Polaroid SprintScan User Guide

Download

SprintScan

Driver Software

Version 1.03

User’s Guide

Macintosh & Windows

Ta b le of contents

1 Introduction

Overview 1-1 SprintScan documentation set 1-4 How to use this guide 1-5 Obtaining assistance 1-6

2 Software Installation

Overview 2-1 SprintScan for Macintosh 2-2 SprintScan for Windows 2-4

3 Quick Scanning

Overview 3-1 QuickStart 3-2 SprintScan windows and menus 3-6 Adjusting an image 3-15 Working with scan jobs 3-18

4 Reference

Overview 4-1 SprintScan software 4-2 Preview window 4-5 Scanner menu 4-8 View menu 4-11 Preferences menu 4-15 The Tool buttons 4-23 Settings window 4-29 Image Adjustment Tools 4-39 Information window 4-63 Scan Job window 4-67

Appendix A: Troubleshooting A-1

Appendix B: Scanning tips B-1

Glossary G-1

License Agreements L-1

Index I-1

1 I n t ro d u c t i o n

SprintScan overv i e w

The SprintScan scanner driver is software that acts as a bridge between your scanner and a target application such as Photoshop that supports plug-in modules (Macintosh) or TWAIN modules (Windows).

SprintScan software enables you to capture images with your scanner, adjust those images, then place them in your image-editing application. With its many editing tools and features, SprintScan can save you considerable time from having to do touch-ups in your image editing software.

1-1

User interface for The SprintScan driver is available for both Macintosh and Macintosh and Windows platforms. The hardware is compatible for both Windows platforms but requires separate interface kits for each.

The SprintScan software user interface and procedures are nearly identical for both the Macintosh and Windows versions. In this manual, the screen displays and instructions are based on the Macintosh version. Any minor differences in the user interface or procedure for Windows users are noted as they occur.

Features The image adjustment functions are among the most powerful

features of SprintScan. In addition, SprintScan’s ability to process various scan jobs concurrently adds tremendous flexibility to scanning.

SprintScan software enables you to:

• Scan images in color and grayscale mode, and output the

image as either 8-bit or 12-bit information.

• Prepare digital images for either high (fine) resolution printing

or high printing magnification by scanning the images at high input resolutions.

• Perform a preview to see a preliminary view of the image

before scanning. Previewing an image allows you to do further adjustments if necessary and also lets you select the final area to be scanned in case you wish to crop the image.

1-2

• Modify the image quality by using either the automatic or

advanced image-adjustment tools. You can change the brightness, contrast, and exposure; shadows and highlights; gamma or midtones (mid gray levels); hue or saturation; and apply various sharpening filters for special effects.

• View thumbnail displays of the image, make changes and see

the “before” and “after” effects instantly.

• Create multiple scan jobs (tasks) that you direct the scanner to

process and scan. For example, one scan job might be in grayscale and another might be in color. The two scan jobs can then be manipulated and scanned separately, and you can switch between the scan jobs easily while making changes.

• Scan a single image or several at a time. For example, you can

scan up to four 35mm slides concurrently.

• Verify RGB changes by viewing precise pixel-by-pixel input

and output image information. This information is helpful if you are adjusting the image based on specific color values.

Introduction 1-3

SprintScan documentation set

The SprintScan documentation set provides instructions for setting up the SprintScan hardware and software and performing all operational and maintenance tasks.

Hardware manual The Hardware Manual explains how to:

• Unpack and inspect your hardware components

• Install the scanner hardware

• Perform power-on startup tests

• Operate the scanner hardware

Software User’s Guide The Software User’s Guide (this manual) provides reference

material for users who work with SprintScan to scan high quality images. It also describes maintenance and troubleshooting procedures.

Other instructions On-line help is available in the SprintScan Windows version

application by pressing the Help item on the menu bar. The on-line help system uses standard Windows conventions.

1-4

How to use this guide

This guide is directed to customers who require high-quality graphics scanning capability. It provides procedures for installing, using, and maintaining the SprintScan software.

Chapter 2 Describes how to install the software for both

Macintosh and Windows systems.

Chapter 3 Presents a snapshot summary of the SprintScan

functions and provides a quick overview of the scanning process.

Chapter 4 Provides a detailed description of every

SprintScan function and feature.

Appendix A Provides a troubleshooting guide for

SprintScan hardware and software problems.

Appendix B Provides scanning tips for best results. Glossary Explains common scanning terms.

Introduction 1-5

Obtaining assistance

For technical assistance, contact your dealer or call Polaroid toll-free from within the U.S.A., Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern time:

1-800-432-5355

In Canada, call:

1-800-268-6970

Or write to:

Polaroid Electronic Imaging 565 Technology Square, 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA 02139

1-6

O v e rv i e w

2 S o f t w a re installation

This chapter covers the installation of the scanning software and related software included in the scanner package. Refer to the instructions for your computer environment (Macintosh or Windows).

2-1

SprintScan for Macintosh

SprintScan software for Macintosh operating systems is a plug-in module that can be used with any any application that operates with Photoshop plug-in modules.

SprintScan for Macintosh includes two distinct software drivers: one for Macintosh PowerPCs (any computer utilizing the PowerPC chip) and one for non-PowerPCs (Macintosh II series or later, which do not utilize the PowerPC chip.) Use the driver appropriate for your machine.

For non-PowerPCs, the Apple Shared Library Manager must also be installed to enable SprintScan to run.

The following procedures explain how to install the SprintScan plug-in module into the plug-ins folder of your image-editing software (such as Photoshop). If the image-editing application is not loaded, you must install this software before installing SprintScan.

Installing Apple Shared Library Manager (ASLM)

The Apple Shared Library Manager (ASLM) program, version

2.0, is provided with your scanner package. If this program is not already installed, and you do not have a Macintosh PowerPC, you must install the ASLM or your scanning software will not work. You must have system 7.0 or higher on your Macintosh to do this.

2-2

1 Restart your computer with the Shift key held down. Keep the

key down until you see the message “Welcome to Macintosh.”

2 Insert the disk marked Apple Shared Library Manager into

your computer.

3 Double-click on the disk to open it, then double-click on the

Installer icon to start installation.

Installing image-editing software

The image-editing software (for example, Photoshop) must be installed before the SprintScan software. If it is not installed, follow these instructions.

1 Insert the first software disk (the disk labeled #1 in the series)

into your computer.

2 Run the installer program.

3 Follow the screen instructions to install the software, and refer

to the image-editing software documentation for additional instructions as needed.

Installing SprintScan software

The SprintScan installation procedure requires you to know the location of the image-editing application folder.

1 Insert the SprintScan disk into your computer. 2 Double-click on the Installer icon to start the installation. 3 When the SprintScan logo appears, click on Continue. In the

next window, you will be able to see the latest information and changes to SprintScan.

Note: Save this text and read it since it may contain valuable

information regarding installation and troubleshooting that is not included in this manual.

4 Press Continue to move on. The program displays the installa-

tion window and asks you if you wish to do a custom or a full install.

5 Click on Install for full installation. The system then displays the

Plug-ins Folder window.

6 Select the location of the Plug-ins folder. For example, if you use

Photoshop (3.0.4 or later versions):

• Select the hard disk by double-clicking on it

• Select the Photoshop folder by double-clicking on it.

• Select the Plug-ins folder by double-clicking on it.

• Highlight the Acquire/Export folder by clicking on it only once.

There will be a button on the bottom of this dialog box which now says Install into Acquire/Export.

• Click on this button. The files will be copied for you automati-

cally.

7 After all the necessary files are copied, a screen will appear

informing you that the installation is successful and complete. Click on the Quit button to exit the Install program.

SprintScan for Wi n d o w s

Software installation 2-3

SprintScan software for Windows operating systems is a TWAIN-compliant program. This allows you to scan images directly into your image-editing application or any TWAINcompliant application that makes use of images.

The following procedures explain how to install the SprintScan software program and the related application software.

Note: The instructions in the following sections assume that

A: is your floppy drive name. Depending on your floppy drive name, use B: in the command line entries as needed.

Installing SprintScan software

1 Start up your PC and launch Windows. 2 Choose the Run command:

• For Windows 3.1, open the File menu in Program Manager,

then Run.

• For Windows 95, select Start from the task bar, then Run.

3 Insert the SprintScan software disk into your computer. 4 At the command line entry, type A:\SETUP and click OK.

The SprintScan setup program should start running.

5 Click OK on the SprintScan for Windows information and

installation verification window.

2-4

Follow the screen instructions to finish installation. When installation is complete, SprintScan will appear in its own group window.

Installing image-editing software

In order to use the SprintScan software, you must install image-editing software. For example, follow the instructions below to install Adobe Photoshop:

1 Launch Windows. 2 Choose the Run command:

• For Windows 3.1, open the File menu in Program Manager,

then Run.

• For Windows 95, select Start from the task bar, then Run.

3 Insert the scanner software disk into your computer. 4 At the command line entry, type A:\PSSETUP (for Photoshop

2.5) or A:\SETUP (for Photoshop 3.0.) and click OK. The scanner software setup program should start running.

