Transcript
Scanning Procedure Using SilverFast Ai Software (6.6.1r2b)
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last modified 6.16.2015
PREP In scanner notebook, fill out Incoming Checklist column on a Scanner Equipment Checklist sheet. Use flash drive in scanner notebook to back-up your TIFFs and JPEGs. After your current batch of scans have all been copied to the flash drive, return flash drive to Black Gold office. Sort objects to be scanned by format and generally by subject. Turn on computer, both monitors and Epson Expression 10000XL scanner. To log on to Windows, click OK (user = Gary, no password required). Click on SilverFast Launcher (desktop shortcut). Click on SilverFast (Epson IT8).8ba (ver.6.6.1r2b) button in center box. (FYI on that page, to find useful information on SilverFast, click on the open book icon.) At Welcome to SilverFast, click on arrow to Continue to SilverFast. Before scanning, if the scanner needs to be calibrated to balance colors, see page 5. Remember to keep liquids and food away from the work area. 2 MONITORS: It is recommended to view scans on the monitor labeled, “View scans on this [better] monitor,” and to view Control Panels on other monitor.
Scanning Procedure Using SilverFast Ai Software (6.6.1r2b)
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BASIC WORKFLOW
OBJECT ̶ Place object to be scanned on scannerʼs glass plate (top left). (The settings from the last scan will show on the screen.)
PRESCAN ̶ At the SilverFast Control Panel on the monitor screen, click on the Prescan button to launch a prescan.
At the scan window on the monitor, adjust the line frame by dragging the colored
lines so the frame is just inside the perimeter of the image to be scanned.
REFLECTIVE/TRANSPARENCY ̶ At the SilverFast Control Panel, at General Tab, select Reflective if scanning prints, or Transparency for slides and film. At Pos/Neg, select Positive for prints and positive film, e.g., slides, or Kodachrome for Kodachrome slides, or Negative for negative film. Note: When scanning black and white film material, make sure the Dust and Scratch Removal function is NOT IN USE. This function cannot be used in combination with b/w film.
IMAGE TYPE ̶ At the Control Panel Frame tab > Image Type, select the appropriate image type (standard, landscape, skin tones, evening, etc.) so the automatic image control knows how to optimize the image. (Highlights, shadows and midtones will be automatically corrected.)
ADJUSTMENTS ̶ Before scanning, if the scanner needs to be calibrated, or the image optimized, or settings adjusted or corrected, see “BEFORE SCANNING…” on following pages for details.
DPI RESOLUTION & OUTPUT SETTINGS ̶ At the Frame tab, adjust the dpi resolution and scaling. A dpi of 600 is recommended for a master TIFF file for a reflective photographic image. But based on the size of the source material, this number may be adjusted. The height or width of the scanned image should be greater than 3000 pixels (i.e. the "long" side of the image). For a 35mm slide or negative, a dpi of 2,000 to 4,800 is recommended for the master TIFF file.
JPEG QUALITY: Before scanning, check the JPEG quality is in the center (about 5) of the slider as a starting point. See JPEG Compression/Quality procedure on next page for details.
SCAN ̶ At the SilverFast Control Panel, perform the following steps to scan the object. "Save as" in a Scanning folder > Images > (for your jurisdiction, it is recommended to make separate folders for JPGs and TIFFs). 1.)
Scan Object - Click the Scan button to Create TIFF (the master original file, a TIFF is an exact representation of the image.), and then: a.)
Save As: File Name ̶ The file name format standard is Branch code-Project name-2-digit year-sequence number.filetype, e.g., BG-ProjectAA-14-004.tif.
b)
Save As Type ̶ TIFF (*.tif)
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BASIC WORKFLOW (continued) 2.)
TIFF File Size ̶ Check the TIFF image file to confirm the file size is greater than 25 MB (25,000 KB) and that the height or width is greater than 3000 pixels. a.) To determine scanned file size, look in your folder(s) in the desktop Scanning folder (view Details). b.) To determine the number of pixels, right click on the file name, click on Properties, click on Details tab, and then look at the Width and Height. If the TIFF file size is smaller than 25 MB or height or width less than 3000 pixels, adjust the dpi setting higher (e.g. 900 dpi or possibly 1200 dpi) and repeat the scanning of this original. Adjustments up or down are typically needed if the size of the original print/slide/negative is very big or very small.
