Arts >> Music >> Digital Music

How to Copy a CD Cover

In most new media players such as iTunes, Windows Media Player and Quicktime you can add album artwork to your digital music. To do this you can scan a CD cover from a CD in your collection to create a digital copy on your PC. Alternatively you can locate the image of the CD cover you want to copy on the Internet then copy or save the image from the online CD cover. By following a few easy steps you can copy your CD cover before printing it off or saving a digital copy.

Things You'll Need

  • Scanner
  • Computer
Show More

Instructions

  1. Physical Scan

    • 1

      Remove the CD cover from the case and place it image side down on the scanning glass. Align the cover so it fits to the corner of the scanner before closing the lid.

    • 2

      Double-click on the desktop icon to run your scanning software. Click "File" then "Scan" to begin the scanning process. A new window should appear displaying scanning options. Adjust the resolution of your scan by changing the dots per inch setting - 72 to 66 dots per inch will be adequate for scanning to a computer.

    • 3

      Select the file type you want to save your scanned image as. Select JPEG from the drop down menu as this is a flexible format that works well with both color and black and white scans.

    • 4

      Preview your cover. Use the preview option to ensure your CD cover is going to scan exactly how you want it to. Make the most of this opportunity to crop your image if you think it is needed.

    • 5

      Click "scan" or press the scan button on the scanner. Once the scanner has finished your completed scan should appear on your computer screen in the software window. Save or print the copied CD cover.

    • 6

      Repeat the process for the remaining pages of your CD cover.

    Digital Copy

    • 7

      Run Internet Explorer on another Internet browser such as Safari or Mozilla Firefox by double-clicking on the desktop icon.

    • 8

      Use a search engine to find a picture of the CD cover you want to copy.

    • 9

      Click on the image to open it at it's maximum size.

    • 10

      Right-click and choose "Save File As..." then name the file and choose a location on your computer where you want the image to be saved. Alternatively choose "Copy" from the right-click menu to copy and paste the CD cover directly.

    • 11

      Paste the copied image to a location of your choice. This could be directly into the album artwork box in a media player.

Digital Music

Related Categories