5 Follow the instructions on the screen.

When the installation is complete, Photoshop will appear in its own group window.

Software installation 2-5

O v e rv i e w

3 Quick sca n ning

The SprintScan software is easy to use. Quick scanning introduces you to techniques to help you get the most out of SprintScan quickly.

• A walkthrough of the basic steps for:

starting SprintScan scanning an image exiting SprintScan

• A pictorial overview of the SprintScan screens so you can

readily find each function and command

• A description of each icon and command button and when

to use it

• Quick reference procedures for:

adjusting an image working with multiple scan jobs

You can use Quick scanning for shortcuts or as a summary reference. Refer to Chapter 4 for a comprehensive description of every SprintScan feature.

3-1

Q u i c k S t a rt

Turn on the scanner. Load the original transparency into the appropriate carrier. Insert the carrier firmly into the scanner until you feel it stop. Close the door. (The scanner will not scan if the door is open.)

Starting the software Macintosh version

Start up your image-editing software (like Adobe Photoshop).

1 2 When the application opens, choose Acquire from the File

menu.

3 Choose Polaroid SprintScan or Polaroid SprintScan PPC from

the submenu.

4 When the SprintScan windows appear, continue with the

section on the next page, Scanning an Image.

Windows version

Start up your image-editing software (like Adobe Photoshop).

1 2 When the application opens, choose Acquire from the File

menu.

3 Choose TWAIN_32 from the submenu. 4 When the SprintScan windows appear, continue with the

section on the next page, Scanning an image.

3-2

Note: If the Scanner Control Panel does not appear, do the

following:

• Choose Acquire from the File menu and Select TWAIN_32

Source from the submenu. The Source Manager dialog box appears so you can choose the device, or source, to be used for image acquisition.

• Select Polaroid SprintScan and press Select.

• Choose Acquire from the File menu and TWAIN_32 from the

submenu to display the Scanner Control Panel.

1 7

5 6

2 3

Hue an d Color Correction features are grayed out in grayscale mode

Scanning an image

Go to the Settings window, and choose the image type from

the Type pop-up menu:

• Color - choose Millions of Colors.

• Grayscale - choose 256 Shades of Gray.

2 Click on the Preview button in the Preview window. After a

few moments, a preliminary view of the image appears in the preview area.

Quick scanning 3-3

3 Click on the Scan Frame tool.

With the pointer now a crossbar, move to the image and define the scan frame by clicking and dragging the mouse to draw a box. The scan frame is enclosed by dotted lines and indicates the actual area that will be scanned when you use the Scan button.

Note: To create multiple scan frames, which would make

additional scan jobs, hold down the Shift key and drag the mouse. See Working with scan jobs on page 3-18 for details.

4 As an option, you can click on the Magnifying Lens tool to

enlarge the image.

• Click the cursor inside the image. Your view of the area sur-

rounding the cursor will be enlarged, or zoomed-in. Clicking successively enlarges your view of the image from 100% up to the maximum 1600%.

• To reduce your view of the magnified image, hold down the

Option key (Shift key for Windows), move the pointer to any portion of the image, and click on the mouse simultaneously. Clicking successively reduces the image until it is restored to its original scale.

5 (Color images only) If a color image appears dark to you,

click on the Auto button in the Settings window. This optimizes contrast and lightens the image.

3-4

If you are using the SprintScan 35/LE, click on the Color Correction button in the Settings window if a color image appears unsaturated. This applies a color look-up table and increases the color saturation of the image.

Note: Hue and Color Correction features are grayed out in

the grayscale mode.

6 To adjust image quality, use the image adjustment tools in the

Settings window. These tools are (left to right) Tone; Hue; Shadows and Highlights; Curve; Filters; and More Options. Refer to Adjusting an image on page 3-15 for details.

7 Choose a resolution in the Settings window. A resolution that

matches the resolution of your output device produces the best results.

8 To scan the image, click on the Scan button in the Preview

window. The image will be scanned and delivered to your image-editing software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop), where it can be saved as a file.

Exiting SprintScan Macintosh

Choose Quit from the Scanner menu or press Command+Q (the Apple command and Q keys) simultaneously.

Windows

Click on the close button on the title bar of the Preview window.

Quick scanning 3-5

SprintScan windows and menus

Windows a Settings window contains scanning parameters for

outputting the image and includes image adjustment tools.

b Scan job window provides key functions in processing sepa-

rate scans.

c Preview window has commands and tools for controlling the

scanner and provides access to the SprintScan menus from the menu bar.

d Information window allows precise pixel-by-pixel viewing of

the input and output image information.

3-6

a b

Preview window

The Preview window has commands and tools for controlling the scanner, and it provides access to the SprintScan menus from the menu bar.

a Menu Bar includes the different menus for setting up the

scanner (Scanner menu), controlling view options (View menu), customizing the software (Preferences menu), and for Windows, accessing on-line help (Help menu).

b Tool buttons simplify the performance of certain tasks:

Zoom Preview creates a new preview image in a higher resolution (and lets you switch between full page preview and zoomed preview).

Scan Frame creates a scan frame or multiple scan frames in the preview image.

Magnifying Lens zooms in or enlarges your view of the preview image.

Hand scrolls through a zoomed image and moves parts of it into view.

Color Picker (Set Shadow and Highlight) samples color from an area and designates new shadow or highlight points.

Quick scanning 3-7

c Rulers are located on both sides of the window to help you

with measurement and alignment.

d Preview Area is where the preview image appears after you

click on the Preview button.

e Media Type Status button shows your scan media: positive or

negative.

Note: For Windows, the Show/Close window tool buttons

appear to the right of the Media Type Status button. These buttons show or close the Settings, Information, and Scan Job windows.

f Action buttons generate a specific action from the scanning

software (Preview and Scan).

3-8

Settings window

The settings window contains the commands for outputting your scanned image and includes SprintScan’s image-adjustment tools.

a Type menu lets you select the mode in which your image will

be scanned and processed.

b Resolution edit box lets you enter a resolution value in which

your image will be output (not scanned). This allows printing with either very fine resolutions or with very high magnifications.

c Automatic adjustment controls let you automatically analyze

the image and then adjust the scanning parameters to capture the widest density range available in the image.

• Auto optimizes contrast of the image by calculating the new

settings based on the area of the image within the scan frame, and then applying those settings to the entire image.

• Color Correction is turned on by default for the SprintScan

35/LE to compensate for minor color shifts.

d Image adjustment tools improve image quality by enhancing

image characteristics. They allow the expert user to override the auto controls and optimize the image for just the right tone, color hue and sharpening. “Before and after” thumbnail displays allow comparison of the original image and the adjusted image.

Quick scanning 3-9

Tone adjusts the brightness, contrast and exposure setting of the entire image.

Hue changes the hue or saturation of an image and provides access to negative film tables and exposure controls when scanning negative images.

Shadows and Highlights adjusts the shadow and highlight points of an image.

Curve adjusts the midtones, or mid-level grays, of an image.

Filters creates special effects for images.

More Options provides additional controls for adjusting your

scanner and image.

e Window Expansion button reveals the bottom half of the

Settings window, which includes shortcuts to the various image adjustment controls.

f Image Dimension controls include parameters for specifying

input width and height, scaling, output width and height, and unit of measure.

3-10

g Unit Selection lets you choose the unit of measurement for

resolution in either dpi (dots per inch) or lpi (lines per inch).

Information window

Color meter display indicates the values of the red, green

and blue (RGB) color channels of that image area where the cursor is pointing. The first number is raw color data; the second number is color data following enhancement or modification.

b Pixel display shows the pixel and color information of the

image area where the cursor is resting.

c Sample size button lets you choose how extensively the color

information will be read, either to a single pixel or an averaged area.

d Cursor location shows where the cursor is on the coordinates

along the x (horizontal) and y (vertical) axis, based on the unit of measurement selected for the rulers.

e Zoom Level display shows the magnification levels possible –

from 100% to a maximum of 1600% view.

Quick scanning 3-11

Scan Job window

The Scan Job window lets you create multiple scan jobs (tasks) that you direct the scanner to process and scan. Each scan job is delivered into its own file in the image-editing application. Working with scan jobs on page 3-18 summarizes the procedure for using this time-saving feature. You can:

• Create two or more scan jobs from a single image. The scan

jobs can be the same or different image types (e.g., color and grayscale), and can have different brightness and contrast settings, resolution, etc.

• Create different scan jobs from multiple images. Instead of a

single image, you can have two or more images and designate each image as a separate scan job.

3-12

a Title area shows the number of jobs that have been created.

Check marks indicate which job or jobs are to be scanned; the highlighted title indicates the current scan job. To rename a scan job, double-click on a scan job, type a new name, and press OK.

b Function buttons allow you to create or manipulate the set-

tings for a scan job. Use the Up/Down position arrows to change the order of the scan jobs.

Duplicate lets you duplicate the settings of a scan job that you can use as template for other scan jobs.

New lets you create a new scan job with the default settings. You can create as many scan jobs as you wish and change the settings as needed.

Add lets you add a scan job from a scan job template saved previously.