3.)
Rescan Object to Create Derivative File - JPEG ̶ To scan a derivative, repeat Scan instructions above, except for Save As Type, choose the derivative file type JPEG. The derivative is a smaller, compressed file, which helps to ensure quick webpage loading on web sites. For JPEGs, a desired file size is greater than 1 MB for average size images, and should almost always be less than 3 MB. See below for options to reduce the size of a JPEG.
4.)
JPEG File Size ̶ Check the derivatives to confirm the file size is as desired, e.g., JPEG greater than 1 MB and under 3 MB. To view scanned file size, look in your folder(s) in the desktop scanning folder (view Details). If the JPEG is smaller than 1 MB or greater than 3 MB, adjust the JPEG file size with a combination of the following 2 techniques. JPEG COMPRESSION/QUALITY: In the Save As window when scanning, at the Save As Type field, select JPEG (*.jpg). Click on Options button. Adjust the Quality slider up or down a notch or two (it has 10 invisible notches) toward higher (larger size) or lower quality (small size) and scan again. View size of new JPEG scan. If needed, adjust Quality slider up or down further and scan again. Keep the Baseline (standard) radio button selected. Any needed adjustments are driven by the size of the original print and the content of the image. Generally speaking, decreasing JPG compression will create a less crisp image while retaining more pixels and allow for larger size prints and/or zooms in the future.
JPEG RESOLUTION (DPI): If the JPEG file size is still larger than 3MB, lower the dpi setting for a JPEG, e.g. 300 dpi or possibly 150 dpi (in extreme cases such as a very, very large original). Any needed adjustments are driven by the size of the original print and to a lesser extent the content of the image. Generally speaking, decreasing the DPI preserves the quality of the individual pixels but due to fewer overall pixels the size of any image that can be created later by this file becomes smaller and smaller.
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BASIC WORKFLOW (continued) The best approach is a combination of the above 2 techniques but it depends on the image and also on intended use. The best thing to do is experiment. Also keep in mind that a new JPEG derivative file can be created from the high quality TIFF image. The primary goal at the time of scanning is to get a JPEG that will be good for internet viewing. Do not use Windows Picture and Fax Viewer to make derivative JPEG files from the TIFF image files as the file size will be unpredictably large.
QUALITY CONTROL̶ Review file size of each JPEG and TIFF image. View scanned images in image viewer to judge quality.
Zooming in on images will help you get a better feel for image quality.
Repeat scanning for a select image if quality is sub-standard or file size is too large or too small. Quality is more important than file size so error on the side of too large a file if in doubt.
Files can
always be post-processed to reduce size but nothing can be done to increase size (and quality) once finished.
Reducing file size may reduce quality depending on intended use.
REPEAT ̶ Repeat above workflow for all desired objects to be scanned. See next page for FINAL SCANNING TASKS.
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FINAL SCANNING TASKS
QUIT ̶ When finished, at the SilverFast Control Panel, click on the Quit button and then Quit at the SilverFast Launcher. Copy all of the TIFF and JPEG files to the enclosed flash drive. Leave originals on the computer as a backup - we'll delete them later in preparation for scanning at the next facility.
BEFORE REPACKING ̶ Complete the Scanner Equipment Checklist (in scanner notebook) by filling out the Outgoing column. Send completed checklist to the Black Gold office.
FLASH DRIVE ̶ Return the flash drive with the files to the Black Gold office. See next page to OPTIMIZE, ADJUST, or CORRECT.
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IF NEEDED SEE BELOW TO OPTIMIZE, ADJUST OR CORRECT
CALIBRATION ̶ If needed, first perform a calibration to balance scanner colors. The LaserSoft Imaging color target (4” x 6” printed color card for prints, or 2 ½” x 2 ¾” transparency for transparencies) can be found in scanner notebook. Place target face down on the scannerʼs glass plate (top left corner). At the SilverFast Control Panel click Prescan. At the scan window on monitor, click on the IT8 calibration icon color bar).
