Help with my new HP Photosmart Scanner/Printer/Coppier?

Question

Hi All,
I just got the HP photosmart 5280 today and the main reason I got it was so that I could scan all my photos in to my computer. Heres the problem. Everytime I try to scan a 5 by 7 photo I end up with a large image of white wtih a photo in the corner. I understand the scanner bed is larger than my photos but is there anyway to save just the image and avoid the 75 percent of the screen that is empty? I just want to save an image that looks like a photo. not a sheet of paper with a picture taped to the corner (which is more or less what the result looks like).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Answer 1

Use the supplied software to scan, do a PREVIEW scanm, and then set the scan area to match the photo position. Now next time you scan it should remember that setting and can scan 7x5 quicker
Mainly however you need to RTFM

Read
The
F . . . erm, Fine
manual

Answer 2

Use a graphics program, such as photoshop, paint shop pro, or even MS paint. Select the "import from scanner" option and click the "preview" button rather than the "scan". after it scans the picture quickly, you'll see the result you've been getting in the preview box, however there is a box made of dotted lines around the preview that you can drag and resize to fit only the parts you want to scan. Adjust this box and hit "scan". You should get the desired result.

If you dont have a program with a preview button, scan as you normally do and open the picture in "Microsoft Picture Manager" or some like program. Click on "Edit picture" and select the crop tool. this works just like box in the preview option. Drag and resize so that the box contains just what you want to show, and then hit crop.

Yet another way to do it is to open the picture in paint, press "ctrl-a" to select everything, and then drag the whole picture so that the 5x7 is in the upper left hand corner, and then unselect every thing by pressing "ctrl-a" again. resize the bitmap by clicking and dragging the little grey squares on the right hand side and lower right hand corner to the corners of the 5x7.

IF one method doesnt work, try another! You can figure this out.

Answer 3

You should be able to select the area you want to scan. Do a preview first. Your software should display the image with a box made up of dotted lines surrounding it. You click on the dotted lines and drag the box until it's the right size and in the right place. When you click the scan button, it will only scan what's inside the box, not the entire scanner bed.