Save lets you save the settings in a scan job to a scan job template that can be used for future scan jobs.

Delete lets you delete a scan job from the list.

Check allows you to select the scan jobs to be scanned.

Quick scanning 3-13

Menus a Scanner menu shows your scanner model and related infor-

mation and lets you exit from SprintScan.

3-14

b View menu provides options for controlling the way images

and windows appear in SprintScan.

c Preferences menu lets you customize the various controls and

effects that can be applied to the scan.

Adjusting an image

To use an image adjustment tool, do one of the following:

• Click on an image adjustment tool to display the Image

Adjustment dialog box. You can apply changes there and also switch to other tools.

Use this option for more precise control over adjustments and to see “before” and “after” versions of the image.

• Click on the Window Expansion button to use the image

adjustment shortcut controls. Use this option for quick results once you have become more

familiar with the tools available in the Image Adjustment dialog box.

Quick scanning 3-15

Click on any of the Image

a Tone adjusts the brightness, contrast and exposure setting of

Adjustment tools to display the Image Adjustment dialog box.

the entire image.

b Hue changes the hue or saturation of an image; provides

access to negative film tables and exposure controls when scanning negative images.

c Shadows and Highlights adjusts the shadow and highlight

points of an image.

d Curve adjusts the midtones, or mid-level grays, of an image.

3-16

e Filters creates special effects for images. f More Options provides additional controls for adjusting your

scanner and image.

g Bottom half of the window has controls corresponding to the

image adjustment buttons.

h Click on this button to see the bottom half of the window. i Use the Auto or Color Correction buttons to automatically

optimize image quality.

Image Adjustment dialog box

In this box, you can do the following:

1 Select the scan job and image to which image adjustment con-

trols will be applied. (A scan job in this dialog box corresponds to the scan job in the Scan Job window). If you have multiple scan jobs open, you can switch among these jobs and see the image to be processed.

2 Select another image adjustment tool by clicking on any of the

buttons displayed in the vertical toolbar on the left side of the dialog box.

3 See a thumbnail of the image captured by your scanner, and

see how the image changes when adjustments are applied to it. The “before” and “after” images are the left and right thumbnails (3a and 3b) in the dialog box.

4 Click on an action button to achieve a particular effect.

• Click Apply to accept your changes and close the dialog box.

• Click Cancel to abandon all changes and close the dialog box.

• Click Reset to display the Reset dialog box, allowing you to

restore your default settings.

• Click Revert to cancel out the effects of the currently used tool.

If you have used three tools, for instance, Revert will preserve the changes of the first two tools and ignore the changes made by the third.

Quick scanning 3-17

Working with scan jobs

The procedure in this section shows how to create different scan jobs with the New button. While the example demonstrates how to define two scan jobs of different image types from a single image, you can use the same principle in different applications.

Multiple scan jobs save you time because you can activate scanning for all the checked (selected) scan jobs in a singlestep. Each job is processed in order and delivered in to its own file in your image-editing software. For example:

• Do FPO (for position only) scans and final scans at the same

time. Assume that you need two scans with the same color quality, but want one with low resolution for FPO and one with high resolution for final separations. To do this, simply set up a scan for high resolution with the color just the way you want it, use Duplicate to create a second scan job, then set up the second scan job with low resolution.

• Create different scan jobs from multiple images. Instead of

one image, you can begin with two or more images. You could scan four 35mm slides and designate each image frame as a separate scan job, make independent adjustments to each frame, and scan them all at the same time.

3-18

Creating a new scan job

The New button lets you create a new scan job with default settings. This feature allows you to create as many scan jobs as you wish, with different settings as needed.

1 Click on the Preview button to see a preliminary view of the

image.

2 When the preview image appears, draw a scan frame as

shown on the upper left area of the image with the Scan Frame tool. (If a scan frame is present, you can grab one of the corners of the scan frame and drag towards the left).

3 The scan job area shows the title of the current scan job

(Untitled Job). Make sure the image type selected from the Settings window for this scan job is Millions of Colors.

Quick scanning 3-19

4 Click on the New button in the Scan Job window. After enter-

ing a new job name, click OK. The Scan Job window now has two titles.

At the same time, a new scan frame appears in the preview window.

5 Draw the second scan frame around the upper right area of

the image.

6 Highlight the second scan job in the title bar in the Scan Job

window, go to the Settings window, then choose 256 Shades of Gray in the Type box.

3-20

7 Go to the Preferences menu in the Preview window and enable

the Gray Background command.

Tip: The Gray Background command is not essential for

doing a scan job, but it helps you distinguish scan frames more easily.

You will now see the following:

• The second scan job (the upper right area of your image) is in

grayscale.

• The first scan job (the upper left area of the image) remains in

color.

• The lower half of the image (the part not included in any scan

frame) is hidden behind the gray background.

8 To see how the scan jobs relate to the titles in the Scan Job

window, highlight the current scan job title.

• Click on the first scan job title in the Scan Job window. The

scan job that becomes active is the upper left area of the image (in color).

• Click on the second title, and the second scan job is activated

(upper right area of the image, in grayscale).

9 To designate the scan job to be processed and scanned, select

the scan job and click on the Check button. The checked scan job(s) will be scanned in the order that they

appear in the Scan Job window, and they will be delivered separately to your image-editing software.

Tip: To check or uncheck a scan job, select the scan job, then

click on the Check button.

Quick scanning 3-21

O v e rview

4 R e f e re n c e

This chapter provides a comprehensive listing of all the SprintScan scanning software features.

Because SprintScan provides plug-in module compliance for Macintosh and TWAIN compliance for Windows, you can use SprintScan to capture images placed in your scanner, adjust those images, then place them directly into your target application. The captured image does not have to be saved as a separate file before being used by the application.

With its many editing tools and features, SprintScan software can save you considerable time from having to do touch-ups in your image-editing software.

4-1

SprintScan software

• The Preview and Settings windows appear automatically

• The Scan Job and Information windows are accessed with the

SprintScan software consists of four major windows: Preview, Settings, Information, and Scan Job. The reference information in this chapter is organized in four parts, and follows the structure of the software.

whenever SprintScan is started up. The main screen also shows any windows that were open when you last exited the software. That is, if all four windows were open the last time you quit SprintScan, the same four windows will appear the next time you start it up

Preview window View menu options Show Scan Job Window and Show Info Window.

4-2

a Settings window contains scanning parameters for outputting

the image and includes image adjustment tools.

b Scan job window provides key functions in processing sepa-

rate scans.

c Preview window has commands and tools for controlling the

scanner and provide access to the SprintScan menus from the menu bar.

d Information window allows precise pixel-by-pixel viewing of

the input and output image information.

Reference 4-3

Starting up SprintScan Macintosh version

Start up your image-editing software (like Adobe Photoshop).

1 2 When the application opens, choose Acquire from the File

menu.

3 Choose Polaroid SprintScan or Polaroid SprintScan PPC from

the submenu.

Windows version

Start up your image-editing software (like Adobe Photoshop).

1 2 When the application opens, choose Acquire from the File

menu.

3 Choose TWAIN_32 from the submenu.

Note: If the Scanner Control Panel does not appear, do the

following:

• Choose Acquire from the File menu and Select TWAIN_32

Source from the submenu. The Source Manager dialog box appears so you can choose the device, or source, to be used for image acquisition.

• Select Polaroid SprintScan and press Select.

• Choose Acquire from the File menu and TWAIN_32 from the

submenu to display the Scanner Control Panel.

4-4

P review window

The Preview window is the most prominent of the four major SprintScan windows. It includes the various commands and tools for controlling the scanner.

a b

a The Menu Bar includes the different menus for setting up the

scanner (Scanner menu), controlling view options (View menu), customizing the software (Preferences menu), and for Windows, accessing on-line help (Help menu).

b The Tool buttons simplify the performance of certain tasks.

The Tool buttons are (left to right):

• Zoom Preview

• Scan Frame

• Magnifying Lens

• Hand

• Color Picker

c The Rulers are located on both sides of the window to help

you with measurement and alignment.

d The Preview Area is where the preview image appears after

you click on the Preview button.

Reference 4-5

e The Media TypeStatus button shows your scan media:

positive or negative.

Note: For Windows, the Show/Close window tool buttons

appear to the right of the Media Type Status button. These buttons show or close the Settings, Information, and Scan Job windows.

f The Action buttons generate a specific action from the scan-

ning software (Preview and Scan).

4-6

The Menu Bar a Scanner menu shows your scanner model and related informa-

tion and lets you exit from SprintScan.

b View menu provides options for controlling the way images

and windows appear in SprintScan.

c Preferences menu lets you customize the various controls and

effects that can be applied to scan.

Reference 4-7

Scanner menu

The Scanner menu lets you:

• Show your scanner model or select a scanner if you have mul-

tiple scanners

• Get information about your scanner

• Get information about the SCSI chain

• Exit SprintScan (Macintosh version)

Scanner model The top of the scanner menu displays the scanner model you

are using and its SCSI ID. If you have multiple scanners on your system, all the scanners are shown with their respective SCSI IDs, and the current scanner is indicated by a check.

