Scanner/Picture Help

zeppo · February 16, 2003 2:39AM

I used to think I was a pretty smart guy. That is until I tried to add pictures to my registry. I have 2 problems and would appreciate any help. I have 2 questions:

1. When I click on the edit pictures link it brings up the usual browse feature. However, when I find the .jpg file and double click the file all it does it fill in the address for the picture on my C-Drive. Shouldn't it automatically download like an email attachment? Am I blind and missing something.

2. Also, I would like to add a scan of the reverse side of the card as well. I've tried several different programs on my computer to merge the 2 pictures into 1 but can't seem to figure it out. Any suggestions?

yawie99 · February 16, 2003 2:53AM

i can help with part 1, but not part 2. anyway, you're neither blind nor missing anything. the upload doesn't take place until you hit "continue" at the top or bottom of the edit set page. it doesn't do it when you double click the file name.

Virtualizard · February 16, 2003 3:13AM

Zeppo,

Most photo editing software has a "stitch" function that allows you to "stitch" two scans together. You most likely have the ability to do this with the software that came with your scanner and/or printer. Do a search in the software's help index for "stitch" and see what you find. Without knowing what software you have, I can't be of any more help.

Here's an Example of one of my cards from my 1960 Topps Set.

Good luck and let me know if I can be of any more assistance.

JEB.

zeppo · February 16, 2003 3:14AM

I browsed and found the file. I then clicked on Update Card and this is what I get.

Cert number 03682568 -- image file cannot contain any of special characters: "!@#$%^&*()-+|][}{;:'""<>?,./~` ".

I don't have any of those characters in the file name. What gives?

yawie99 · February 16, 2003 3:24AM

vl, your scans look so awesome. i wish i had been doing that from the get-go, as i'm too lazy to go back and do it now. one of these days perhaps.

Ullr · February 16, 2003 5:09AM

virtualizard
Thanks for the stitch tip. I have been trying to copy and paste for I don't know how long. Works like a charm.

yawie99 · February 16, 2003 5:15AM

what kinds of scanning/imaging software do you guys have? i have a scanjet 3500c and use the hp software, but can't seem to be able to get fronts and backs together. there doesn't seem to be a stitch feature and copying and pasting doesn't seem to be working either. i even tried converting to bitmap images and doing it that way, but to no avail. any other advice or suggestions?

Ullr · February 16, 2003 6:07AM

I have a cannon N1220U. Works like a champ. It came with a lot of software I don't use including ArcSoft PhotoStudio 2000 which happened to have the stitch function. My version of Photoshop 5.0LE does not stitch (at least I couldn't find anything in the help directory).
If you go here you can get a free trial version although it may have limited functions.

Virtualizard · February 16, 2003 6:45AM

Zeppo,

Your filename that you use when you save the scan can not have any of those characters in it (including spaces). When I save my scans, I name them like this (using the 1960 Topps #20 Roy Face as an example): 1960Topps020.jpg. This easily identifies every scan of every card that I have and is an easy naming convention to remember.

Yawie,

Thanks. I too wish I had mastered my technique from the get-go. My 1970 set still has about 300 or so scans that I need to update. I try to do 10-20 a day. If you keep up with it, it's not that big a deal. I've gotten into the habit of scanning every card (front and back) the day I receive it. It only takes 2 minutes or so for each card and I rarely get more than 20 cards a day.

JEB.

yawie99 · February 16, 2003 7:07AM

yeah, i've been pretty diligent about scanning stuff and adding it to the registry as i acquire cards, but it's pretty easy with the sets i'm working on since they're so small. i have a couple of other sets i'm thinking about and for which i've acquired a few cards. i'm going to try to figure out the front-and-back thing before i list them. if i do get it figured out, i'll probably go back and redo all my existing scans too.

