This tutorial assumes that you have a basic knowledge of a graphics manipulation program like Photoshop.

The purpose of this tutorial is to help members get the best results from their scans. All artwork uploaded to DVD cover fuzion is checked manually and approved if it meets the requirements. This ensures consistency and means that you can be assured that every cover you download will be top quality.

Also please note that scanning results will vary. This is the result of different model scanners as well as the print quality by the studios which can be quite often sub-par. Due to this, scanned covers usually need to be rebuilt. This can include replacing logos, credits, screen caps and so fourth.

In this guide I will provide an actual example of scanning a cover and the steps involved. I will be scanning the cover for the movie 'The Saint' starring Val Kilmer.

**Do this first**

I highly recommend that you flatten your cover prior to scanning it. I see so many covers with unflattened spines which is a hassle to repair and looks horrible on print.

The best way to do this is to take your cover/s, place them on a flat surface and pile a load a heavy books on top. The longer you leave them there, the better. I recommend about 5-6 days however even one day makes a difference.

While scanning (the next step), apply some pressure to the scanner lid. Do this easily by placing a book or two on top of the scanner lid. This will also help flatten your cover if freshly taken out of the case.

**Scanning The Cover**

The best method to scan a cover a cover is to use a photo manipulation program such as Photoshop where a cover can be scanned and edited straight thereafter.

- In Photoshop, select file > import > Twain (name can vary)

You will be presented with a number of options however these settings are recommended:

- Turn off all filters. This includes sharpening, color corrections etc. You will need to edit the image in photoshop eventually, however right now we just want the best possible raw scan of the image.

- Set the scanning resolution to 600 dpi. You will change back to 300 dpi once finished editing the image. However 600 dpi gives us much more flexibility with editing.

- Select the de-screen option. This attempts to remove the moire pattern (the crosshatch effect).

- Once these settings have been applied you can accept the scan and wait for it to transfer to Photoshop (this can take a few minutes).

- Once the scan is complete and you have a raw image in Photoshop you will need to transfer it into the blank template which is attached below. This template is a 600DPI version of an original DVD cover template. We will be reducing it to 300DPI after we complete our edits.

*Resizing the Image*

When you place the raw scanned image into the template provided, you will find that the cover is in most cases either too small and sometime even too large. This is okay. What I am most interested in at this stage is aligning the spine using the guides in the template.

The attachment below shows the amount of white pixel surrounding my scanned work in progress cover. I will need to enlarge it slightly to get the spine aligned. There's no need to worry, we will only need to enlarge the image slightly and at this size we wont notice any change to the quality. In Photoshop press CTRL+T to select the transformation around the image. With the mouse cursor, grab the corner of the image and while holding the shift key pull the image until the spine is relatively well aligned with the guides. It doesn't need to be perfect and we can clone it to perfection later on.

Once you have resized the image the spine should be aligned like below. You will notice that I still have some white space on top and there is also some on the side. I will fix this by using the clone tool. Select the clone tool, Hold ALT and click what area you would like to clone and brush over the area.

In my cover I had a small amount of the back sneaking into the spine. I cloned this out by selecting the spine area with the rectangular marquee tool and cloned away.

Once this is done the image is properly resized and you are ready to move onto the next step of editing.
http://www.dvdcoversfuzion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=71&stc=1&d=1172440146

**Adjusting Levels**

Many times when a cover is scanned we find the the contrast is off. We need to repair this, otherwise colors are incorrect and appear washed out in many cases.

In order to fix this we can use the levels tool in Photoshop. Once you have scanned your cover, you can access the levels tool by selecting image > adjustments > levels. I do not recommend using auto levels because it gives you no control and rarely does what you want it to.

When the levels option is selected, a histogram opens and reveals the dark, mid and light levels of the image. In my case the levels were fine. If the graph either begins too late or ends too early, this is an indication that the levels are off. If this is the case you must slide the bar of the lacking level to approximately the beginning of the histogram. There is a more precise way to correct levels However I wont get into that here. The best I can recommend is to play around with the levels and use your own judgement to determine the best settings.

*Result So Far*

I have attached a preview of the result I have achieved so far. After looking over it closely I can see a lot of white dots. Some of it is part of scan which normally shows up. However there is also an additional noise, which was part of the original cover and has come through with the scan. Effectively we want to keep some noise in the cover but tone it down.

For this we want to use the 'guassian blur' tool. There are many variations of applying guassian blur to give the most optimal result. Again it depends on the amount of noise, colour, initial quality etc..

Blur

The most simple way is to simply apply a guassian blur to the image by accessing filter > blur > guassian blur. The value you insert varies each time. Remember that you are not trying to make the cover look blurry so don't be excessive. We are only trying to tone the noise down.

The actual method I used was:

- I duplicated the layer with my scanned cover.
- In the duplicated layer I added a guassian blur of 10 pixels.
- I raised the black levels of the duplicated to make it slightly darker.
- I lowered the opacity of the duplicated layer to 55%.
- I raise the mid and white levels of the original.

I have attached a before and after before to illustrate the difference these setting made for my work in progress. If you look closely, you will notice that these setting have softened the image and removed the excessive noise which I did not want.

Tip:

You can easily bring back some sharpness into certain areas of the cover, like the Title, text or any other regions by adding a 'layer mask' to the duplicated layer and using a soft black brush to carefully restore sharpness.

** When applying a guassian blur to your cover remember to check over its effect on all areas of the cover. Excessive guassian blur can have negative effects on text and logos, particularly if they are very small.

*Some Final Touches*

Dust, Hair or other Impurities

A good scanner will pick up minute details ans while this is a good thing, it can sometimes be a nightmare. :)

Impurities will find their way into your scan, even if you clean your scanner bed and cover before the processing it. Luckily we have the 'clone tool' available to help fix these problems.

- Once you have selected the clone tool from the tools palette, you must select your brush size and its hardness. Softer textures work best with a soft brush while harder/stronger texture (Patterns and Lines) require a hard brush.

- Then you must determine the most ideal area to copy from. This is an important step because we want it to look as natural as possible - as if it wasn't cloned at all.

- Once you have chosen the area you would like to clone simply hold the ALT key and click in the area with your brush. Now you can click over the spot which needs cloning with your cloning brush.

TIP:

Play with the transparency of the brushes when cloning. Sometimes this can produce great results on textures which need a minimal amount of touch up.



*I have almost finishes editing my cover. All I want to fix are a few odd spots here and there. Here are some tips to help you get the most from your scans:

- The clone tool is very useful. Use it to remove any dust or other anomalies that are on your cover.

- To further remove any white spots, select a soft brush, set it at 50% opacity, and brush over the darker areas. When doing this be careful to not go over any of the text of logos.

- Sometimes it may be a good idea to add additional noise to the cover. In my example I didn't need to however sometimes it is necessary.

- You can additional blur to certain areas of the cover, like the screen shots for example. Simply select the area you would like to edit with the marquee tool to apply your edits to that specific area.

- Sometimes you may need to replace logo, text, credits etc. In my example I have not done this , however it can be necessary if the cover is for example damaged.

*Final Result*

- When you have finished editing your cover you must reduce the size. Change it to 300 DPI and 3240 x 2175 px.

Below is the final version of my cover completed after editing.