Only one scanner can be accessed at a time. To switch among various scanners, select the scanner to be used.

Scanner info The Scanner Info command provides information about the

currently selected scanner. When you choose this command, a dialog box appears showing the scanner model, SCSI ID num-

firmware version, and driver version.

4-8

ber,

Reference 4-9

SCSI Chain Info The SCSI Chain Info command allows you to see the SCSI

devices on your SCSI chain and the SCSI ID number of the devices.

By default, all SCSI ID’s are checked at startup. To allow SprintScan to start up more quickly, select only the boxes that match the SCSI ID of your scanner (or scanners, if you have multiple scanners on your system). This will make SprintScan

4-10

bypass the numbers for your other devices and focus effort on

simply detecting scanners. To use the SCSI Chain command:

1 Choose SCSI Chain Info on the Scanner menu to display the

SCSI Chain dialog box. All the SCSI devices are shown with their corresponding SCSI ID numbers.

2 If your scanner does not appear or if you want to update the

scanner information, click on the Probe button. Make sure your scanner is connected and turned on.

Note: For Windows, make sure the correct interface card is

shown in the card selection box. If not, choose the correct interface card.

3 Check the numbered box corresponding to the SCSI ID of

your scanner or scanners. Click OK to close the dialog box. If you’re not sure about which numbers to specify, check all the boxes.

Exiting SprintScan You can exit SprintScan at any time without scanning.

Macintosh – choose Quit from the Scanner menu or

press Command+Q (the Apple command and Q keys) simultaneously.

Windows – click on the close button on the title bar of the

Preview window.

View menu

The View menu lets you:

• Get a full page preview or zoomed-in (enlarged) view of

Reference 4-11

an image

• Resize the preview window.

• Show or hide the Settings, Information, and Scan Job win-

dows.

• Display information on the SprintScan scanning software

(Macintosh version).

Full Page Preview The Full Page Preview command displays the image as defined

by the parameters set with the Preview Setup command (on the Preferences menu). For instance, if your image is 4" x 5" (the maximum size) but the dimensions in the Preview Setup are 3" x 2", your full page preview will be 3" x 2".

You can change the size of the full page preview by setting new dimensions with the Preview Setup command. The new dimensions do not take effect until the next preview, which means that you must click on the Preview button to view the changes.

Tip: Changing the size of your full page preview may improve

performance and save memory. A smaller preview area will occupy less memory, speed up processing, and yield a higher-

4-12

resolution preview. This is because SprintScan takes your preview image and dynamically calculates how best to display that image in the smaller preview area – resulting in a higherresolution view.

Full page preview is the default view. It will be dimmed if the current view is already the full page preview. It is available for use only if you are in zoomed preview mode.

To use the Full Page Preview command:

1 To change the size of the full page preview, click on Preview

Setup on the Preferences menu. When the Preview Setup dia-

log box appears, specify the new dimensions for the full page preview.

2 To make the new preview dimensions take effect, do a new

preview by clicking on the Preview button. In a few moments, the new preview area will appear.

Zoomed Preview The Zoomed Preview command displays the magnified view

that results from selecting a portion of the image with the Zoom Preview tool and clicking inside the selected portion.

The zoomed preview displays the selected portion of the image shown in higher resolution with more visible detail. If you have zoomed preview enabled, the view is stored in memory, and you can easily switch between full page preview and zoomed preview.

Reference 4-13

Full Page preview Zoomed preview

The zoomed preview is different from the zoomed-in view obtained with the Magnifying Lens tool, which is simply an enlarged view, but is not in high resolution.

To use the Zoomed Preview command:

1 Choose Zoomed Preview on the View menu. This command is

available for use if the current view is full page preview, and if a zoomed preview exits. It is disabled if the zoomed page preview is not available, or if the current view is already in zoomed preview mode.

2 To switch to full page preview again, click on the Full Page

Preview command.

Note: For information on creating a high-resolution zoom pre-

view, refer to the section on the Zoom Preview tool button in The Tool buttons on page 4-24.

Resize Window to Fit The Resize Window to Fit command adjusts the preview win-

dow to fit the preview area. Often, the preview window is larger than the preview area. In other instances, the preview window may exceed the preview area if you manually enlarged the preview window (by dragging on the resize box).

To use window space more efficiently, resize the preview window by choosing Resize window to fit on the View menu.

4-14

Tip: This command is available only if the current zoom level

is l00%, and is disabled if zoom is set to other levels. To verify the zoom level, open the Information window and look up the zoom level.

Show/Hide commands The Show / Hide commands allow you to switch between

showing or hiding the Settings, Scan Job, and Information windows on your screen.

To use the Show / Hide commands, do any of the following:

• Choose the correct command from the View menu for view-

ing a window. When the window appears, you can hide it by choosing the particular Hide command for it.

P r e f e rences menu

• Click on the close button of the active window.

Tip: For Windows, do not click the close button on the title

bar of the Preview window because this will cause you to exit SprintScan. Instead, SprintScan for Windows provides Show/Hide tool-button counterparts in the form of three arrowheads on the right edge of the toolbar.

1 Click on the first arrow to show or hide the Settings window. 2 Click on the second arrow to show or hide the Information

window.

3 Click on the third arrow to show or hide the Scan Job win-

dow.

Reference 4-15

The Preferences menu lets you:

• Choose the correct media type

• Create effects like invert and mirror

• Create cursor lines to help you with alignment

• Control the size of your preview window

• Keep the preview image even after exiting SprintScan

• Keep your scan module after you finish scanning (Macintosh

version only)

• Create a gray background to help distinguish the current scan

frame from other multiple scan frames

• Set other options, such as specifying a working directory

for files

Media Type The Media Type command allows you to select the correct

media. Media can be classified into two types:

• Positives, such as slides

• Negatives, such those used to make prints

Make sure you specify the correct media type (negative or positive) or you will get inaccurate scanning results.

4-16

Note: The Media Type function is also related to the Hue

tool, an image adjustment control that lets you adjust film type and exposure in the Settings window.

To use the Media Type command:

1 Choose Media Type on the Preferences menu. 2 From the pop-up menu that appears, select your media; a

check will appear next to the selected option.

Invert The Invert command creates a negative of an image. The

Invert effect is applied to the whole preview image; it cannot be used for only a specific portion of the image.

When an image is inverted, the brightness value of each pixel

is converted to the inverse value on the 256-step color values scale. For example, a pixel in a positive image with a value of 255 is changed to 0, and a pixel with a value of 5 is changed to 250

To use this command, choose Invert on the Preferences menu. A check appears next to the command when it is enabled.

Horizontal Mirror The Horizontal Mirror command allows you to flip the image

so that a mirror effect is created. The mirror effect is applied to the whole preview image; it cannot be used for only a specific portion of the image.

To use the Horizontal Mirror command:

1 Choose Horizontal Mirror on the Preferences menu. A check

Reference 4-17

appears next to the command when it is enabled.

2 When the mirror image appears, the scan frame will still be in

the old location. You will need to move the frame if you want to define another area of the image.

Cursor Auxiliary Lines The Cursor Auxiliary Lines command allows you to create

horizontal and vertical grid lines with your cursor to help

4-18

define a scan frame precisely. Using the grid lines, you can also read the measurements off your ruler more easily.

To use the Cursor Auxiliary Lines command:

1 Choose Cursor Auxiliary Lines on the Preferences menu.

From the submenu that appears, select how the cursor lines will appear.

• On both x (horizontal) axis and y (vertical) axis

• On x axis only

• On y axis only

• None (no cursor lines)

2 Click on the Scan Frame tool.

To see how the cursor lines work, click on the top left corner of the image as your starting point, then drag down to form a

scan frame. As you draw the scan frame, cursor lines will appear to help

you draw the scan frame precisely. Release the mouse. Your scan frame will be aligned with the

cursor lines.

Preview Setup The Preview Setup command allows you to set the dimensions

of your preview area.

Note: Live Preview, Color Preview and Fast Preview are the

default settings for all Polaroid film scanners. Therefore, these options should always be turned on in the software.

When the Preview Setup dialog box comes up, specify your parameters.

Preview Area

The Preview Area option in the Preview Setup dialog box lets you select the size of your preview area. Choose from the following options: maximum size or custom size.

• Maximum refers to the maximum scan area that can be sup-

ported by your particular scanner model.

• Custom will appear if you enter your own specifications in

any of the edit boxes (Width, Height).

• The Width and Height edit boxes allow you to specify the

dimensions of the preview area. Top and Left refer to the starting points of the preview area on the x and y coordinates. Width is the expanse of the preview area, and Height is the depth of the preview area.

• The unit of measurement indicated on the right side of the

Top box, reflects the unit selected in the Settings window. To set the preview area:

Reference 4-19

1 Choose the Preview Area size. If you enter a number in any of

the edit boxes marked Width or Height, the Preview Area size automatically changes to Custom.

2 Click OK to accept the settings; click Cancel to abandon.

3 To make the new preview dimensions take effect, do a new

preview by clicking on the Preview button. In a few moments, the new preview area will appear.

