Covers FAQ: Difference between revisions
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== | ==Why have covers?== | ||
We have both thumbnails and larger scans attached to our indexes because it completes the indexed data,it's a nice trip back on memory lane and it's a great resource for foreign indexers covering their foreign language editions of the books. | We have both thumbnails and larger scans attached to our indexes because it completes the indexed data, it's a nice trip back on memory lane and it's a great resource for foreign indexers covering their foreign language editions of the books. | ||
== | ==Where do the images come from?== | ||
A lot are scanned by members of the team from personal collections, some are sourced from news (there's usually a lot of scans posted every day to alt.binaries.pictures.comics, although not all of them are covers). These are quality checked, then retouched, trimmed and rotated if | A lot are scanned by members of the team from personal collections, some are sourced from news (there's usually a lot of scans posted every day to alt.binaries.pictures.comics, although not all of them are covers). These are quality checked, then retouched, trimmed and rotated if necessary. Most are now submitted through visitors to the website. | ||
== | ==How should I scan covers? What settings should I use on my scanner?== | ||
The minimum scan size is 400 pixels wide in "portrait mode" (i.e. a normal cover). For odd formats, the shortest side should be minimum 400 pixels. Maximum size depends on medium - we are happy to receive 2000x3000 scans on CD as we have from some members, but for mail, web and FTP 800-1200 may be a practical max due to file upload times (depending on your connection speed). Your comic-book should be scanned at 100% @75-200dpi. 75dpi gives a scan close to the minimum requirements ( | The minimum scan size is 400 pixels wide in "portrait mode" (i.e. a normal cover). For odd formats, the shortest side should be minimum 400 pixels. Maximum size depends on medium - we are happy to receive 2000x3000 scans on CD as we have from some members, but for mail, web and FTP 800-1200 may be a practical max due to file upload times (depending on your connection speed). Your comic-book should be scanned at 100% @75-200dpi. 75dpi gives a scan close to the minimum requirements (approximately 450 pixels wide), 200dpi gives a larger and better scan. Although we appreciate large scans, there's no need to go beyond 200 dpi, and a sweet point between quality and size lies at around 150dpi. The book should be scanned without any bags or other plastic casings to avoid reflection. The scan should be perfectly straight and trimmed, i.e. no borders around the book. Some post scan rotation may be needed as not all scanning software do this automatically. Later scanners from Canon and others have a straightening feature in their software. This is especially important for scans uploaded directly to the web as they get published right away. Save the image as JPEG format, with approximately 70% quality. If in Photoshop, quality settings 5 to 8 is OK. | ||
== | ==How do I submit covers via the Internet?== | ||
Search at the website (www.comics.org) for the comic you want to submit. Each series has a page called the "Scan Matrix". If the cover you want to submit isn't on the website, the Scan Matrix should show that issue as grey. Click the number of the issue and a separate web-browser page will come up asking for your name, email address and name of the file. Click the "Browse" button to find the cover on your local computer, then click the "Upload" button. You don't have to submit either your name or email address. At the moment they don't appear anywhere on the site. They are used to determine membership in the GCD (see | Search at the website (www.comics.org) for the comic you want to submit. Each series has a page called the "Scan Matrix". If the cover you want to submit isn't on the website, the Scan Matrix should show that issue as grey. Click the number of the issue and a separate web-browser page will come up asking for your name, email address and name of the file. Click the "Browse" button to find the cover on your local computer, then click the "Upload" button. You don't have to submit either your name or email address. At the moment they don't appear anywhere on the site. They are used to determine membership in the GCD (see [The GCD Charter] for more info). If for some reason you can't submit covers this way, feel free to contact the Error List at http://maelstrom.walton.uark.edu/bugzilla. The list can't accept attachments, but one of the editors will contact you with an email address that the cover can be sent to. | ||
== | ==The cover I submitted got marked for replacement or deleted. How come?== | ||
There are two major reasons why we delete covers. One is, the cover you uploaded was the wrong cover. Sometimes there are different series with the same or similar names or dates. The other is that there was a "watermark" on the cover, such as from Mile High Comics or Ebay. We don't accept watermarked covers because the watermark can make art identification more difficult and the original scanner probably watermarked the cover because they didn't want other people to use their scan. Sometimes we just mark a cover for replacement. This is usually because they aren't cropped properly (i.e. there is white space around the cover) or the actual comic was damaged (i.e. writing on the cover). | There are two major reasons why we delete covers. One is, the cover you uploaded was the wrong cover. Sometimes there are different series with the same or similar names or dates. The other is that there was a "watermark" on the cover, such as from Mile High Comics or Ebay. We don't accept watermarked covers because the watermark can make art identification more difficult and the original scanner probably watermarked the cover because they didn't want other people to use their scan. Sometimes we just mark a cover for replacement. This is usually because they aren't cropped properly (i.e. there is white space around the cover) or the actual comic was damaged (i.e. writing on the cover). | ||
== | ==How do I submit covers via regular mail?== | ||
If for some reason you can't submit covers online, feel free to contact the | If for some reason you can't submit covers online, feel free to contact the Error List at http://maelstrom.walton.uark.edu/bugzilla. One of the editors will contact you with a street address that a disk of cover scans can be sent to. | ||
== | ==I have a cover to a comic you don't have listed. What do I do?== | ||
Please see the [[Series Skeleton Requirements]] How To Submit A Missing Title FAQ. | Please see the [[Series Skeleton Requirements]] How To Submit A Missing Title FAQ. | ||
== | ==I have a cover to a comic you already have, but mine looks better than yours. What do I do?== | ||
Send an message to the Error List at http://maelstrom.walton.uark.edu/bugzilla. For more info see the [[Error List FAQ]]. | Send an message to the Error List at http://maelstrom.walton.uark.edu/bugzilla. For more info see the [[Error List FAQ]]. | ||
== | ==Can I get all the covers from XXXX series sent to me? How can I easily download all the covers in the database?== | ||
Due to copyright reasons, we don't re-distribute the covers in any way. We can display them here on the website due to Fair Use rules of copyright, but we are unable to distribute them in any way. If you are patient, you can click on each cover you want and save it to your computer. We claim no copyright to either the images or the scans. An acknowledgment of the fact that they came from the GCD would be nice. | Due to copyright reasons, we don't re-distribute the covers in any way. We can display them here on the website due to Fair Use rules of copyright, but we are unable to distribute them in any way. If you are patient, you can click on each cover you want and save it to your computer. We claim no copyright to either the images or the scans. An acknowledgment of the fact that they came from the GCD would be nice. | ||
Revision as of 04:05, 13 August 2008
Why have covers?
