How do I antialias scanned TIFF images?

mrbill — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 08:50:31 -0800

Scanning a book and converting to a PDF - how do I antialias the scanned page images? I'm in the process of scanning a long-out-of-print book and making it into a PDF.

I've scanned the pages as 300dpi 1-bit B&W TIFF files. When viewed in Preview or Acrobat Reader (which have "antialias" features), they look great. When I look at them with Foxit Reader or xPDF, the pages look rough and "jaggy".

My question - is there a software filter or effect that I can apply to the TIFF files (even if I have to make the result 4 or 8-bit grayscale instead of B&W) that will give me the same effect without having to depend on the PDF viewer application?

Some sample images:

Introduction (TIFF | GIF)
Page 91 (TIFF | GIF)

I've looked at ImageMagick, but it apparently will only antialias images when converting PostScript or vector image formats into bitmaps.

(The reason for my efforts is that there is still a demand for the book - originally priced $15.95 in 1981, used copies now go for anywhere from $40 to $400. This is being done with the full permission of the author/copyright holder, who will make the book available for download on his website.)

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How do I antialias scanned TIFF images?