How to Use Canon LiDE 120 Scanner: Mastering PDF Scan Settings

The Canon LiDE 120 scanner is a user-friendly device perfect for digitizing documents and photos. One of its convenient features is the ability to scan directly to PDF format using the scanner buttons and the IJ Scan Utility. This guide will explain how to effectively use the “Settings (PDF)” dialog box within the IJ Scan Utility, allowing you to customize your PDF scans to meet your specific needs. Whether you’re looking to adjust image quality, file size, or how the scanned document is handled after scanning, understanding these settings is key to getting the most out of your Canon LiDE 120 scanner.

Understanding the Scan Options Area

The Scan Options area in the Settings (PDF) dialog box allows you to configure the fundamental aspects of your scan. These settings determine the source of your document, the color mode, the paper size, and the resolution, all crucial factors in the final quality and file size of your PDF.

Selecting Your Document Source, Color Mode, and Paper Size

The Select Source is automatically set to Document when you are using the PDF scan settings from the scanner button, indicating you are scanning a physical document placed on the scanner bed.

Color Mode lets you choose how your document will be scanned in terms of color. You have options suitable for different types of documents:

Choose Color for documents with color images or graphics, ensuring all colors are accurately captured in your PDF.
Select Grayscale for black and white documents with shades of gray, ideal for text documents or photos where color is not essential.
Black and White mode is best for purely text-based documents with no shades of gray, resulting in the smallest file size and sharpest text for documents like contracts or receipts.

Paper Size is where you specify the size of the document you are scanning. It is crucial to select the correct paper size to ensure the entire document is scanned without any cropping or missing sections. Common options include:

Letter (8.5 x 11 in) and Legal (8.5 x 14 in) for standard document sizes used in many regions.
A4 (210 x 297 mm) and B5 (182 x 257 mm) for international standard paper sizes.
Custom option is particularly useful when scanning non-standard sized items such as photos, postcards, or irregularly sized documents. Selecting Custom will open a dialog box where you can manually input the Width and Height of your document after choosing your preferred Unit (mm or inches).

Adjusting Resolution for Scan Quality

Resolution is a critical setting that determines the detail level of your scanned image. Resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi), and a higher dpi value means more detail and a sharper image, but also a larger file size.

Lower Resolution (e.g., 150 dpi or 200 dpi): Suitable for documents intended for screen viewing or email sharing where file size is a concern. Text will be legible, but images may lack fine detail.
Standard Resolution (e.g., 300 dpi): A good balance between image quality and file size. Ideal for general document scanning, archiving, and documents that may be printed later.
Higher Resolution (e.g., 400 dpi or 600 dpi): Best for scanning photos or documents with intricate details that you want to preserve at high quality. This is also recommended if you plan to significantly enlarge the scanned image or perform detailed editing.

Remember that increasing the resolution will also increase the scanning time and the resulting PDF file size. Choose a resolution that matches the intended use of your scanned document.

Utilizing Image Processing Settings for Enhanced Scans

Clicking the Plus icon next to Image Processing Settings reveals a range of options to automatically enhance your scanned image quality. These settings can save you time on manual editing and improve the readability and appearance of your PDFs.

Apply Auto Document Fix: This feature automatically enhances text and improves readability, especially for documents or magazines. It intelligently sharpens text and adjusts contrast for better clarity. However, be aware that color tones might be altered from the original image due to these corrections. If color accuracy is paramount, you may want to disable this option.
Sharpen outline: This option enhances the edges of subjects in your scan, making images appear sharper and more defined. It is useful for slightly blurry originals or when you want to emphasize details.
Reduce show-through: Particularly helpful when scanning thin paper documents, newspapers, or double-sided pages where content from the other side might be visible (“show-through”). This feature reduces the visibility of this unwanted content, making the primary content clearer.
Reduce moire: Moire patterns can appear when scanning printed materials like magazines or newspapers, which are made up of tiny dots. This setting minimizes these distracting patterns, resulting in a cleaner and more visually appealing scan. Note that enabling this option may slightly increase scan time.
Reduce gutter shadow: When scanning open books, a shadow often appears in the center fold (“gutter”). This feature automatically reduces this shadow, making the text and images in the gutter area more legible. For non-standard sized items or specific areas, the Advanced Mode in ScanGear (scanner driver) offers more precise gutter shadow correction options.
Correct slanted text document: If your document is slightly misaligned on the scanner bed, this feature can automatically detect and correct the slant of the text, within a range of -10 to +10 degrees. This is useful for quickly scanning documents without needing to perfectly align them each time. However, it may not work correctly with documents that have extreme slants, varying angles per line, very large or small fonts, handwritten text, or documents with complex layouts.
Detect the orientation of text document and rotate image: This intelligent feature automatically detects the text orientation in your document and rotates the scanned image to the correct upright orientation. This is especially handy when scanning multiple pages quickly without ensuring they are all placed in the same orientation. It supports text documents in languages selectable in the “Document Language” setting within the General Settings. Accuracy depends on text clarity, font size (8-48 points), and document layout. It might not work reliably with stylized fonts, handwritten text, or documents with patterned backgrounds.

