Begin by thinking carefully about what the teachers and students (4th
grade) need/can use.  Very likely they have older computers with
inexpensive ink jet printers.  They need good quality, but very high
resolution images will frustrate them with slow loading and print
times.  Also think about how they will browse the pictures--scanning
a list of file names is not particularly helpful when trying to find
an unfamiliar image. Given these constraints, I would stick with
relatively low resolution and a file format that can be easily loaded
by a variety of applications.

An 8 x 10 image at 100 dpi is very small and quick to load.  A 100
dpi image will look great on the screen and print OK at high quality
on a cheap printer (if it is a continuous tone image, like a painting
or photo--line drawings need 300 dpi). The same image printed at a
smaller size will have a higher effective resolution and resulting
higher print quality. For 4th grade projects this is probably fine.

The JPEG format is nearly universal, can be loaded into many
different programs including any web browser, and provides good
compression.  JPEG images can also be easily distributed via the web,
which should be another distribution option--once the images are
online you don't need to burn the CDs.

Almost any scanner will create adequate images for this purpose.

Macs and PCs use the same basic format for CDs now--I think it is ISO
9660.  You should test your first CDs on a variety of computers to be
sure, but it is likely that any recent CD burner will create disks
that work just fine on any computer.

Good luck!


>I have a technology question. I have asked a number of people where I live,
>but I don't seem to be running into any knowledgeable computer people. So
>here goes.
>
>I am working on an education program with some local 4th grade teachers. We
>(the historical society and the teachers) are collaborating on choosing
>artifacts and photographs that will help the teachers cover some specific
>aspects of local history.
>
>One of the teachers suggested that instead of having copies made of the
>photographs, we just scan them and burn them onto a CD. That way the
>teachers could project them, or the kids could choose which ones they want
>to use for the small exhibit they are going to develop using the resources
>we provide and print them out. The teachers will also have them for next
>year and won't have to worry about wear and tear on actual photographs.
>
>So, does anyone have technical recommendations? The images don't have to be
>museum exhibit quality, but they should be reasonable. I know it makes a
>difference what the size of the original image is and what size you decide
>to print it out at, but I'm not sure what that difference means in terms of
>the scanning.
>
>What resolution should we scan at? Do we save them as TIFF files?
>
>I have never even seen a CD burner, so I also don't know whether CDs can be
>formatted to be read by both PCs and Macs. If they can, what is the format
>called?
>
>We will probably not have access to a really high quality scanner, since I
>don't think we will have a lot of money to work with. I'm hoping to find a
>scanner in the school system or the local college that will be adequate (and
>free). What should I look for?
>
>This is a pilot project to see if we should continue to develop more similar
>materials on local history.
>
>Thanks.
>Bobbie Scott

Guy Hermann
---------------------------------
E. Verner Johnson & Associates
Museum Architects & Planners
http://www.vernerjohnson.com
Boston, Massachusetts
voice: 617-437-6262
fax: 617-437-1272

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