Keep Preview Image The Keep Preview Image command allows you to retain the

last preview image you used; the preview image is kept in the preview window after you exit SprintScan. The next time you start up SprintScan, this last preview image is again displayed in the preview window.

To use this command, choose Keep Preview Image on the Preferences menu. A check appears next to the command when it is enabled.

4-20

Retain

Scan Module For Macintosh systems, the Retain Scan

Module after

after Scan Scan command allows you to keep the scan module (the

SprintScan plug-in) after scanning has been completed and delivered to your image-editing software. This saves you time because you do not need to go back to the File-Acquire process to return to SprintScan.

To use this command, choose Retain Scan Module after Scan on the Preferences menu. A check appears next to the command when it is enabled.

Note: This command can be used only in applications (such

as Photoshop) that allow you to retain the scan module after the scan is completed. Some applications will not return to the scan module even if this option is enabled.

Gray Background The Gray Background command helps you distinguish the

current scan frame from the rest of the preview area for greater visibility of the current scan frame. It is helpful to enable Gray Background when you are editing multiple scan frames or applying image adjustment controls.

Reference 4-21

With the Gray Background feature turned on, the part of the image within the current scan frame stands out clearly to help you work more easily.

If you have multiple scan frames, only the current scan frame stands out, and the inactive scan frames are hidden behind the gray background screen. The current scan frame is denoted by the marquee (marching ants).

The Gray Background feature helps you focus on just the part of the image to which you wish to apply controls or scan. If you have multiple scan frames and each one has a different setting (one in grayscale, another in color, etc.), this is also shown clearly if Gray Background is turned on.

a Part of image not in any scan frame and thus hidden by gray

background.

b Current scan frame (with pulsing lines).

To use the Gray Background command, choose Gray Background on the Preferences menu. A check appears next

to the command when it is enabled.

How Gray Background works with image adjustment

When the Gray Background feature is enabled, it becomes linked with the functions of a scan frame and the way image adjustments are applied.

4-22

If you turned on Gray Background, defined a scan frame, and then applied image adjustments, the enhancements will

appear to be applied not only to the current scan frame but

to the rest of the material as well (even though it’s hidden behind a gray background screen).

This, however, is only an appearance. In reality, only the

current scan frame is affected by the image adjustment, and

the rest of the material is not changed at all.

Usage: To magnify the view of a preview image in high resolution, and to let you switch between full page preview and zoomed preview.

This becomes obvious when you have multiple scan frames in different scan modes (for example, one scan frame is in color mode and another in grayscale). When you click on the scan frame with the color setting, everything seems to turn to color. Then, when you click on the scan frame with the grayscale setting, everything turns to gray scale.

More The More

Area to be zoomed in with the Zoom Preview tool

Reference 4-23

Usage: To create a scan frame or multiple scan frames in the preview image.

Selected image area zoomed in (enlarged) in high resolution

command allows you to specify a working directory where you can save all temporary and data files, including files for job templates.

To use the More command:

1 Choose More on the Preferences menu to display the More

Preference dialog box.

2 Press and hold down the Working Directory box. From the

pop-up menu that appears, choose your working directory.

3 If you click on the folder icon, the Directory Browser dialog

box appears for you to choose your working directory. Click OK to close this dialog box.

Whatever directory you specify is automatically added to the pop-up menu (in the More Preference dialog box) for you to choose from in the future. If the directory you specify is not found or does not exist, a warning message appears, and the current directory of SprintScan is used instead.

4-24

4 When you have completed your choices, click OK to close the

More Preference dialog box.

Macintosh – for the changes to take effect, exit SprintScan

then relaunch the program.

Windows – the changes take effect immediately.

The Tool buttons

Zoom Preview tool The Zoom Preview tool creates a new, higher resolution pre-

view of the area selected with the tool. You can switch easily between zoomed preview and full page preview.

The zoomed preview is different from the zoomed-in view, which is obtained by using the magnifying lens tool and is not a high-resolution view.

To use the Zoom Preview tool:

1 Click on the Zoom Preview tool. 2 Move the pointer to the preview image and draw a scan frame

around the area to be zoomed in.

Usage: To zoom in or enlarge your view of the preview image.

3 Click inside the scan frame. The scanner creates a new

zoomed preview based on the selected area.

Note: To zoom in on a larger area, you may need to go to full

page preview and change the size of the scan frame.

Scan Frame tool The Scan Frame tool lets you create or modify a scan frame,

which is the active area on which controls and commands can be applied.

The Scan Frame tool can also be used to create multiple scan frames, but only one can be current at a time; the current scan frame is indicated by a marquee (marching ants). The current scan frame can be more easily distinguished if you turn on the Gray Background command (on the Preferences menu).

To use the Scan Frame tool:

1 Click on the Scan Frame tool. 2 Move the pointer (now a crossbar) to the preview image, and

Reference 4-25

draw a frame enclosing the area to be selected. When you release the mouse, the scan frame will be in a marquee.

Note: To make multiple scan frames, which would add scan

jobs, hold down the Shift key, click outside any existing scan

Usage: To scroll through an image and move parts of it into view.

areas in the Preview window, and drag the mouse. For more information on scan jobs, refer to the Scan Job section on page 4-67 of the Reference chapter.

3 To resize the scan frame, do either of the following:

• Move the cursor to any corner of the frame; the pointer will

change to a double-headed arrow. Hold down the mouse, and drag to form a new area, then release the mouse; or

• Click on the Scan Frame tool again and restart the area selec-

tion process.

Magnifying Lens tool The Magnifying Lens tool enlarges your view of the preview

image, allowing you to set the scan frame with greater precision if you need to. Only your view of the preview image is changed; the actual size of the image remains unaffected.

Each click of the Lens tool magnifies or reduces by a factor of

Usage: To sample color from an area and to designate new shadow or highlight points.

2 up to the maximum 1600% (see Note below). If the portion that you want to magnify includes most of the

preview area, the lens tool will magnify the view only slightly. To solve this, enlarge the size of the preview area (through the Preview Setup command), or a smaller selection area.

4-26

Note: If the Information window is open, the zoom level will

be indicated. This means you can also zoom in by selecting the appropriate zoom level in the Information window.

To use the Magnifying Lens tool:

1 Click on the Magnifying Lens tool. 2 Place the pointer – now a lens with a plus sign inside it – on

the image and click.

3 To reduce the view, hold down the Option key (Shift key for

Windows) and click again. The plus sign changes to a minus sign.

Hand tool The Hand tool lets you scroll through a preview image, allow-

ing you to move parts of the image into view. The Hand tool can used for zoomed-in images (enlarged

through the Magnifying Lens tool), or images not included completely within the frame of the preview window (for instance, if your preview image is 6 inches wide and you resized the width of your preview window to only 3 inches).

To use the Hand tool:

1 Click on the Hand tool. 2 Move the pointer (now a hand) to the image. Hold down the

mouse and move the hand left, right, up, or down, and see portions of the image come into view. You can also use the scroll bars to scroll through the image.

Color Picker tool The Color Picker tool allows you to sample color from an

area of an image and to designate a new shadow or highlight point.

With the Color Picker tool, you can determine the color values for any pixel in an image. When you click on the Color Picker tool and pass over a pixel, the value of that pixel will be displayed in the Information window, based on the sample size also selected in the Information window. Pixel value information is useful especially when you’re making color adjustments based on color values. (For additional details, see the section Information Window on page 4-63.)

Shadow or highlight

To select a new shadow or highlight point:

1 Click on the Color Picker tool. Then click on the Window

Expansion button in the Settings window to see the bottom half of the window.

2 Select a color channel in the Channel box. 3 To select a new shadow point, click on a pixel in the preview

image that will serve as the new shadow point.

Reference 4-27

4 To select a new highlight point, hold down the Option key

(Shift key for Windows) as you click; the Color Picker tool

Unit of measurement box

will change and become a white-colored eyedropper.

4-28

Color information

To display color information for a pixel or an averaged area, click on the Color Picker tool.

As you pass over a point in the image, the RGB values will be displayed in the Color Meter Display of the Information window. These values are in turn based on the sample size selected in the Preview window. For additional details, see the section Information Window on page 4-63.

Action buttons

The Preview button gives you a preliminary view of the image on your scanner.

Previewing an image gives you greater flexibility, as it allows you to apply various controls to the preview image before actually scanning it. With the preview image displayed, you can

a b

apply image adjustments or crop the image before performing the final scan.

The Scan button scans the image in your scanner and delivers it to your image-editing software. The scanned image is based on the specifications you have chosen in the Settings window and on controls you may have applied to the preview image.

Rulers The rulers on both sides of the Preview window help you with

operations that need precise measurement and alignment of your image.

You select the unit of measurement with the Image Dimension controls, located in the Settings window.

Unit of measurement can be inch, centimeter, millimeter, point, or pixel. The pixel option is dimmed if the selected resolution unit is lpi.

To select the unit of measurement for the rulers:

1 Click on the unit of measurement box in the Settings window. 2 When the pop-up menu appears, select the unit of measurement.

Reference 4-29

Preview Area The preview area is where the preview image appears.