Configuring Save Settings for Your PDF Files

The Save Settings area allows you to define how your scanned PDF files are named, where they are saved, and the format and compression settings. Properly configuring these settings ensures your scanned documents are organized and easily accessible.

Naming Your Scanned Files and Choosing a Save Location

File Name is where you enter the base name for your scanned PDF file. The IJ Scan Utility automatically appends the date and a four-digit number to this base name to create unique file names for each scan, following the format “_20XX0101_0001”. For example, if you enter “DocumentScan” as the File Name, your files will be named like “DocumentScan_20231027_0001.pdf”, “DocumentScan_20231027_0002.pdf”, and so on.

Save in specifies the folder on your computer where your scanned PDF files will be saved. The default save folder varies depending on your operating system (e.g., Documents or My Documents folder in Windows). You can change the save location by selecting Add… from the drop-down menu, which opens a Select Destination Folder dialog box allowing you to choose any folder on your computer.

Optimizing PDF Format and Compression

Data Format is pre-set to PDF, ensuring your scans are saved in this widely compatible document format.

PDF Compression offers options to control the file size of your PDF.

Standard: This is the recommended setting for most users, providing a good balance between image quality and file size.
High: This option maximizes compression to create the smallest possible PDF file size, which is useful for sharing files online or saving storage space. However, it may slightly reduce image quality, although typically still acceptable for most document scanning purposes. Note that this option is not available when Black and White is selected as the Color Mode.

Create a PDF file that supports keyword search: Selecting this checkbox enables Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during the scanning process. This converts the text within your scanned image into searchable text data embedded within the PDF. This makes it possible to search for specific words or phrases within the PDF document, greatly enhancing its usability for archiving and information retrieval. This feature supports keyword search in the language selected in the “Document Language” setting under General Settings.

Save to a subfolder with current date: When checked, this option automatically creates a subfolder within your chosen Save in location, named with the current date in “YYYY_MM_DD” format (e.g., “2023_10_27”). Your scanned files will be saved within this date-stamped subfolder, helping you organize your scans chronologically. If this option is unchecked, files are saved directly into the folder specified in Save in.

Application Settings: Defining What Happens After Scanning

The Application Settings area determines what action the IJ Scan Utility takes after the scanning process is complete. You can choose to open the scanned PDF with an application, send it to a specific application, save it to a folder, or simply save it without any further action.

Open with an application: Choose this if you want to immediately view or edit your scanned PDF after scanning. You can select an application from the dropdown menu, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, or another PDF viewer installed on your system.
Send to an application: This option is useful for workflows where you want to directly import the scanned PDF into another application for further processing, organization, or sharing. You can select from applications that are compatible with receiving image files.
Send to a folder: Select this if you want to save a copy of the scanned PDF to a different folder in addition to the folder specified in the Save in settings. This provides flexibility for backing up or routing your scans to multiple locations.
Do not start any application: Choose this option if you simply want to save the scanned PDF to the designated folder without any further actions or applications opening automatically after scanning.

For the “Open with an application,” “Send to an application,” and “Send to a folder” options, you can add new applications or folders to the dropdown lists by selecting Add… and navigating to the desired application or folder in the respective selection dialog boxes.

By understanding and customizing these Settings (PDF) options in the Canon IJ Scan Utility, you can optimize your scanning workflow with the Canon LiDE 120 scanner, ensuring high-quality, well-organized, and easily accessible PDF documents.