Raster images are normally created by scanning a paper drawing into your computer using a scanner.

The paper drawing

The paper drawing that you scan in needs to be as high quality as possible. Any dirty marks will be scanned in along with the drawing, and any faint or smudged areas will not scan well.

Your scanner can only create a raster image as good as the paper drawing and the care with which it is scanned.

Drawing size

Scan2CAD will convert any size of drawing.

If your drawing is larger than your scanner you can scan it in pieces and then join the pieces back together in Scan2CAD before vectorization. See Scan a drawing that is larger than your scanner.

If you have a lot of very large drawings and a small scanner, you may find it more practical to contact a scanning bureau who can scan your drawings for you on a large format scanner.

The scanner

You can scan directly into Scan2CAD using File Menu > Acquire if your scanner is connected to the PC that Scan2CAD is installed on and is one of the following scanner types:

Any Twain-compliant scanner.

Colortrac SmartLF scanner.

HP Designjet T2300 eMFP.

If you cannot use your scanner to scan directly into Scan2CAD you can still use it to create a raster image for use with Scan2CAD so long as the software you use for scanning can save a raster image in one of the raster file formats that Scan2CAD supports.

If you do not have a scanner, there are many companies who will scan your drawing or drawings for a small fee.