|
|
Choosing the Black point and White point is a two-step process. You need to have a preview image scan on your screen to do it. First, click on the eye dropper labeled Black Point, which is the button icon on the very top of the icon row. Your pointer will change into an icon of the eyedropper. Next, you will need to find the darkest point in your preview image. Move the eyedropper pointer around the image. You will notice that as you move the dropper, the numbers below the preview area will change. Move your pointer to the area of the picture that has the highest number next to the Gray indicator. The higher the number, the darker that part of the image is. When you have found a spot that is around 90-98 Gray, click your mouse button. You have now selected your black point. Follow the same procedure for the White Point setting. Click on the eyedropper labeled White Point, which is the icon just below Mid Point. Find the area in the image with the lowest White point and click your mouse button. You can use the middle icon to see your midpoint, as well.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Arbitrary Rotation |
[Figure ICB.1]
|
One of the more common problems with desktop scanning is trying to scan line art and photographs that are crooked. Arbitrary Rotation is a feature of Art-Scan designed to help solve this problem. You can rotate a crooked scan and can see the results on the screen before the final scan is made. To use the rotation feature you must first do a preview scan. Next, using the crop box, select the area you wish to crop, scan and rotate. Perform any other image enhancements you wish to apply to the scan before doing the final scan. Select Arbitrary Rotation. An Arbitrary Rotation dialog box will come up (figure ICB.1) and automatically give you an estimate on what is straight. Use the slider bar to rotate the image into place. Once the image is in place, click OK. Finally, click Scan and the system will do a scan using the arbitrary rotation feature.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Descreen Image |
[Figure ICB.2]
|
Occasionally, you may wish to scan a picture that has been printed with a halftone such as one you would find in a book or a magazine. Magazine pictures don't scan as well as a photograph because they have less quality. The reason is that these pictures have been printed with a series of tiny dots that make up the image. When scanned, a scanner's imaging assembly will emphasize some of these dots and not others creating a pattern called a moiré pattern. For best results, only scan from a photograph or transparency when possible. However, if you do want to scan a printed picture, click on the Descreen button to automatically improve the image. The DeScreen filter improves the image by removing the moiré pattern by blending the dots into surrounding dots and converting them into shades of gray. This feature works best at maximum sampling resolution but greatly increases scanning time. To adjust the descreen option further click and hold the descreen button or hold alt then select the option, and the descreen adjustment dialog will appear (figure ICB.2).
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Rotate 90 Degrees |
|
|
This field was added to Art-Scan to enable the user to rotate a scanned image 90°. After an image is previewed and cropped, click this box and scan the image. The 90° rotation will not be reflected on the preview screen. The scanned image will come up on the image editing canvas at the 90° angle.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Magnify Image |
|
|
This tool will zoom in on the area that is inside your selection box. A low-resolution image will immediately appear when you click this button, and then the scanner will scan a higher resolution image. This option is useful when you want to scan a very small image, or if you want a precise crop or to see clearly what the final scan will look like.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| ICM Calibration |
[Figure ICB.3]
|
When clicked, this button prompts you to choose a ColorSync/ICC files for your scanner. All desktop scanners have their own unique Color Space. Calibration is the process of matching a scan back to the original image, monitor or printer by correcting both brightness and hue. When calibration is clicked on, Art-Scan uses the Color Sync files you have previously selected to do calibration. If you hold down the option key, or click and hold, a dialog box will come that will allow you to select ICC files for your devices. Several calibration files are needed because the scanner scans transparencies differently than it scans reflective artwork.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Sharpen Image |
[Figure ICB.4]
|
The scanner reads the light from the bed at a 45° angle. Since light does not always reflect at a 45° angle, most color and grayscale scans appear slightly blurred and require sharpening to be applied to that image. Art-Scan can apply sharpening automatically to give images a crisp look. We recommend some amount of sharpening be applied to every color or grayscale scan -- especially in conjunction with rotation or descreening. When you click on the sharpen icon tool, Art-Scan automatically sharpens the image. If you wish to modify the default settings, click and hold down on the Sharpen Image button (or hold down the Alt key if you are using a PC and then click). A dialog box will then appear (figure ICB.4). Auto Sharpening compares a pixel to the pixels around it and adds contrast. High values increase the amount of contrast and sharpen the image. Negative values blur the image.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Invert Image |
|
|
This box is clicked on when you want to scan a negative using the transparency adapter. This causes the complete inversion of the image.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| New Selection Rectangle |
|
|
This will allow you to create a completely new selection box. When you click this tool, your current selection box will disappear and your cursor will change to a crosshair icon. Move the crosshair to a corner of the image that you want to scan, click and drag. You will notice that as you drag, a new selection box is being created. Release the mouse button when your selection box is complete. If AutoZoom is turned on in the preference tool and you are in high quality mode, using this tool will automatically zoom the area to the maximum possible size.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Line and Noise Removal |
|
|
As scanners get old, vertical lines tend to appear in the shadow areas of the scanned images. In addition most scanners have trouble distinguishing between dark shades of black creating a fuzzy look in the shadows called noise. Line and Noise Removal will attempt to locate these areas and smooth them out using an average of surrounding pixels.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Save Settings |
|
|
This feature allows you to save your current setting into a preference file, so these settings can be used later. For example, if you regularly scan 2" x 2" color photographs at 200% scaling with a midtone adjustment, you can set the appropriate controls once, click the Save Settings icon, name your setting files, and save them. The next time that you have the same type of photo to scan, you can click on the Load Settings icon and load the appropriate settings file, and you ready to scan. You can have an unlimited number of settings files, so you can create settings files for color, grayscale, line art, and even vector line art!
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Load Settings |
|
|
This icon will prompt you to choose a settings file that you have previously saved. You must first use the save settings tool in order to load settings.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Flip Image |
|
|
If you place a slide in the transparency adapter with the emulsion side up, the image will be a mirrored image of itself. With flip Image selected, Art-Scan will reverse the image, changing it back to its original desired positioning. This mirrored image will be reflected on the return preview screen.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Curves, Levels, Input, Output Histograms |
[Figure ICB.5]
|
Most scanning software assumes that the lightest area of a scan is white and that the darkest area is black. This is not always the case. Art-Scan compensates for this by allowing you to adjust the lightest and the darkest points of your RGB and Grayscale scans. This then narrows the spectrum of the scanned area, which in turn gives you a sharper, clearer image. To understand this tool and subfeatures click here.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Auto Balance |
|
|
Art-Scan has an easy solution for you if you don't want to manually adjust every setting for your images. In the toolbar is an icon, which will automatically set the highlight and shadow points to their optimum value. This mode will let Art-Scan analyze your preview image and determine the correct settings for an optimum image and set your histogram accordingly. Please bear in mind that this adjustment uses only data from the inside selection rectangle. If you change the selection rectangle you will want to press this icon again.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
| Preferences |
[Figure ICB.6]
|
By selecting this option a dialog box will appear (figure ICB.6) that allows you to turn off and on various program features such as Unzoom to Wide Window, Auto Zoom Selection Rectangle, and Blur Preview Outside of Selection Rectangle. Preferences also gives you the ability to change the resolution of previews being performed so that it gives a better representation of what the finished scan will produce with the effects in place.
[ Return to Chapter 4] |
