Ensure that the scanner is turned on. The power button is on the back right hand side of the machine. Turn the computer and monitor on, too.

Double-click the Adobe PhotoShop icon.

Single-click File and role your cursor down toward Import and select Twain_32...

A preview box (with tool bar options: Scanner, View, etc.) should appear. You should also see a settings box that allows you to adjust the number of colors, the resolution, size, etc.

Certain settings should be checked. Ensure that Resolution is 72 dpi. That is the largest amount of resolution that is viewable on a web browser. Larger resolutions are useful for displaying text and images on paper, but are unnecessary for the web. Moreover, larger resolutions create graphics that take too long to load. Check also to see that Scaling is set to 100% and that the Color Correction box is checked.

To start scanning, move your mouse to the Preview box and select the Preview button. Previewing displays a very low-resolution image of the entire scanning surface.

To crop the image to scan only the part you desire, use the cross-hair cursor. Click and drag to select the portion of the scanning area you want to capture. "Marching ants" will surround the scanning area. When you run your cursor over the ants, you'll be able to click and drag if you want to adjust the scanning area. Consider this crop a "first draft" - it doesn't have to be perfectly cropped.

Once you are satisfied with the adjusted scanning area, select the Scan Button. The scanner will make another pass, capturing the image at the resolution you've set in the setting box.

Close the Preview box by selecting the X button.

Now you can use PhotoShop to edit the image. It would take months to master the various image manipulation tools available with this software, so let's just concentrate on the final crop.

Single-click the marquee tool in the vertical tool bar (the button looks like a box with broken lines). Using the same click and drag method in the "first draft" crop, make sure you capture the exact dimensions of the image. Once you're satisfied with the crop, select Crop from the Image Menu on the top of your screen.

Saving Your Image

Select the File Menu at the top of your screen and select Save. A dialog box will appear. The bottom pulldown menu allows you to determine the image file type. Chances are, you'll want to select JPEG (*.JPG;*JPE). This format is optimal for photos. In the text field next to File Name, type a simple name in lowercase letters with no spaces. You do not have to add the jpeg suffix. PhotoShop will handle this chore.

Select Save.

If you saved your file as a JPEG, a settings dialog box appears that allows you to control image quality. A rule of thumb with websites is this: a higher quality image generally commands a larger file size Ð which leads to a slower download. I suggest you select 6 as your quality - but experiment on what quality/size ratio fits you best. Under format Options, select Progressive. When you're through, select OK.

At this point, you've saved your image. Before uploading the image to your server, I suggest you view it locally on a browser.

Congratulations!