idea is the same

• The software that comes with the scanner can usually be downloaded upon installing your scanner and connecting it to your device. It’s likely the software can be found online when searching your scanner online as well.

After you’ve adjusted the settings to what you need, you can now hit scan! The scanner will work its magic and follow the settings you’ve set, and it will download onto your computer accordingly!

Need a more in depth or visual tutorial? Check out my Youtube video on How To Scan Your Artwork. I go step-by-step in scanning a piece using my own scanner, so follow along to get a better idea on how you can scan your own artwork!