We have both thumbnails and larger scans attached to our indexes because it completes the indexed data, it's a nice trip back on memory lane and it's a great resource for foreign indexers covering their foreign language editions of the books.
Where do the images come from?
A lot are scanned by members of the team from personal collections, some are sourced from news (there's usually a lot of scans posted every day to alt.binaries.pictures.comics, although not all of them are covers). These are quality checked, then retouched, trimmed and rotated if necessary. Most are now submitted through visitors to the website.
How should I scan covers? What settings should I use on my scanner?
The minimum scan size is 400 pixels wide in "portrait mode" (i.e. a normal cover). For odd formats, the shortest side should be minimum 400 pixels. Maximum size depends on medium - we are happy to receive 2000x3000 scans on CD as we have from some members, but for mail, web and FTP 800-1200 may be a practical max due to file upload times (depending on your connection speed). Your comic-book should be scanned at 100% @75-200dpi. 75dpi gives a scan close to the minimum requirements (approximately 450 pixels wide), 200dpi gives a larger and better scan. Although we appreciate large scans, there's no need to go beyond 200 dpi, and a sweet point between quality and size lies at around 150dpi. The book should be scanned without any bags or other plastic casings to avoid reflection. The scan should be perfectly straight and trimmed, i.e. no borders around the book. Some post scan rotation may be needed as not all scanning software do this automatically. Later scanners from Canon and others have a straightening feature in their software. This is especially important for scans uploaded directly to the web as they get published right away. Save the image as JPEG format, with approximately 70% quality. If in Photoshop, quality settings 5 to 8 is OK.
How do I submit covers via the Internet?
Search at the website (www.comics.org) for the comic you want to submit. Each series has a page called the "Scan Matrix". If the cover you want to submit isn't on the website, the Scan Matrix should show that issue as grey. Click the number of the issue and a separate web-browser page will come up asking for your name, email address and name of the file. Click the "Browse" button to find the cover on your local computer, then click the "Upload" button. You don't have to submit either your name or email address. At the moment they don't appear anywhere on the site. They are used to determine membership in the GCD (see [The GCD Charter] for more info). If for some reason you can't submit covers this way, feel free to contact the Error List at http://maelstrom.walton.uark.edu/bugzilla. The list can't accept attachments, but one of the editors will contact you with an email address that the cover can be sent to.
The cover I submitted got marked for replacement or deleted. How come?
There are two major reasons why we delete covers. One is, the cover you uploaded was the wrong cover. Sometimes there are different series with the same or similar names or dates. The other is that there was a "watermark" on the cover, such as from Mile High Comics or Ebay. We don't accept watermarked covers because the watermark can make art identification more difficult and the original scanner probably watermarked the cover because they didn't want other people to use their scan. Sometimes we just mark a cover for replacement. This is usually because they aren't cropped properly (i.e. there is white space around the cover) or the actual comic was damaged (i.e. writing on the cover).
How do I submit covers via regular mail?
If for some reason you can't submit covers online, feel free to contact the Error List at http://maelstrom.walton.uark.edu/bugzilla. One of the editors will contact you with a street address that a disk of cover scans can be sent to.
I have a cover to a comic you don't have listed. What do I do?
Please see the Series Skeleton Requirements How To Submit A Missing Title FAQ.
I have a cover to a comic you already have, but mine looks better than yours. What do I do?
Send an message to the Error List at http://maelstrom.walton.uark.edu/bugzilla. For more info see the Error List FAQ.
Can I get all the covers from XXXX series sent to me? How can I easily download all the covers in the database?
Due to copyright reasons, we don't re-distribute the covers in any way. We can display them here on the website due to Fair Use rules of copyright, but we are unable to distribute them in any way. If you are patient, you can click on each cover you want and save it to your computer. We claim no copyright to either the images or the scans. An acknowledgment of the fact that they came from the GCD would be nice.