Scanner+Highlighter+Problem

Scanner Highlighter Problem

You will probably find that if you scan a document in Black/White mode that some times the area which is highlighted is plain black with no text showing

What is the reason for this you may ask?

Well it only occurs with some makes of highlighters not all

And it only occurs with some colours not all

The worst offenders are the red or magenta markers. Yellow is almost invisible.

Sometimes if you try scanning as grey scale, on some occasions the marker will not be so dark.

The only solution to this is when it happens is to scan the document in colour

I realise this is not a preferred solution but sadly it is the only one

The chemicals in the highlighters react to daylight and reflect the colour you have chosen

Where the light i.e. in a scanner which is not daylight spectrum the chemicals of the dye reflect a different spectrum.

We are so accustomed too colour reflection that we tend to loose sight of the fact that colours are a reflection of the light shone on them and really not the colour of the item itself.

I trust that this explanation will assist you in accepting the cause, and relieve some of the frustration experienced.