# Need a 24x36 poster scanned - advice? Suggestions? Costs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-24x36-poster-scanned-advice-suggestions-costs/646650 "2013-01-09T18:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-24x36-poster-scanned-advice-suggestions-costs/646650/1 "2013-01-09T18:19:31Z")
I have a 24 inch x 36 inch poster I would like scanned to a thumb drive (I don’t need it printed). Has anybody here had to do something like this, and if so (assuming you don’t have a 24" feed scanner), where do you go and what does it usually cost? I considered doing it “bit by bit” with a standard-size PC flatbed scanner, but (a) every time I do that, the separate images come out with different levels of brightness, especially around the edges, and (b) my new one has its cover hinged along the long side, so there’s no easy way to scan the middle of it. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-24x36-poster-scanned-advice-suggestions-costs/646650/2 "2013-01-09T18:22:43Z")
Why not just take a photo with a hi-resolution digital camera? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-24x36-poster-scanned-advice-suggestions-costs/646650/3 "2013-01-09T18:25:20Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Why not just take a photo with a hi-resolution digital camera? Friend of mine does limited-edition art posters, and he shoots the original in his basement, with professional, even lighting, a high-rez camera, and a great lens. ---
**Author:** ![F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-24x36-poster-scanned-advice-suggestions-costs/646650/4 "2013-01-09T19:14:46Z")
I recently needed something like this done. I found that a lot of print shops have large scanners and printers and can handle this sort of thing for you. You should probably call ahead to see what the cost would run like, but I doubt it would be very expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-24x36-poster-scanned-advice-suggestions-costs/646650/5 "2013-01-10T05:23:20Z")
Any place that does reproductions of building plans (“blueprints”) will do this very cheaply. Some Kinko’s also have the machines. It’s not like a huge flatbed; instead you feed the original through a pair of rollers to move it past the scan head. ---
**Author:** ![old\_joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/58956e/32.png) [@old\_joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/old_joe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-24x36-poster-scanned-advice-suggestions-costs/646650/6 "2013-01-10T05:27:49Z")
Picked it up today. Colour 14 x 17 scanned on a drum scanner. $30 and they put a copy on a flash drive for me. The print on the other hand was $66, very nice paper and looks great. I just googled “drum scanner”. Be careful, one place was going to stitch two scans together (for $120) and you already know how that works