Planning for Scanning: File Sizes
Don’t Ignore Your File Storage Needs
Probably one of the most ignored planning attributes in any scanning project is projecting required storage for your scanned files. Scanning to TIFF/PDF or any other image format can create huge files if not managed. Below is a quick average file size for specific scanning settings:
- 200 DPI Black and White – 26KB
- 300 DPI Black and White – 38K
- 300 DPI Grayscale – 301KB
- 300 DPI Color – 577K
Depending on your needs and requirements, 300 DPI seems to be the norm for most scanning projects. This resolution provides the smallest file size with the best image quality for enhanced document capture features like OCR. You can see that grayscale and color create huge files, and are really not required for most document archiving operations, unless there are color markups or photos involved. Tip: Most copiers today like to show off their color capabilities, and will default to color scanning, which can devastate your storage, email, or document repository.