Step-By-Step Instructions: Photomerge with Photoshop

How to Scan/Merge Oversize Images:

These instructions explain how to create a large composite image out of numerous scans of a single document or image that will not fit on the large scanners.

Photomerge, an Adobe Photoshop plug-in, will combine several overlapping images to create a composite, such as a panorama or collage.

1. Position the document on the scanner starting from one end.
2. Scan the document (refer to our guide on how to scan documents into PDF with a flatbed scanner) in several scans, overlapping each portion about 40-50 percent. This overlap is crucial for Photomerge to work correctly.
3. Once the entire document/image has been scanned in separate files, open Adobe Photoshop. Go to File -> Automate -> Photomerge. Hit the "Browse..." button and select the images to be merged.
4. Leave the "Layout" option marked as "Auto". Click OK. Photomerge will now attempt to blend the images. It's success depends largely on a consistent alignment of the various images as well as enough of an overlap (about 40%) between images.
5. Once complete, rotate and crop the resulting image as necessary. Go to File -> Save As... in order to save your new image. When saving, uncheck the box next to "Layers". This condenses the merged image into one seamless image. You will not lose any image quality by doing this. Be sure to save in the desired file type (TIFF, JPEG, etc).