Court Reporter Practice Exam

What color resolution should scanned documents typically be?

1. Full color

2. Grayscale

3. Black and white

4. High-resolution color

The correct answer is: Black and white

Scanned documents are typically best captured in black and white. This is because black and white scanning focuses on capturing the text clearly, ensuring high readability and reducing file size, which is particularly important for legal documents that comprise mostly text. Black and white scanning eliminates unnecessary color data that does not add value to the textual information, making it easier for court reporters and legal professionals to work with and archive. Additionally, many legal documents do not contain color elements that are essential for understanding the content; thus, black and white is usually sufficient. While color scanning can be useful in certain contexts—such as for images or documents where color plays a crucial role—the majority of legal text does not require this. Grayscale is an option that provides more detail than black and white, but it still captures detail in a less efficient manner than black and white. Full color and high-resolution color are generally not needed for typical document scanning in legal settings, as they can lead to large file sizes and longer processing times without significant benefits.