About the scanning and the slight blurring there. From what I can see the blurring is variable across the map, which might be caused either by dirt on the scanning glass (the type you can't see unless you get down eye level with it and look across it), or if the paper isn't lying absolutely flat on the bed. I put a magazine on top of mine if I can't shut the lid because of the rest of the sketchbook. The scanner focus is only sharp when the paper is in snug contact with the glass. A gap of just a mm can make a huge difference, and can very easily cause the degree of blurring you have right there.

Also in the scanner settings you can usually set scanners to scan at different resolutions. I think the default resolution is only about 72 dpi on most office scanners, which is ok if you're scanning pages of text, but really poor when scanning graphics. I've been known to wop my scanner right up to 600 dpi and then reduce the image to a more sensible size in the bitmap editor of my choice - the one with the best AA filter.

As far as the background goes - I prefer the second version