Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2018: Week 28

A scanlation is a fan-translated and fan-edited version of a manga (either professional or doujinshi), manhwa, manhua, or other comic.

Scanlations are usually shared digitally online as image files; if the original is not already digital then it is scanned, and the image is edited into the new language. Scanlations are mostly unauthorized by the people or companies who hold the rights to the source material, though some scanlators do get permission from foreign fans to scanlate their work, and there have been some licensed scanlation efforts like MangaNovel or the Digital Manga Guild.

Fans usually scanlate to share their favorite comic with other fans who cannot read it in its original language.