How to improve the color matching between a scanned image of a map and the original?

Question

When I scan a section of paper map using a Canon Lide 200 A4 scanner, the resulting image has colours which are not true to the original.
The most annoying is where the predominantly white paper background of a map is rendered as a greyish blue colour instead of pure white. Processing in ESRI ArcEditor 9.2 such as clipping the image so that it can be butt joined and geo-referenced, results in even darker shades, even less true to the original.

I need a very simple solution to this problem as I'm too old to start learning how to use Photoshop or similar image processing software. In finding a solution cost isn't the issue - The learning curve is.
Can anyone offer advice?

Answer 1

You need to calibrate your workflow. The cheapest way to do this is with a scanner target. Some scanners come with them, but for the rest of us, we buy one of Wolf Faust's Affordable IT 8.7 (ISO 12641) Scanner Color Calibration Targets for about $15.

These are easy to use to create an ICC colour-correction profile, but how one does it depends on your scanner, software and operating system. Someone with more Windows experience than me might be able to help with specifics.

Of course, once you calibrate your scanner, you'll need to calibrate your monitor to see the colours correctly. Hughski's ColorHug is what I use, but it might be a bit fiddly for you.