How to Scan in BMP Format for Logo Redrawing

The short answer

To scan in BMP format, open your scanner software and set the scan type, color mode and resolution. Then choose BMP, sometimes labeled "Bitmap" or "Windows Bitmap," as the file type before you save. If the software does not offer BMP, scan to a lossless format such as TIFF or PNG and convert the file to BMP afterward in an image editor.

A BMP file is a raster image. A raster image is a grid of colored pixels, so its edges turn blocky when enlarged. A vector logo works differently. It is built from mathematical paths: lines and curves defined by anchor points and control handles, which stay sharp at any size. A scanned BMP therefore never contains a vector logo, even when the logo was originally designed as vector artwork. The scan is a reference image that you trace or redraw to rebuild the vector version.

BMP format versus "bitmap mode"

Two similar terms are easy to confuse. BMP is a file format. "Bitmap mode" in some image editors and scanner dialogs is a color mode that stores every pixel as pure black or pure white, with no gray. A BMP file can hold full color, grayscale or black-and-white data. Selecting the BMP file type does not by itself turn your scan into black and white, and selecting bitmap mode does not by itself save a .bmp file. Make each choice separately.

Before you scan

• Use the cleanest, flattest, largest printed sample of the logo you can find. Letterhead, signage proofs or packaging usually give better edges than small business-card prints.
• Wipe dust and smudges off the scanner glass and the print. Any speck can be read as part of the artwork when you trace.
• Press the print flat against the glass. Curled paper produces soft, distorted edges.
• Align the logo with the edge of the glass so that horizontal and vertical lines scan straight.
• Make sure you have permission to recreate and use the logo. Scanning a print, or saving it in any file format, gives you no rights to the mark.

Step-by-step: scanning a logo to BMP

• 1. Open the scanning software that came with your scanner or your operating system. Menu names and available formats differ between applications and versions, so check the labels in your own software.
• 2. Run a preview scan and crop the selection to the logo plus a small margin.
• 3. Choose the color mode. Use color if the logo's colors matter for reference. Use grayscale for a single-color logo when you want gray edge detail for tracing. Use black-and-white (bitmap or line-art) mode only if you are sure the hard threshold will not eat thin strokes or fill small gaps.
• 4. Set the resolution. Higher resolution puts more pixels across every curve and letterform, which makes the shapes easier to trace accurately. Use the scanner's optical resolution rather than an interpolated maximum, because interpolation adds pixels without adding real detail. Your scanner's documentation states its optical limit.
• 5. Turn off automatic sharpening, descreening and similar image "enhancements" if you can. They change edge shapes, and it is better to decide on cleanup yourself. If the print shows a visible dot or line pattern from offset printing, a descreen option may help, but compare the result with a scan that has it turned off.
• 6. Select BMP as the file format, give the file a descriptive name and choose where to save it.
• 7. Scan, then open the file to check it as described below.

If BMP is not offered

Some scanner utilities offer only JPEG, PNG, TIFF or PDF. Choose TIFF or PNG, because both are lossless and keep every pixel exactly as scanned. Then open the file in an image editor and use its Save As or Export command to write a BMP. Avoid scanning to JPEG and converting afterward. JPEG compression leaves blocky artifacts and fuzzy halos along edges, and converting to BMP keeps those flaws instead of removing them.

How to confirm the scan is usable

• Check the file properties. The extension should be .bmp, and the pixel dimensions and color depth should match what you selected.
• Zoom to a high magnification on curves, corners and the smallest text. Edges should be continuous, without gaps, broken strokes or stray pixels.
• Check that straight lines are straight and that circles have not become ovals. Skew or stretching means the print was not flat or not aligned.
• Look for compression artifacts such as blocky patches or halos around edges. If you see them, the image passed through a lossy format at some stage, so rescan directly to a lossless format.
• In a black-and-white scan, compare thin strokes and tight counters (the enclosed spaces in letters such as "e" and "a") with the original print. If strokes have thinned out or counters have filled in, rescan in grayscale.

Turning the BMP into usable logo artwork

Place or import the BMP into a vector drawing application and lock it on its own layer as a template. You can rebuild the logo in two ways. Automatic image tracing converts pixel edges into paths quickly, but it often produces too many anchor points and lumpy curves. Manual redrawing uses the pen or Bézier tool to place anchor points over the scan, usually at the extremes of each curve, and gives cleaner, lighter paths. Many redraws mix the two: auto-trace simple shapes, then redraw or simplify the important curves by hand. Commands and trace settings vary by application and version, so check them in the documentation for the software you use.

Treat text in the logo separately. If you can identify the typeface, set the text in that font, match the spacing to the scan, and then convert the type to outlines so the logo no longer depends on the font being installed. Confirm that the font license allows use in a logo. If the lettering is custom or cannot be identified, draw it as paths, using the scan as a guide.

Before you deliver the result, remove the BMP template layer. Make sure every element is a vector path rather than an embedded image, and check that shapes meant to be closed are closed and that no stray points are left. Then export to the vector format the recipient needs. A vector file extension alone does not prove the file contains only paths, because vector formats can also hold embedded raster images. Always inspect the artwork itself.

What this guide cannot specify

No source material was available on particular scanners, software versions or recommended resolution figures. This guide therefore gives no exact settings or menu paths. Take your scanner's optical resolution and its exact menu labels from its documentation, and check trace and export options against the version of your vector software.