why does the paint program enlarge so much on a scanned item, and how do fix it?

Question

I am scanning a document not a photo if that helps any.

Answer 1

This depends on your scan settings, not the Paint program itself. Typically scan settings are set at a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch). So let's say your monitor resolution is 1024 x 768 (and you can check this by right-clicking on the desktop, choosing Properties and then clicking the Settings tab). That means your screen can fit 1024 pixels (or dots in printer/scanner terms) across and 768 pixels down. So do some multiplication, if you have an 8 1/2" x 11" document, then at 300 dpi, it would be 2550 pixels (8.5 x 300) by 3300 pixels (11 x 300) and therefore larger than your display resolution (1024 by 768) making it seem huge. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Change your scan resolution (it's probably set at 300 dpi). you can scan a print text documents at 150dpi (maybe even 100 dpi) and they will still look fine. As for your photos I wouldn't recommend anything lower that 200dpi or they will look pixelated (especially if you scan at 150 and enlarge them)