To scan at a chosen resolution on a Mac, open Image Capture, select your scanner, reveal its detailed settings, and choose a value from the Resolution menu before scanning. The available values depend on the scanner and its software. For ordinary printed pages, 300 dpi is a practical starting point; choose more when small details or later enlargement matter, while accounting for larger files.

Set up the scanner in Image Capture

Connect and turn on the scanner, then open Image Capture on your Mac. Select the scanner under Devices or Shared in the sidebar. Apple says a scanner with an automatic document feeder can scan a multipage document into one file; a flatbed can scan multiple items and save each separately. If the device is missing, check that it is connected and on, then consult the scanner maker’s documentation or software support. Apple’s Image Capture User Guide

Place the page or photo on the flatbed, or load pages into the feeder. In Image Capture, start a scan to open the scanner options. Apple’s macOS scanning guide describes the expanded controls in the scanner window, including scan mode, image kind, resolution, size, destination, name, and format. Click Show Details if the extra controls are hidden. Apple’s scan guide for Mac

Choose a resolution for the material

In the expanded options, open Resolution and select an offered value. The menu’s choices are what your current scanner setup exposes; Image Capture does not provide a universal list of resolutions for every scanner. If the desired value is absent, check the scanner’s supported settings or manufacturer’s software rather than assuming a hidden Image Capture command exists.

For a clean, standard-size text page that you mainly need to read or share, 300 dpi is a sensible starting point. The U.S. National Archives specifies 300 dpi effective resolution for many textual documents up to 11 by 17 inches, with different guidance for larger documents. That is an archival specification, not a guarantee about every scanner or a universal rule for every task. For worn, faint, annotated, or very small text, a higher offered setting can retain more detail, but inspect a sample first. National Archives digitization guidelines

For a printed photograph, 300–400 dpi is generally adequate for personal scanning of common snapshot sizes, according to the Library of Congress. Tiny prints, slides, and negatives need more sampling because their detail is concentrated in a smaller original; the Library of Congress suggests around 1,400–1,500 dpi for small prints or slides and at least 1,500–2,000 dpi for negatives. These figures are guidance, not promises that a particular scanner can resolve that much optical detail. Library of Congress: The Basics of Scanning

A useful way to reason about a choice is to estimate the resulting pixel dimensions. For example, an 8.5-by-11-inch page scanned at 300 dpi yields roughly 2,550 by 3,300 pixels before cropping (inches multiplied by pixels per inch). At 600 dpi, each side has twice as many pixels, or about four times as many pixels overall. Higher settings can preserve more captured detail for cropping or enlargement, but increase storage and processing demands; they cannot restore detail the original or scanner did not capture.

Finish the scan and check the result

Choose Kind to match the source: Apple describes Text for high-contrast black-and-white material, Black & White for grayscale, and Color for color originals. Pick the page size or scan area, destination, file name, and format. Options such as duplex scanning depend on the scanner. Then scan and open the saved file at a useful zoom to check that small text, edges, and important image detail are clear. If not, adjust the resolution or scan area and make another scan.

If the Resolution menu lacks a setting you need, the scanner is not listed, or feeder options are unavailable, those controls may be limited by the device, its driver, or its capabilities. Apple advises checking device documentation or the manufacturer when the scanner does not appear in Image Capture. No setting in Image Capture can make unsupported scanner hardware deliver a higher optical resolution. Apple’s Image Capture troubleshooting guidance

For most users, the reliable workflow is to select a resolution offered by the scanner, start around 300 dpi for ordinary documents or snapshot prints, and raise it when the original’s fine detail or intended enlargement justifies the larger file. Save a sample and review it before scanning a large batch.

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