>What resource(s) do you consult to determine the optimum resolution and file
>format for a scanned/digitized image depending on how the image will be used
>(or is anticipated to be used) in the future?

There is no set resource to use that I'm aware of.  There are numerous
factors to consider, such as the quality of the source document, the
substrate it's on, the line weight of the content, the density of the
content, font size, what it is going to be used for, if the original will
remain available in the event the image isn't legible, how long it needs to
be retained, the size of the file you end up with, and so on.

>For example, what resource do you use to determine the most appropriate
>resolution and file format for an image of a drawing that someone plans to
>insert into a MS Word document vs. distribute to a contractor where scale is
>important?

This would depend on the scale you begin with and the size of the original.
 If you're inserting an image of a part or component that's 1:1, then you
could probably get by with a much lower resolution than if you're scanning
something that 1/16" = 10ft and it's embedded into an 8-1/2 by 11 document.

As with anything of this type, it's best to take a sample of the originals
you intend to scan/image and run them at a variety of resolutions, then
compare the resulting images and file sizes to determine what works best for
you.

As a general rule, if you're scanning new text only documents that are 10 or
12pt sans serif font and there is nothing unusual about them, you can get by
with 75dpi, but you're going to get much better images at 150dpi... and this
matters if you intend to OCR/ICR the content.  If you have a mixed bag of
originals with images, script, varying sizes of fonts, colors, used and new
paper, etc you can be anywhere between 150dpi and 600 dpi, with 300 being
the possible norm... but you will need to spot check and possibly re-scan
some images.  

And yep, there are cases where you DO get all the way to 1500 or 2400dpi on
straight images and photos, especially color or detailed line work.

Larry

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