I scan from inside my Photo editing software (Paint Shop Pro). Here is how my scanner (Lide 70) is set up:

Resolution 300DPI (It's what the cover is printed at already)
Unsharp Mask OFF
Descreen ON
Auto Levels OFF

The image comes in as a raw uncompressed file from the scanner to Paint Shop Pro, and I will set my black and white levels, contrast and/or saturation enchancement if needed. remove dust and/or scratches with the clone tool. Sharpen, then resize to 700x500 and sharpen once more. I then save as a JPG using the image optimizer built into the program to get the image size below 200Kb the file is named after the UPC (123456789012f.jpg or b for the back cover) or the Disc ID (Ixxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxf.jpg) and move it into the images folder in the DVD profiler database replacing the existing one. I can then submit it if I want without any further compression usually.

One, I'd remove that "The Brave One" image or at least edit it so it's only the front or the back.  Having both the front, back, and the spine all together is considered an illegal image since it can be used to print a complete cover for bootlegs.

Two, that image seems to have bad moire effect on it.  Did you turn on the "Descreen" in your options?  It looked like once it's enabled, there were several levels of it (it defaulted to "General") so you may want to play around with that to improve the quality of the image.

Quoting Phe0nix:

Quote:
Thanks Vega didn't know that. Click on that same link above i've changed it to using diferent setting mostly auto exposure type from photo to document as well as other settings suggested by others. Then resized it to 700 X 500


I've just resubmitted scans for a new release named " Snow Buddies" let me know what you think of those scans i feel i have the settings much better.

Thanks one and all...

Looks good. One thing to remember though when resizing is to have "constrain Proportions" checked. If you don't and resize to a fixed height and width like 500x700 your image will become distorted.

Quoting Phe0nix:

Quote:
Anyways here is what i am getting now.
What do you thing about this scan?

It's overexposed and it could do with some tweaking in Photoshop.

I downloaded it and did the following to it:

- Image -> Adjustment -> Auto Levels...
- Image -> Adjustment -> Auto Color...
- Filter -> Sharpen -> Sharpen
- Used the clone tool to remove a few dust specks in the lawn
- Used the crop tool to get rid of the white line along the left side

It's still not perfect, but as you can see from this comparison, there's a lot you can do to fix an image in Photoshop even if you stick to mostly automatic tools and filters.

The levels and color adjustments can be done manually too, but an auto adjust is a good first step and often enough without having to make any manual adjustments.

KM

Quoting Phe0nix:

Quote:
I'll scan a different dvd case that some of you can relate to...

Here's a different cover

This one is a lot better. I brought it into Photoshop too and did the following to it:

- Image -> Adjustment -> Auto Levels...
- Image -> Adjustment -> Auto Color...
- Filter -> Blur -> Smart Blur... (I used a Radius of 0.6 and a Threshold of 10)
- Used the clone tool on parts of the banner and in the bottom right

It's a little crooked, which should also be corrected.

Here's the comparison, and as you can see, since the source image is so much better than the previous example, the difference isn't that pronounced any more.

The reason for the Smart Blur filter was an attempt to get rid of some of the effects you can sometime get when you scan from a preprinted source.

KM

Quoting kraid:

Quote:
Quick questions, is the 200,000 byte limit for the front and back cover scans, or is it for each cover?  Also, I have noticed that DVDp will automatically adjust compression levels, so would it be better for me to submit a higher quality image at a higher file storage level (ie. 205,000 bytes for example) or for me to compress it further so that DVDp will compress it less.  Thanks.

200,000 bytes is for each file.

its generally considered better to use a photo editing software to bring the file under the minimum size/dimensions rather than let dvd profiler do it. as the photo software will do a better job

-Agrare

Quoting Astrakan:

Quote:
I'll scan a different dvd case that some of you can relate to...

- Image -> Adjustment -> Auto Levels...
- Image -> Adjustment -> Auto Color...
- Filter -> Blur -> Smart Blur... (I used a Radius of 0.6 and a Threshold of 10)
- Used the clone tool on parts of the banner and in the bottom right

It's a little crooked, which should also be corrected.

Here's the comparison, and as you can see, since the source image is so much better than the previous example, the difference isn't that pronounced any more.

The reason for the Smart Blur filter was an attempt to get rid of some of the effects you can sometime get when you scan from a preprinted source.

KM

Thanks for the info, i am amazed at the difference between the two images especially using auto levels. I am not very proficiant in Photoshop but i am very familiar with the clone tool. The smart blur along with the radius is greek to me. I'll call my buddy that uses Photoshop for a living and get some insite on this. I can't thank you enough for this info, i have the new hardware but without the knowledge of the software it's a rather irrelevant and your just proved that to me.

Thanks again.