The size of the preview can be changed through the Preview Setup command on the Preferences menu. You can increase the

size of the preview area to see more detail in your image, or you can reduce the preview area to save on memory.

For details on how to change the size of the preview area, refer to the Preview Setup command on page 4-18.

Settings window

The Settings window contains the commands for outputting your scanned image and includes the SprintScan image adjustment tools.

a The Type menu lets you select the mode in which your image

will be scanned and processed.

b The Resolution edit box lets you enter a resolution value in

which your image will be output (not scanned).

c The Automatic Adjustment controls let you adjust images

quickly with the click of a button.

• Auto optimizes contrast of the image by calculating the new

settings based on the area of the image within the scan frame, and then applying those settings to the entire image.

4-30

• Color Correction is turned on by default for the SprintScan

35/LE to compensate for the minor color shifts that occur in all scanning.

d The Image Adjustment tools allow you to improve image quali-

ty by enhancing image characteristics such as brightness and contrast, shadows and highlights, and others.

e The Window Expansion button reveals the bottom half of the

Settings window, which includes the various image adjustment controls corresponding to

f The Image Dimension controls include various parameters

for specifying input width and height, scaling, output width and height, and unit of measure.

g The Unit Selection lets you choose the unit of measurement

for resolution in either dpi (dots per inch) or lpi (lines per inch).

Output The output image parameters include the various controls that Image parameters determine how your image is scanned and processed.

Type (Image Type or Scan Mode)

The Type menu determines the color information that will result from a scan. It does not refer to the original image mode. For instance, if you have a color image but choose 256 grayscale for the scan mode, the image is scanned and processed as grayscale.

Because SprintScan samples color values in 12-bits per channel, it provides the capability to:

• capture very fine detail in the deepest shadow areas.

• automatically choose the best 8-bits of information per chan-

nel when set to Millions of Colors.

• output all 12-bits of information to the application when set

to Billions of Colors, allowing you to work on the entire tonal

range within applications which can work with the 12-bit information.

Reference 4-31

Note: To use the options Billions of Colors or 4096 Shades of

Gray, your image-editing software must provide this capabili-

ty or you will create completely distorted images. (Photoshop

2.5.1 or later provides such support; other image-editing applications may not).

To use the Type menu, select your scan mode. Be sure to choose the correct image type. For instance, if you

have a grayscale original, do not set image type to Millions of Colors.

Resolution

The Resolution option in the Settings window refers to the desired resolution for outputting the image to a device, such as a monitor or printer. It does not refer to the resolution in which the image is scanned. The maximum output resolution possible is dynamically calculated by the system as determined by the maximum scanner resolution and the scaling setting.

4-32

SprintScan allows printing with either very fine resolutions or

e d

with very high magnifications. For example, scanning a 4" x 5" frame at 2000 dpi allows a 333% magnification, enough for an 11" x 17" print at 300 linescreen halftone (or

27" x 33" at 150 linescreen halftone). Scanning a 35mm frame at 4000 dpi allows a 1300% magnification, enough for an 11" x 17" full bleed at 150 linescreen halftone.

Resolution is also related to scaling, or how large or small the image will be relative to the original. When you change the resolution, the scaling may be affected slightly if the resolution selected has no exact equivalent in scaling.

To set your resolution:

• Enter a resolution. There is no need to press the Enter key;

typing in a value automatically inputs it into the system. If the value you enter is too low or too high, the minimum or maximum resolution value is entered for you instead.

Note: In setting resolution, choose the setting that best

matches your output device. Remember that the higher the resolution, the larger the resulting file will be.

Unit Selection

The unit of measurement for resolution is in dpi (dots per inch) or lpi (lines per inch). Lpi settings are dimmed if the ruler unit is in pixels.

To select your option:

• Choose dpi if you know precisely the resolution you need for

your image.

• Choose lpi Draft to produce resolution that is one times the

screen frequency. Draft quality may result in output images that look a little blurred or indistinct at edges.

• Choose lpi Medium to produce resolution that is one and

one-half times the screen frequency.

• Choose lpi Final to produce resolution that is two times the

screen frequency.

Image Dimension These controls allow you to adjust the various factors that controls affect the size of the image: the width and height of the image

selected in the scan frame (input), the scaling factor, and the resulting dimensions of the output image.

Reference 4-33

a This is a mathematical formula expressing the relation of the

input dimensions to scaling and how these factors affect image dimensions when the image is scanned.

• Input width and input height refer to the dimensions of the

scan frame that you draw. For example, if the image on your scanner is 4" x 5" and you draw a scan frame that is 3" x 4", then your input width will show 3.000 and your input height will show 4.000.

• Output width and output height refer to the dimensions of

the image when output to an output device (such as a monitor or printer).

The input width, input height, output width, and output height are affected by your scaling and whether or not the Aspect Lock is on.

b The Aspect Lock allows you to keep the ratio of the image

width and height constant.

c The Image Size indicates how big the file will be when you

accept the dimensions shown in the edit boxes, together with the resolution setting that you selected. Size is calculated automatically.

d The Unit of Measurement allows you to select your unit of

measure. The options include inch, centimeter (cm), millimeter (mm), point, and pixel.

4-34

e The Scaling control lets you scale the size of the input image

to the paper output size. For more details, see the Scaling section on page 4-35.

How to use the Input-Output dimensions

The Input-Output dimensions consist of four edit boxes: input width, input height, output width, and output height. These edit boxes are linked to the use of the Aspect Lock.

The input dimensions can be changed only when Aspect Lock is turned off. The input boxes will be active and the output boxes will be grayed out. The output dimensions, however, will respond to any changes in the input boxes.

Conversely, the output dimensions can be changed when the Aspect Lock is on. The input boxes will be grayed out and the input dimensions will respond to any changes in the output boxes.

• Use the input dimensions to specify your scan frame; or if you

wish, you can simply drag on the scan frame to whatever size you want, and the dimensions will be reflected in the input width and height boxes.

• The output dimensions determine the width and height of

your image when output to a device such as a monitor or printer. The output dimensions can be changed only if the Aspect Lock is on.

The output dimensions are calculated based on scaling, output resolution, and the scanner’s maximum scanning resolution capability. The selected scaling and output resolution are used to calculate the maximum possible output dimensions. If the desired output is larger than the maximum possible output, then the maximum output values are displayed.

How to use the Aspect Lock

The Aspect Lock preserves the ratio of the image width and height from input to output. For instance, if your image is 2 inches wide by 4 inches high, changing it to 1 inch by 2 inches will maintain its aspect ratio. Changing it to 1 inch by 4 inches, however, will alter its aspect ratio and distort the image.

The Aspect Lock is a toggle. Click on it to lock or unlock.

• If the Aspect Lock is on: Changing one output edit box

(width or height) will automatically change the other dimension, as well as scaling, to preserve the aspect ratio. With Aspect Lock on, you cannot edit the input dimensions.

Important: If you change either of the output dimensions,

you must highlight either the other output dimension or the scaling edit box for the system to change the other output dimension. The system will then make the calculations automatically to preserve the aspect ratio.

• If the Aspect Lock is off: Changing one input edit box (width

or height) will NOT automatically change scaling or the other input dimension, and aspect ratio can be changed. With

Reference 4-35

Aspect Lock off, you cannot change the output dimensions.

Important: If you change any of the input fields, press the

Enter key so that the output fields respond to the changes (even though they remain grayed out).

Scaling Scaling is the process of creating larger or smaller images in

your scanning software so that you need not resize the images later when they are delivered to your image-editing program.

To illustrate the use of scaling: Assume that your input dimensions are 4" x 5," and that your resolution is held constant throughout the changes, then:

• if scaling is at 100%, output dimensions will also be

4" x 5"

• if scaling is at 50%, output dimensions will be halved to

2" x 2.5"

• if scaling is at 200%, output dimensions will be doubled to

8" x 10" When you change resolution and specify a value that has no

exact equivalent for scaling, the scaling may be affected and adjusts itself to the nearest allowed value. For instance, if your resolution is 100, your scaling becomes 99 (instead of a full

100), because that is the closest scaling equivalent, given the resolution value.

Automatic Adjustment The Automatic Adjustment controls include the Auto button controls and the Color Correction button, located below the Image

4-36

Dimension controls. (Color Correction is available for the SprintScan 35/LE only.)

Both features automatically analyze the image and then adjust the scanning parameters to capture the widest density range available in the image. Auto and Color Correction work independently of each other and offer different advantages. Select one function or both depending on your requirements.

Auto (Automatic Contrast Control)

The Auto button optimizes the contrast of scanned images by making adjustments to the Shadow/Midtone/Highlight values.

Reference 4-37

The Auto setting works by calculating the image settings of the current scan frame and applying those settings to the entire image.

• If you draw a scan frame around part of an image that is light

and then apply Auto, the part of the image enclosed in the scan frame becomes darker. Auto remaps the pixels in the entire image in relation to the scan frame and makes the entire image darker.

4-38

• If you draw a scan frame around part of an image that is dark

and then apply Auto, the part of the image enclosed in the scan frame becomes lighter. Auto remaps the pixels in the entire image in relation to the scan frame and makes the entire image lighter.

