Large Format Scanning

content last updated 10-15-2024

LOCATION

The Canon L24ei scanner is located in the Red Lab (Cowell 216) which is on the ground floor of Cowell Hall.

HOURS OF OPERATION

Any student, instructor, or staffer affiliated with the Department of Art + Architecture may take their large-format originals to the Green Lab (Cowell G25) during scheduled open study hours and the Lab Assistant on duty will scan their originals upon request.

View the GREEN LAB OPEN STUDY SCHEDULE 

WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT SCAN

Originals must be:

  • larger than 11 inches x 17 inches1 and no wider than 24 inches2 on the shortest side
  • not too thin: no thinner than 0.07 mm or 0.003 inches or 3 mil (roughly 25% thinner than a single sheet of 20 lb copy paper)
  • not too thick: no thicker than 0.5 mm or 0.02 inches or 20 mil (roughly the thickness of a stack of 6 sheets of 20 lb copy paper)
  • not prone to smudging or smearing (if it rubs off on your finger, it will rub off inside the scanner)

 

  • must be opaque or translucent material
  • must be flexible, not rigid
  • must be flat and of uniform thickness
  • must be free of staples, paper clips, Post-it notes, loose tape, and other attachments
  • not film or other backlit material
  • not cling or adhesive material

1 To scan originals that are 11" x 17" or smaller, use the self-serve flatbed scanners in the Orange and Green Labs during scheduled open study hours or any of the self-serve Pharos multifunction printers or "MFPs" deployed across the USF campus. Scanning is free on these devices.

2 Originals larger than 24" on the shortest side can be scanned with another device elsewhere on campus by special arrangement with the Director of A+A Technology.

WHAT IF MY ORIGINAL CAN'T BE SCANNED?

Consider photographing it instead. Mount it to a well-lit wall and photograph it straight-on -OR- lay it on a well-lit table and photograph it from above. (Daylight is typically better than artificial light sources.) You can then crop and adjust the photo in the app of your choice.

If using a smartphone, you might also try photo-scanning your original. You might prefer the results to a regular photo:

ABOUT PAPER WEIGHT AND THICKNESS

There are many measurements for the overall "heft" of a piece of paper. These measurements fall under two categories: weight (or density) and thickness (or caliper).

Weight has no correlation to thickness. Weight is useful for comparing the overall heft of different types of paper. Likewise, thickness has no correlation to weight because paper can come in such a huge array of compositions. (Imagine two 1' x 1' x 1' cubes: one made of styrofoam and one made of steel. They would have the same thickness, but very different weights.)

Look closely at your paper's packaging for one or more of these measurements:

Paper Weight (or Density)

  • Pounds ... abbreviated lb ... also known as the "Basis Weight" ... the weight of 500 sheets of your paper at its uncut size, i.e. before being cut down to Letter size or Legal size, for example
  • Grams per square meter ... abbreviated g/m2 or gsm

Paper Thickness (or Caliper)

  • Inches ... abbreviated " or in
  • Millimeters ... abbreviated mm
  • Mils ... abbreviated mil (not to be confused with millimeters) ... one mil equals 0.001 inches
  • Points ... sometimes used interchangeably with mils ... one point also equals 0.001 inches

A note about conversion: You cannot accurately convert between units of paper weight and paper thickness. You also cannot accurately convert one unit of paper weight to another (lb to g/m2 or vice versa). Any conversion charts you find online will only offer estimates. However, you can accurately convert one unit of paper thickness to another.