Virtualizard · February 16, 2003 7:25AM

Yawie,

I believe most software has a stitching feature although it may not be called that. Try searching for other terms such as: join, combine, maybe even panorama. If you can't find anything there, try searching on the internet for a shareware program that will accomplish this. Again, I'm sure there are many simple programs out there that will do this. The simpler the better. I don't use photoshop for this because it is too complicated - I have a program that came with the first scanner that I ever bought (1993 I think) that does this in such a simple two step process. I'm sorry I can't help any more than this, but I'm sure there are many options to do this.

Let me know if you need any more help. I'll do what I can.

JEB.

yawie99 · February 16, 2003 7:33AM

thanks, man. the hp software doesn't call it "stitch," so i half-assedly tried some other stuff that didn't seem to work. surely there's something on the program that would do the trick. if not, i'll hunt around the internet and see what i find.

Virtualizard · February 16, 2003 8:05AM

Try here for some free downloads. I haven't checked out any of the programs, but I bet you'll find one that will do what you need it to.

JEB.

yawie99 · February 16, 2003 12:05PM

thanks again, vl. the ulead program has what i'm looking for. i'm still hoping that there's a way for the hp software to do it so that the process isn't as cumbersome, but i haven't found it yet. i did e-mail their customer support, though, to see if it's even possible to stitch using their software or if i'm simply on a wild goose chase with the hp program.

Basilone · February 16, 2003 12:39PM

Yawie-

Please message me if you find out anything regarding the HP software and the stich technique. I just purchased a 3570c HP Scanjet so we probably are using the same software. Im able to produce high quality scans (within the registry limits) but have only done the fronts so far.

Thanks,

John

zeppo · February 17, 2003 8:00AM

I DID IT!!!! Special thanks go to my wife and Virtualizard. Here is how I did it. Although I guess I have to wait 3 days for it to show on the registry.

1. My wife is an Ebay Power Seller and she goes to a board called Bob's Tips and was directed to the following web page on stitch. http://www.bulls2.com/indexb/stitching.html All you have to do is follow the instructions.

2. I downloaded IrfanView as instructed. With this I was able to easily resize and sharpen my images to be stitched. I scanned both sides of the card separately. I used IrfanView - Image/Resize/Reshapen. Based on my scans I found 60% to be about right. I also clicked on Image/Sharpen and found that to help.

3. Next all you need to do is go into Paint. Click on edit/paste from for both pictures. The second one will appear over the top of the first one but all you need to do is move it with the mouse to the right position. That's it. Save it and upload to the registry.

4. Be sure the file name does not contain any spaces or weirdo characters. (this is where the Virtualizard was helpful) I was trying to upload a file named helpless victim and all I needed to do was change it to helplessvictim all one word.

That's it. Boy was I pissed trying to figure this out. These will be the first pictures of any Mars Attacks cards on the registry. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for the advice.

Virtualizard · February 17, 2003 8:19AM

Congratulations Zeppo,

I'm glad I could help. Can't wait to see the scans.

Now all you need help with is posting links here.

(By the way, that's the link to the site you posted.)

When posting a new message, just click the "http" button on the toolbar and copy the url into the box that pops up. Click "OK" and then type the text that you would like to appear highlighted as a link in your message.

For example, in this message I copied "http://www.bulls2.com/indexb/stitching.html" in the first box, clicked "OK" and then typed "links" in the second box.

Hope that was helpful.

JEB.

zeppo · February 17, 2003 10:39AM

I knew there was a way but that would be too much learnin fer one day. I also tried to post one of the pics but I guess we're limited to 50K and mine were 87K.

I do appreciate the help.

Basilone · February 17, 2003 12:34PM

The size limit for registry pictures is 100k.

John

zeppo · February 18, 2003 5:42AM

The scans are up. Let me know what you think?Mars Attacks Registry

Virtualizard · February 18, 2003 9:38AM

I checked out your scans. Great job! Now you just need to get rid of the excess in the scan. Check out your imaging software for the "crop" feature. You can get much better detail of the actual card (considering the 100kb limit) if you remove all of the white space to the right and bottom of your scans.

Thanks for uploading the scans. I can't wait to see more.

JEB.

Scanner/Picture Help

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