Abstract: Questionnaires are scanned for answers(marks) handmarked thereon by defining areas of interest which can be expanded in an area of interest pixel map. An unmarked questionnaire is initialized by scanning to create a pixel map of an original image area, with any printed objects or text on the page being selected as alignment and reference points, rather than requiring timing marks and special registration marks. Areas of interest are defined answer area locations with their original pixel data stored in an initial database. Questionnaire pages are scanned for new answer images thereon by aligning both the page and the individual answer areas, and comparing the scanned page with the stored, unmarked page pixel map, thereby removing the pre-printed area from the newly scanned area to detect any new answers.