I've had a scanner at home for about a year and I've tried some test scans, but I'm not happy with the results. I've noticed that several people on the boards scan chips and their scans seem to come out great! What's the secret????

I've been wondering what's the best way to scan a chip?
Do you put the chip in a flip (to protect the scanner glass)? or do you go flip-less?
What is the best scanner settings to use? Should I scan at 300 or 600 or more dpi? Should I scan full-color or another color setting?
Should I scan a single chip at a time or multiple chips?
How do you avoid shadows or the off-white color surrounding the outside of the chip scan?
Any other tips or secrets to good scans?
Any help at all would be appreciated.
Thanks.

--Mark