(looks like a two-pan balance scale above a
At the scan window drag the corners of the mask into position so the color patches match the
image at the IT8 Calibration window. At the IT8 Calibration window, click Start. If a Warning window pops open, click OK (“ICC Profile already exits! Overwrite it?”) SilverFast should automatically calibrate and display a confirmation message. Click on OK to save the generated ICC profile.
TROUBLESHOOT ̶ “In case there is faulty behavior or crash, you can reset SilverFast to its factory defaults.” (An example of faulty behavior: the Prescan image color is incorrect, but color correction adjustments do not solve the problem.) Click on SilverFast Launcher (desktop shortcut). Hover over the SilverFast (Epson IT8).8ba (ver.6.6.1r2b) button, then click the Service Dialog button (hammer & wrench icon). Click on Delete preference files.
ADJUST THE ROTATION ̶ To manually rotate the frame, click drag the semicircular grabbers on the borders of the scan frame. Or, a pressed shift key will rotate the frame in increments of 45°.
IMAGE AUTO̶ADJUST ̶ Use to automatically adjust highlight, shadow, midtone, optimization.
BRIGHTNESS, DARKNESS ̶ If the image looks too bright or too dark, at the SilverFast Control Panel, click on the Gradation Adjustment icon
(dot-line-graph)
to open Gradation Curves to make
appropriate adjustments. Corrections and auto adjusts can be undone by clicking on the Reset button.
SHARPEN ̶ Auto Sharpen is the default. If the scanʼs sharpening needs to be adjusted, go to Frame tab > Filter, select Sharpen (USM). However, sharpening will depend on dpi resolution and scaling factor, so be sure to set those parameters before sharpening. Select Prescan in the Sharpen USM dialogue, then click and hold the mouse over a small section of the prescan screen image. Then at the Sharpen USM dialogue, compare the effects of that section with and without sharpening. Click OK, Reset or Cancel when done.
GLOBAL COLOR CORRECTION ̶ If the entire color rendering needs to be changed, at the SilverFast Control Panel, click the color wheel icon and click-drag within the color sphere. The color characteristics of the scanned object will be moved into the selected area. The degree of changes can be adjusted by means of the three-step slider. The lower level will produce small changes; the upper level will produce large changes.
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IF NEEDED SEE BELOW TO OPTIMIZE, ADJUST OR CORRECT (continued)
SELECTIVE COLOR CORRECTION ̶ If needed, at the SilverFast Control Panel, click on the Selective Color Correction icon
(color triangle)
and click inside your image on the colored object you
wish to correct. By clicking into the top or bottom of the 3 bars (H-S-L) and holding down the mouse button, you can change the hue, saturation or luminance of the color selected. Corrections can be done directly in the color circle. The ACR slider regulates the saturation of the color. Note: The ACR checkbox needs to be activated.
OPTIONS ̶ Near bottom right at the SilverFast Control Panel, click on the Options button to adjust options, e.g., to activate Auto Contrast go to Auto > Auto Contrast, which will automatically chose the best contrast setting of the picture viewed.
DUST AND SCRATCH REMOVAL ̶ If needed, at the scan window toolbar click on the icon with a red cross (or SRD). Then click on the new icon that appears just below, “parameter dialog for dust and scratch removal.” SRD settings work with layers and quick masks. Note: When scanning black and white film material, make sure the Dust and Scratch Removal function is NOT IN USE. This function cannot be used in combination with b/w film.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 1. In the Black Gold scanner notebook, find software and documentation. 2. Additional information is available by clicking on the open book icon above the SilverFast (Epson IT8).8ba (ver.6.6.1r2b) button (after clicking on the SilverFast Launcher, a desktop shortcut). 3. SilverFast Ai Manual: http://www.silverfast.com/download/docu/manual,complete_en_2006-11-27.pdf 4. SilverFast Ai 6.6 Addendum: http://www.silverfast.com/download/docu/sfv6.6upgradeaddendum_en_2009-07-01.pdf 5. At www.ats.blackgold.org, under Departmental Resources, there are additional resources. 6. Basic scanning tips: http://scantips.com/ 7. Black Gold office, 805.543.6082