Changing the location of the scan frame will yield different results because a different area of the image is being analyzed.

When you use Auto, it is helpful to turn on the Gray Background feature (in the Preferences menu in the Preview window). This will allow you to see clearly the part of the image within the current scan frame.

To use the Auto control:

1 Click on the Preview button to preview the image. 2 Click on the Scan Frame tool and draw a frame around the area

where Auto will be applied.

Reference 4-39

3 Click on the Auto button in the Settings window. The option

will be checked when it is enabled.

4 If you do not like the results obtained by Auto, or if you choose

not to use it for certain images that have Auto enabled, click on the Auto button again to deselect the feature. A message will appear asking if you wish to reset the Shadow/ Highlight/Midtone values. Select Yes to return your image to the original.

Color Correction

(For SprintScan 35/LE only) Color correction corrects minor color shifts and creates an industry-standard color profile matched to your scanner. The colors in your scanned image are adjusted to their optimal levels.

The Color Correction button is turned on by default for the SprintScan 35/LE, but you can turn it off by clicking on the

4-40

button again. Color Correction is dimmed in the following instances:

• If image type in the Settings window is set to Billions of

Colors, or any grayscale setting.

• If the media type chosen (in the Media Type command,

Preferences menu) is Negative.

Image Adjustment tools

The image-adjustment tools let you adjust the characteristics of your image such as brightness and contrast, or shadows and highlights, directly from SprintScan software instead of using your image-editing software.

When you click on an image adjustment tool, the Image Adjustment dialog box appears, with a screen corresponding to the image adjustment tool you selected. The advantages of using the dialog box include the following:

• View image adjustment changes in real time. The dialog box

has two thumbnails providing you with “before” and “after” versions of an image.

• Switch among image adjustment tools without leaving the

dialog box.

• Switch among scan jobs to apply image adjustments separate-

ly.

• Reset or revert settings, providing you the flexibility to cancel

out changes or restore to default settings if needed.

Tip: It isn’t necessary to use all the image adjustment tools to

achieve a great image. For example, changing the shadows or gamma curve may provide the results you need. Try experimenting with the tools to see which one provides optimal results. Also, the effects of using the image adjustment tools are cumulative – you create additional changes to the adjusted image with each additional tool you select.

Example: If you increase brightness in an image (through

the Tone tool) and then modify the gamma curve of the image (through the Curve tool), the curve will be based

Reference 4-41

on the already altered brightness settings.

Using the When you click on any of the image adjustment tools in the Image Adjustment Settings window, the Image Adjustment dialog box appears. dialog box

This is where you select the scan job to which image adjust-

ment will be applied. If you have multiple scan jobs, you can switch among the various jobs, and the thumbnails will change accordingly to show the selected scan job.

Important: Switching to a new scan job while using the

Image Adjustment dialog box will make any changes to the

4-42

currently selected scan job permanent. This cannot be undone even by selecting the Cancel button.

Example: Assume you have two scan jobs, Scan Job 1

and Scan Job 2. If you applied a filter (through the Filters tool) to Scan Job 1, and then switch to Scan Job 2, the filter will be applied to Scan Job 1 even though you did not click Apply. To undo the filter, you will need to use the Reset button.

b To select another image adjustment tool, click on any of the

buttons displayed in the vertical toolbar on the left side of the dialog box.

c These are the thumbnails of the image selected. The left

thumbnail is the “before” version – which shows the effects of the last saved settings values. The right thumbnail is the “after” version – which shows the effects of the new settings to be added in the Image Adjustment dialog box.

d Click on an action button to achieve a particular effect.

Action Buttons in The Action buttons in the Image Adjustment dialog box carry the Image Adjustment out a specific action: dialog box

Usage: To adjust the brightness, contrast and exposure setting of the entire image.

Apply button

Clicking on this button will apply whatever image adjustments you have performed on the current scan job, and close the dialog box. Clicking Apply is not the same as switching to another scan job (if you have multiple scan jobs). If you switch scan jobs, the effects are applied to your current scan job, and then the new scan job appears; you do not exit the dialog box.

Example: If you increased brightness, changed the satu-

ration, and then clicked Apply, all the changes are applied, and you exit the dialog box.

d c

Cancel button

Clicking on this button will cancel out all image adjustment changes you have made to the current scan job, and then close the dialog box.

Example: If you applied filters, changed the curve, and

then clicked Cancel, none of the changes will take effect, and you exit the dialog box.

Reset button

Reference 4-43

Clicking on this button brings up the Reset dialog box, where you can specify which settings are to be reset, then click Reset or Cancel. If Reset is selected, the settings are restored to their default values; if Cancel is selected, the settings remain.

Example: If you changed shadows/highlights, changed

brightness, then clicked on Reset and chose to reset brightness, the setting of the scan job is restored to its default; but the altered shadows and highlights remains in effect. If you reset both shadows/ highlights and brightness, then those values are both restored to default.

Revert button

Clicking on this button cancels out the changes you made with the current image adjustment tool. This means that if you used several tools (and achieved a look that is the cumulative effect of all the tools), using Revert will cancel the effect of only the current tool and preserve the effects of the preceding tools.

Example: If you change shadows, apply filters, change

brightness, and then click Revert, the brightness changes will be canceled out, but the altered shadows and filters settings remain in effect.

Tone tool The Tone tool changes the brightness, contrast, and exposure

setting of the entire image.

• Brightness is the balance of light and dark shades in an image,

• Contrast is the range between the darkest and lightest shades

in the image.

4-44

Usage: To change the hue or saturation of an image.

• Exposure is similar to photographic exposure, allowing you to

increase or decrease light available to the image. The Exposure control can allow more detail to emerge in an image, especially if it was underexposed.

The goal in using the Tone tool is to get the fullest dynamic range possible for your image. Because the Tone tool affects the image as a whole, you can try using the Shadows and Highlights tool instead to get the effects you want if you find that the Tone tool alters your image too much.

a The Brightness slider lets you change the brightness setting.

• Too much brightness can make an image look washed out.

• Very low brightness levels can make an image look very dark.

b The Contrast slider lets you change the contrast setting.

• High contrast can make an image look like a photocopy of a

picture with little or no gray shades.

• Low contrast can make an image look dull and flat.

c Exposure lets you lighten or darken the image overall. This

can be used to show more detail in an image that was over-or

underexposed.

• More exposure will provide lighter images. The higher the

exposure, the longer it takes to scan the image.

• Less exposure will produce a darker image.

Reference 4-45

d Channel lets you select a particular color channel (red, green

or blue) for exposure adjustment.

Tone tool procedure

To change brightness or contrast, choose the Brightness or

Contrast control. To change values, drag on the slide bar or click on the arrows on either side of the bar.

2 To change exposure:

• Click on the Channel box, and select the color channel to be

modified.

• Drag on the Exposure slide bar or click on the arrows on

either side of the bar.

3 Click on a button for the appropriate action.

• Click Apply to accept changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Cancel to abandon all changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Reset to restore settings to original default values.

• Click Revert to cancel the effect of the current image adjust-

ment tool.

Hue tool The Hue tool adjusts the hue or saturation of colors. Hue

applies only to color images and is not available for use with grayscale or black-and-white images.

4-46

The Hue tool is useful when your image has a particular color cast and you wish to remove the cast to make the image look more natural.

• Hue is the aspect of color that distinguishes one color from

another (whether it is red, green, or blue). In the RGB color model, hue can be distinguished by its position in the color wheel.

• Saturation refers to the intensity of a color (more red in an

apple, more green in the grass). Increasing saturation can have a dramatic effect on the colors of an image, but beware of increasing saturation too much, as it creates artificial-looking, overly bright colors.

Usage: To adjust the shadow and highlight points of an image.

The Hue tool is also related to the Media Type command in the Preferences menu. For positives, the Hue tool lets you adjust hue and saturation. For negatives, the Hue tool provides additional controls for selecting film type and adjusting exposure.

a The Color Wheel shows you the position of colors. Blue is

across from yellow, green is across from magenta, and red is across from cyan. By moving the pointer (a small dot in the center of the wheel) to another place in the color wheel, the hue of the image is altered. For instance, if you move the pointer towards the magenta area of the wheel, the wheel will add more magenta to the image and remove a greenish cast.

b The Saturation bar lets you change the intensity of the hues

(colors) in your image. Use Saturation selectively, because increasing saturation will intensify all hues in the image.

c The Exposure Correction bar lets you adjust the exposure of

a negative. An overexposed image in the dialog box appears bright (the negative looks dark), while an underexposed image in the dialog box appears dark (the negative looks light).

• If your film is overexposed (image is too bright), drag the bar

to the left; this will make the image darker.

• If your film is underexposed (image is too dark), drag to the

bar to the right; this will make the image lighter.

Note: Film Type selection and Exposure selection are avail-

able only when media type chosen is negative.

d The Film Type Selection bar allows you to select the type of

film you used for your negative. Choosing the correct film type is important in maintaining image quality, and you should choose the film type that’s indicated on the packaging that came with your film.

