[SkookumPete]

This seems like a question that many must have asked, but I can't find any information on it.

For my current project, I am scanning (as images) several diagrams and maps that appear in black and white in the original book. I want them to have a solid "white" background and of course I want the text, which is quite small in some cases, to be sharp and readable on the Kindle.

Now one would think the procedure would be simply to scan the images in black and white. However, I've tried this and the results are not satisfactory. For one thing, the text is not anti-aliased and becomes unreadable when scaled down. Scanning in grey-scale has presented other problems.

So, as complicated as it may seem, here's the method I've been using, which does produce good results.

1. Scan the image in full color at 600 dpi and export to Paint Shop Pro.
2. Straighten and crop the image.
3. Using "smart photo fix," select white and black areas on the image to correct the color balance. (This step may not be necessary, but my scanner tends to interpret slightly yellowed paper as orange.)
4. Using the "magic wand" to select by brightness, select all dark pixels by clicking on a black area (first adjusting the tolerance so that darker shades of grey get selected too). Then adjust the brightness of the selection to darken the print and fine lines. I've found that adjusting by -80 or so works well, retaining the grey anti-aliasing.
5. Invert the selection so that all light-colored pixels are selected. Adjust the brightness all the way up (255) so that the background turns pure white.
6. Resize the image to the Kindle maximum of 600 pixels wide or 800 tall.

I'd be curious to know if there's a better technique that yields nice dark images (similar to those of the Kindle screen savers) without sacrificing the readability of small print.