My scanner is a Canon PIXMA MP270. So far I've been using only Preview or ImageCapture to scan pictures because I haven't been able to get any of Canon's softwares to work (CanoScan, ScanGear, MP Navigator etc.)
This is how a scan turns out when I don't play around with the settings and just scan it as it is:
How is this for a scan? It looks alright to me, but from reading this thread I've discovered that I have a lot to learn still

Is there anything I can do to make it better or are there any downloadable softwares that will improve the quality of my scans?