Scanning and converting to b/w image

S

Simbo

New Member
Hi - any ideas on the best way to convert a scanned design from an old book cover to a crisp black and white image which will be used to recreate the original printing plate. Below is an example of a design scanned from an old cloth book cover. I need a b/w image i.e. all the gold in black and background completely white. I have struggled in Photoshop trying to change colours, adjust levels and thresholds etc. but cannot get it clean enough. Would I be better somehow redrawing it and, if so, how? Thanks for any input.

Angler.jpg
 
I think you will struggle as there is not enough contrast and too many highlights and shadows. I presume you mean
the image only - it would be nigh on impossible to get the text perfect. It would be very easy to redraw the image by hand.
 
As above.

You need to get the best image possible and give it to someone who know how to use the pen tool in Illustrator pretty well.
It's not the hardest thing to do, just a trace but a lot of people will find those spirals a bit tricky.
 
Photograph it. Print it out on A3 as large as possible - proper photo paper. Then scan it in black and white - print it again as an A4 - then fax it to your self. Put it in an envelope and post it back to yourself. Open it up and then scan it in hi-res colour - open in Illustrator and do a Live Trace.

Hope that helps.
 
hankscorpio said:
Photograph it. Print it out on A3 as large as possible - proper photo paper. Then scan it in black and white - print it again as an A4 - then fax it to your self. Put it in an envelope and post it back to yourself. Open it up and then scan it in hi-res colour - open in Illustrator and do a Live Trace.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Those are trade secrets Hank.

Remember the two rules of Design Club FFS!
 
hankscorpio said:
Photograph it. Print it out on A3 as large as possible - proper photo paper. Then scan it in black and white - print it again as an A4 - then fax it to your self. Put it in an envelope and post it back to yourself. Open it up and then scan it in hi-res colour - open in Illustrator and do a Live Trace.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
hankscorpio said:
Photograph it. Print it out on A3 as large as possible - proper photo paper. Then scan it in black and white - print it again as an A4 - then fax it to your self. Put it in an envelope and post it back to yourself. Open it up and then scan it in hi-res colour - open in Illustrator and do a Live Trace.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Gee thanks... You're wasted here! Or maybe just wasted?
 
You would never use PS for this... you'd create it in Illustrator, and if you can use the pen tool in PS then you can in AI... and that's the correct place to do this.
 
Of course its fine to disagree with me, but of course you COULD, and WOULD use PS if you were comfortable with the software. I agree that Ai would be the better option but the guy was asking about photoshop and saying live trace in illustrator wouldnt give the desired result. Im not on here to get into disputes, there are a million ways to do anything. Saying you would never use pen in PS is unhelpful if thats the software the person uses.
 
saltysalts said:
Of course its fine to disagree with me, but of course you COULD, and WOULD use PS if you were comfortable with the software. I agree that Ai would be the better option but the guy was asking about photoshop and saying live trace in illustrator wouldnt give the desired result. Im not on here to get into disputes, there are a million ways to do anything. Saying you would never use pen in PS is unhelpful if thats the software the person uses.
Click to expand...

Yes there are the ways of doing things - the right way and the wrong way.

Illustrator is best tool for this job - and it's not a disagreement with you - it's a fact.
 
saltysalts said:
shame my first response on this website is like this... dont think ill bother in future! Know it all eh...
Click to expand...

Hank wasn't being funny or anything.

It is just a fact that you do need to use a vector programme for things like that to avoid the same issue later down the line.

Trust me as someone that has spent years converting and redrawing 1000's of raster images of logos made in Photoshop because they were made in the wrong format and couldn't be used.
It used to make my working day a living hell and I have physical as well as emotional scars to prove it.
You'll be able to read all about it in my up and coming autobiography "How Rasters Almost Destroyed My Life" ;)

For some things such as screen printing, cut vinyl and loads more, rasters can't be used at all.
 
saltysalts said:
shame my first response on this website is like this... dont think ill bother in future! Know it all eh...
Click to expand...

I don't mind when someone has an opinion - but it's a fact that vector program is better for this. There's no other way to explain it.

If you don't like the response then you're welcome to leave the forum, nobody forced you to join, and nobody is forcing you to stay.

But if you don't learn something from this - then there's not much I can do.
 
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