How to Scan Certain Items

[#1]

Hi
Just a silly query but one that has bothered me for a while. I tried scanning a small piece of paper with the Queens head on it, when popped up a window telling me I can not scan this without a licence.
Yet couple years ago had no problem..., I used to make and sell tourist items from our notes. Now I can't
Copying British Currency is not illegal but reproducing currency is illegal except where you make changes which are obvious, ie changing the colour, replace Bank of England or place a watermark across the entire note.
Any idea's? or will this get booted?

[#2]

Could it just be that you had a trial version of some scanning software, and when the trial period runs out it nags you to buy it?

[#3]

It'll be the colloquially titled EURion Constellation pattern found on most EUuopean notes. Take a look at the note as they are visibile to the naked eye.
Covering them up with something will allow them to be scanned/copied however obviously that risks obliterating what could be a key part of the image for you.
Edit: Apologies, I see now you didn't mention it was a note but rather something else. There must've been some other identifying marks, or perhaps if it was the common image as used on stamps etc that may also have been explicityly recognised. You could just download the desired image off the net. Needless to say however, what you are trying to might well be illegal.
Mathew

[#4]

Stamps (especially just before they go up in price) are basically like hard cash. Iirc Ronny Briggs stole £Mega of stamps when he committed the great train robbery.
Anyway with that said, it would make sense for RM in its efforts to detect fakes, to use similar tech as they do with paper money. I suspect that your scanner is configured to look for something.
If all else fails, take a very steady close up with a digital camera and see what that will do.

[#5]

I scan a lot of items (maps, books, journals, stamp collections, note collections, even done a wildflower collection), I use an industrial scanner that can convert a 300 page book into a PDF in about 20 minutes. Never had any issues with licences.
Scanning software is ABBYY, does 99% OCR as part of the process.
I'm aware of copyright issues if scanning journals and books.

[#6]

Quote from: Sprite

Stamps (especially just before they go up in price) are basically like hard cash

Hard cash? I'm not aware of many people/places that sell goods and services in exchance for stamps...
Mathew

[#7]

Why do you think there was a rush for postage stamps before the prices went up?
People will resell them in the future at less than retail but more than cost price. That means profit.
You buy £1k of stamps now and resell them in 10 years and you're looking at a nice little sum.
When I was 15 1st class was 25p. 2nd class was 19p. Imagine if I'd of had £1k worth of each back then how much I could sell them for now. While they're not technically legal currency, they are worth money, they never loose value they only ever go up.

[#8]

They have value of course, but they're not 'basically like hard cash' by any definition!
If any were taken during the Great Train Robbery (were they?) they would have been most undesirable compared to cash. Remember back in the 60's all stamps still had denominations printed on them and will not have been easy to shift in bulk! As you say, postage costs always increase hence their value would've depreciated over time.
Mathew

[#9]

There was a case from one of the pacific islands where the denomination stamps went something like 1c, 2c, 3c, 4c, 5c, 10c, 20c. A sheet of 5c stamps at face value would cost £2-£3.
Somebody with access to a scanner/printer/guillotine and gummed paper had replicated the 5c stamp and changed it to 6c  (this did not exist, therefore was technically not a forgery).
My guess he/she did several sheets of a hundred. At philately fairs the 6c stamp now changes hands for tens of pounds.
Not a bad return.

[#10]

Maybe that's what Zedingrove's up to..? 

[#11]

Quote from: ZedinGrove

Just a silly query but one that has bothered me for a while. I tried scanning a small piece of paper with the Queens head on it, when popped up a window telling me I can not scan this without a licence. Yet couple years ago had no problem..., I used to make and sell tourist items from our notes. Now I can't

Is that with the same scanner? I've certainly heard of other people having problems - however I've just scanned a £20 note without a problem - that said my scanner and its software is about 6 years old.
Our photocopier at work says it's illegal to scan (amongst other things) driving licences...

[#12]

Quote from: MJN

Edit: Apologies, I see now you didn't mention it was a note but rather something else. There must've been some other identifying marks, or perhaps if it was the common image as used on stamps etc that may also have been explicityly recognised. You could just download the desired image off the net. Needless to say however, what you are trying to might well be illegal.

Actually I did not mention as might get in to bother... It is £20 notes could scan previous twenties but not new one's....

[#13]

It'll be the triangular dots - try covering them up and you'll likely find it'll copy.
Good choice the twenty; all too tempting to go for fifties but they attract too much attention and tend to get over-analysed by shopkeepers.
Mathew