Scanned Pictures Keep Turning Out Grainy

[heathabear]

Hi,
I just bought an HP PSC 1210, and the pictures I scan keep turning out a little grainy - not horrible, but not very 2004-looking, either. Even with lots of Photoshopping, they don't look great. I have the DPI set to 100, but I've tried a range of DPIs and I still can't get the quality I want. Anything I can do, or is that just what I get for buying the cheapest scanner I could find?

[Ned Seagoon]

Hi heathabear

Are these pictures photographs or are they pictures printed in a book? If in a book, it may be that they have been printed using and older technique that uses dots. If so scanning is difficult but not impossible. Take a look at the documentation that came with your scanning software. BF

[lufbra]

Have you tried updating the drivers for the scanner?

A couple of years ago I bought a scanner on line, and had very similar problems to what you are having. I called Epson, after having no luck with e-mails through their services, the guy talked me through similar processes that i was being told to try, through those e-mails. Non of them worked, and it was determined the scanner itself was defective. So I had to order a new one from the same company I had purchased, got it delivered, hooked it up, the same darn problems were there. :(

So I called Epson again, and after running through the suggestions to no avail, the guy told me to look at the back of the scanner where there's the "locking switch" (this holds the scanner together during delivery), it turns out that this was defective, and was causing all the problems. Epson then sent me another scanner, I've had no problems since. :)

[renegade600]

100 dpi is not that high quality to begin with. If you are trying to view it with high magnification, then you will see grain.

What graphic program are you using? What file type are you saving the pictures?

[Anthony3000]

Aye, if you want a grainless pictures, you need a high resolution (1200 by 1100 or soemthing)