When scanning artwork which is larger than the scanner, you have to scan several sections and join them together. It is important to scan all areas of the document so that a complete image can be created.
Tip: We recommend leaving an overlap between the scans as this makes it much easier to join them together. If you can, you should make sure there are recognisable elements on the edges of each scan.Insert your text here
Once you have scanned all areas of the design, open them all in AVA so you can see what needs to be done. You may need to make some minor adjustments to your scans before you attempt to piece them together. For example, if they have been scanned in at an angle they may need to be rotated slightly. To save time, try to make your original scans as parallel as possible when positioned on the scan bed. Remember, the better the initial scan, the better the final results!
Piecing scans together using the Pin Tool
- Activate the first scanned section.
- Using the Crop Tool, drag a crop box over the first scan, ensuring the box is larger than the scan, and big enough to encompass the other scans which will be pasted into this file.
- Keeping the Crop Tool selected in the Tools Palette, double click on the crop box to crop the file larger. The grey space will now become white (or whichever colour you have set as your background colour in the Tools Palette).
- Activate the second scanned section.
- Select the Pin Tool and zoom in to a specific area that you know is included in both scans. Click in the design and a pin will appear on the pixel you have chosen.
- Select Edit Menu > Select All or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘A.
- Then select Edit Menu > Copy or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘C.
- Activate the first scanned section and zoom into it to locate the same pixel and place a pin on it too.
- Then select Edit Menu > Paste, or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘V. The second scan will be pasted directly on to the first with the pins in exactly the same position, joining the artwork together.
- Zoom the design down again so you can see where the join between the two scans is.
Tip: Choose Edit Menu > Select > Hide, or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘H to hide the selection so you can check that the edges fit correctly.
If the join isn’t quite right, use the arrow keys on the keyboard to nudge the selected scan accurately into place, pixel by pixel. You must have one of the selection tools selected in the Tools Palette for this to work.
Even if the join is perfectly positioned, you may see an obvious line on the design due to colour or tonal variation on the two scans. If this happens, areas of the floating (pasted) scan can be removed at the overlap to reveal the other section and hide the join.
Hold down ⌘ (command key) while using the Lasso Tool to remove areas from the second section. Try to hide the join line among the motifs in the design to make it as smooth as possible. Do not remove information past the overlap otherwise you will be left with a hole in the design.
Note: If you weren’t able to ensure all scans were made parallel, you will find that it is necessary to rotate some of them. It is possible to do this after pasting a scan in place as long as it is still selected. Simply select the Free Rotate Tool and use one of the handles on the corner of the selection to turn it by the required amount.
Tip: When rotating a pasted scan, try moving the pin to a different place in the design to make a more effective pivot point; such as when one of the scans matches well at one corner but the other corners do not. Place the pin on the good corner so that less rotation occurs there and more rotation occurs everywhere else.
Once you are happy with the first scan placement, use the keyboard shortcut ⌘D to fix it in place (this effectively removes the selection from the file). Then repeat these steps for all other sections until you have pasted all of your image together. Once complete, you can crop the image down to its correct size, removing any excess white areas from the edges of the design.