How do people combine ob/rev jpg's?

sinin1

I am curious how people show both the obverse and reverse in one jpg file? Is there a good software program that I do not know about? Trying to cut down on my ebay listing fees. I can scan a coins obverse and scan the coins reverse and convert them to jpg's but would like to put them side by side in one file similar to some dealers or TeleTrade.

airplanenut

I use Adobe Photoshop... I take both images and copy one of them. I select new image and am given the options for its size. Since both images are squares, I double the width and copy in the first image. Then I paste the second image and save as a jpg.

Jeremy

LucyBop

Should be able to do this with Adobe Photoshop, just open a new file with the right background size then cut and paste from your 2 jpg files.....Then save as one file....

Spooly

Ok, does someone want to do a step by step on this? I can't do it.

Lakesammman

Maybe your problem is like mine.....I bought MS instead of Adobe....any MS photo 7 users out there??

mdwoods

I have Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0. I imagine the process is very similar. Once a file is opened, go the pull down menus, pick image, resize, image size. This will tell you the existing image size, and allow you to resize the scan/photo as well. Make sure your reverse and obverse are the same size. With the obverse file open, go to the pull downs, again pick image, resize, only this time pick canvas size. Check the horizontal size of the canvas. Enter a number double to the existing. You will probably have a box with a bunch of arrows pointing in different directions. This lets you expand the canvas in the direction you want. If you want to expand it to the right, click the left arrow in the middle row. Then click okay. You should now have a canvas width twice as big as you had with your obverse image on the left side. Now open the reverse image. Select all and use Ctrl-C to copy. Now click the top of the image of the obverse to make it current and click Ctrl-V to Paste. With the select tool, you should be able to align it with the obverse image, and they should be close to the same size too. Does this help??? mdwoods

P.S. Save it as a Jpg. Adobe lets you adjust the file size without huge sacrifices in quality.

coppercoins

If using Photoshop, do the following...

1. Open both images.

2. Use the dotted rectangle tool to draw a box around the picture of the OBVERSE of the coin WHILE holding down the shift key. This will constrain the proportions of the box you are drawing to a perfect square. You can use the cursor arrow keys (or mouse drag) to move the box around to fine tune where the box is.

3. Once the box is in the right spot, click "Image > Crop".

4. Click "Image > Image Size", and change the height to the desired finished height of your image. Remember that increasing this number by more than 10% will begin to blur your image.

5. Click "Image > Canvas Size", and change the width to double whatever number is in there now, and click the box on the middle-left to anchor the picture to the left side of the new canvas size. If done correctly, you should end up with your perfect square coin image in the left half of a rectangle file which is double its height in width.

6. Click on the REVERSE picture. Click "Select > All", "Edit > Copy".

7. Click back in the OBVERSE picture, click "Edit > Paste". This creates a new layer with the reverse picture.

8. With the layer selected containing the reverse (should be the highest layer), click "Edit > Free Transform".

9. With the SHIFT key held down, drag a corner inward or outward to resize the reverse to match up with the size of the obverse. You can also use the cursor arrow keys (or mouse drag) to reposition the reverse. When you are finished "transforming" the reverse, either double click inside the box or hit the "enter" key...they do the same thing. What you should have now is a multi-layer image of the reverse to the right of the obverse inside a file that is exactly twice as wide as it is tall.

10. If all went well, click "Image > Flatten Layers", then "File > Save As", and pick your directory and give it a name. Make sure the drop down for "file types" has JPG selected.

You should be done if I typed my directions correctly and you followed them correctly. I did this from memory, but I do it all the time - second nature to me. Send a PM or e-mail if you still have trouble.

10.

Spooly

I don't think the Home Edition will do this.

lordmarcovan

I use MGI Photosuite.

First I scan the obverse.

Then the reverse.

(I use a plain white background so I don't have to match up colors and so on.)

I create a new, plain image (fairly large).

I copy the obverse picture and paste it into the large plain image.

I copy the reverse picture and paste it into the large image, lining it up right next to the obverse picture I pasted in previously.

I trim off the excess blank areas.

(If the item in question is a slabbed coin, I can also paste in a scan of the label, and the program allows me to add text and do a bunch of other fancypants stuff, much of which I never use).

This image, for example, took three separate scans, which were all pasted into a plain image, trimmed, and then the text was added:



I think it's a little better having it in one picture. Even without the fancy stuff, I would imagine most programs come with the ability to copy, paste and trim images, which is really all you need.