so, i do suggest if you are having any problems. check>> did you install the software first?

• turn the scanner on
• now, insert the image into the scanner, (feed it or lay it on bed...) and select the scan option on your software
• you might see something like this.....

click scan and it should show up on the preview

you may need to adjust the scan size, or dpi ( dots per inch ) to improve the quality of your scanned image

you may have some options on your scanner to improve color or contrast, or as i said before, can try psp or another graphics program.  scan settings..... 

these are the options I HAVE with my software/ scanner... yours may be very different or non existent

• brightness and contrast settings can be used to  adjust underexposed or overexposed photographs
• Adjust colors for touching up photographs that are too green or red. or flesh tones that aren't quite right
• use sharpen to clarify fuzzy pictures
• reduce noise can get rid of the speckle some pictures have.
• you also may need to rotate the image. :)

when its an acceptable scan> save the image.
usually by clicking file. then save as... some scanners may have a send to option, like send to outlook, or send to a graphics program.

what kind of scanner are you using? 

is it a flat bed? ( has a glass plate with the scanning mechanism underneath. a real desk space hog. or a feed scanner? less space but limited in what you can scan.

the most important part about scanning is the FORMAT YOU SAVE IN!!!!!
there are several options> for WebPages... select jpg or gif. these are also best for mailing

Terms to know

JPEG /jpg
(Joint Photographic Experts Group)

Compresses image files down to 10-100K or less. Can be used on Web pages.

GIF
(Graphic Interchange Format)

Compresses image files down to 5-50K, and is ideal for line drawing and simple graphics, graphics with transparent background. Can be used for Web pages.

BMP
(bitmap)

not a good idea for images to send or post on WebPages, these files can be huge! this is  often the default file format in windows and cam programs.

TIFF
(Tagged Image File Format)

Generally retains high resolution of an image and is a large file, anywhere from 100K to 10 MB. Used in printed materials, but can't be used on Web pages.

if your software will only save as bmp or tiff, you can sometimes send it to MS paint to convert
to jpg or gif ( not all computers paint will do that tho) or use ifran to convert, crop, etc.

just because your scanner says it is 4800dpi capable, doesn't mean you computer is. a scanned image is stored in the ram and if you transfer to another program, ram is used twice. make sure you are not scanning too large. and do take time to save the images. then go back and work on edits etc after closing scanner program.  otherwise you will encounter mem errors .  thankies So-Belle for this tip

translation?  scan  the same size as the picture. there is not enuf ram on your computer or any reason to scan a 4x6 photo to 2800 by 3600 pixels.