The Film Type Selection box provides several choices for you to choose from. If your type of film is not in the list but simi-

Reference 4-47

h g

b c

f e

lar film types from the same company are available, you may choose from one of them.

If your film type is not in the selection list and you cannot find its family group, choose Generic Negative Film.

Hue tool procedure

Select the correct media type for your image in the Media

Type command in the Preferences menu.

2 Click on the Hue tool to display the Hue screen. 3 To change the hue of an image, move the pointer in the color

wheel to its new color position in the wheel. Click on an action button.

4 To change the saturation of an image, drag on the saturation

bar. Dragging the slide bar to the left decreases saturation; dragging it to the right increases saturation.

4-48

5 For negatives only:

• To choose the correct film type for your negative, click on the

Film Type Selection box and make your selection. If your film type is not in the list, select Generic Film Type.

• To correct the exposure of a film, use the Exposure

Correction bar. To correct overexposure and make the film darker, drag the triangle to the left. To correct underexposure and make the film lighter, drag the triangle to the right.

6 Click on an action button.

• Click Apply to accept changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Cancel to abandon all changes and exit the Image

Adjustment dialog box.

• Click Reset to restore settings to original default values.

• Click Revert to cancel the effect of the current image adjust-

ment tool.

Shadow and The Shadows and Highlights tool lets you select the darkest Highlights tool point (shadow) and the lightest point (highlight) of an image.

By using this tool, you can manipulate shades so that the Shadow point becomes the new darkest value and the Highlight point becomes the new lightest value. Shades that are darker than the shadow then become black, and shades lighter than the highlight become white. For example, if you set the highlight point to 200, all points in the image with a value greater than 200 will be mapped to a value of 255, since 255 represents the “whitest” white.

The Shadows and Highlights tool can be used for both grayscale and color images. If you have a limited range of grays between your lightest and darkest point, using shadows and highlights will have the effect of extending the range of grays and make more detail in the image visible.

a The Histogram is a graphic representation of how all the pixels

in an image are distributed across brightness and darkness levels. The darkest pixels are at the left; the lightest pixels are at the right.

• A histogram skewed heavily to the left indicates that the image

has many more dark pixels than light.

• Conversely, a histogram skewed heavily to the right will indi-

cate a light image as it has more light pixels than dark.

• The height of the histogram indicates the number of pixels at

Reference 4-49

that point in the histogram .

b The Triangles (indicators) below the histogram adjust the

Shadow, Midtone, and Highlight settings.

• The black (left) triangle controls the shadows. Moving this

triangle to the right will emphasize shadows and create a darker image.

• The gray (middle) triangle controls the midtones and indicates

how the brightness and darkness pixels are divided. Moving it to a value less than 1.0 (left) will have the effect of darkening the image. Moving it to a value greater than 1.0 (right) will have the effect of lightening the image.

• The white (right) triangle controls the highlights. Moving this

triangle to the left will emphasize highlights and create a lighter image.

Note: The gray and white triangles will change in color if a

color channel (not RGB) is selected in the Channel box.

c The Histogram bar shows the distribution of shades from

dark to light (left to right). The distribution of shades changes as you move any of the triangles.

d The Output edit boxes show the 0 to 255 pixel range to

where the Input levels are mapped. For example, if you modified input values to 30 and 255 and then change output values to 0 to 250, the input values of 30 to 255 will be “stretched” to fit the output range of 0 to 250. This means you have a total of 250 shades (250-0=250).

4-50

• Unless you have very specific effects in mind, it is better to

leave this feature alone, so that everything is always mapped to 255 shades (255-0). You can experiment with this feature to see what it does, however, and how it interacts with the input levels.

e The Input edit boxes show how pixels are distributed over the

0 to 255 pixel scale.

• The input values are related to the position of the indicators

along the histogram. For example, if you move the left triangle in from 0 to 30, the input range becomes 30 to 255, and

pixels in the range of 0 to 30 are then set to 0. In a process called mapping, the new range (30 to 255) is stretched back to become 0 to 255. The image then becomes darker, since all pixels from 0 to 30 are now mapped to black (whereas 0 to 30 before had subtle gradations from black that lightened gradually).

• The same principle applies when you move in the right trian-

gle, and the highlights in the image become more pronounced.

• Moving in any of the triangles above the input boxes will

change the values in the boxes. You can observe how the values in the boxes are affected by moving the triangles, or you can enter values into the boxes directly. In both cases, the histogram will change accordingly.

f The Input/Count/Percent figures provide information about

the histogram. The figures will appear only when the cursor is inside the histogram or if a triangle is being moved.

• Input value indicates the color value of the data displayed in

the histogram.

• Count value indicates the number of pixels at the Input value.

If Input value is 2 and Count value is 1300, then there are 1300 pixels in the image at the input value of 2.

• Percent value is the percentage of all pixels in the image

where color value is less than or equal to the input value. If Percent is 15% and Input value is 2, it means that 15% of all pixels in the image have a value of 2 or less.

g The Channel button lets you control the Shadow and

Highlight settings for a particular color channel (red, green or blue) or for the RGB channel (red, green, and blue simultaneously) .

h The Original/Enhanced box lets you choose which histogram

to see: the original, before the image was modified; or enhanced, after the image had been modified (with shadows and highlights or any other tool).

Shadow and Highlights tool procedure

Choose the channel in which the histogram will be modified.

Reference 4-51

• Select RGB to modify the histogram in the red, green, and

blue color channels simultaneously.

• Select color channels individually (red, green, blue) to modify

the histogram in that particular channel.

• For grayscale scanners, only the gray channel is available.

2 Move the black, gray, and white triangles to change shadows,

Usage: To adjust the midtones or mid-level grays, of an image.

4-52

midtones, and highlights, respectively. The values in the input edit boxes will change accordingly.

• To make the image darker, move the black triangle to

the right.

• To make the image lighter, move the white triangle to

the left.

• To change the midtones, move the gray triangle. If the mid-

b c

d e

tone value is less than 1, the image becomes darker. If the midtone value is greater than 1, the image becomes lighter.

3 Click on the Display box to view histograms of the original

image and the resulting (Enhanced) image.

• Select Original to see the histogram before changes were made

Reference 4-53

to the image.

• Select Enhanced to see the histogram after changes were made

to the image.

4 Click on an action button.

• Click Apply to accept changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Cancel to abandon all changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Reset to restore settings to original default values.

• Click Revert to cancel the effect of the current image adjust-

ment tool.

How to read and correct a histogram

A histogram shows how the brightness and darkness levels are distributed in an image. The darkest pixels are at the left, and the lightest pixels are at the right.

An image with good contrast will have a histogram with vertical lines spread across the scale from left to right. Here, the histogram is heavily skewed to the left (where the darkest pixels are) indicating a dark image.

To change the histogram, and thus the image, use the three triangles below the histogram.

4-54

The pixels displayed in the original histogram are mostly on the left (where the black triangle is) indicating a dark image. The range of spread is also broad and flat, with almost no pixels for the midtones and highlights where the gray and white triangles are.

In the corrected image, the triangles have been moved to new locations. The net effect is to narrow the distribution range of the pixels and lighten the image.

Generally, the best thing to do is to move the black and white triangles to the start and end of the curve, and move the gray

triangle to somewhere in between. For example, if your graph starts at about value 20 and ends at

240, move the black triangle to 20 and the white triangle to

240. Then move the gray triangle to somewhere in the middle between the black and white triangle for good overall balance.

Curve tool The Curve tool lets you control the intensity affecting the mid-

level grays (midtones) of an image. Adjusting the tone curve lets you change the values of the middle range of gray tones without dramatically altering the shadows and highlights.

In many ways, the Curve tool gives you the most control for adjusting an image’s values, but novice users may need some time to master the tool fully.

a The Curve is a graphic representation of the tone curve, show-

ing scanner input from dark on the left to light on the right.

b The Method sets the kind of curve you wish to have. Select

from Curve, Line or Gamma.

c The Channel allows you to choose the color or gray channel in

which the gamma will be affected.

d Input/Output/Zoom:

• Input shows the input value of wherever the cursor is pointing

on the horizontal axis of the curve.

• Output shows the output value of wherever the cursor is

pointing on the vertical axis of the curve.

• Zoom indicates the magnification level of the curve box. At

100% zoom, the curve is seen in its entirety. Using the Magnifying Lens tool (discussed below) to magnify the curve will zoom in or enlarge your view of the curve, resulting in a higher zoom percentage (for example, 200%).

e The Curve tools let you modify the curve. The tools are (left to

right) the pointer, magnifying lens, and hand.

Using the Curve tools

The Curve tools allow you to modify the curve in the Curve screen. The tools are the Pointer, Magnifying Lens, and Hand.

Use the Pointer tool to define points in the curve that will be modified. When you click on any point in the curve, a control point appears to mark your position. To remove a control

Reference 4-55

point, drag it off the graph.

Use the Magnifying Lens tool to zoom in on a particular point in the curve. Once the area is zoomed in, you can then use the pointer tool to define new points for more precision. This is particularly useful for working with 12-bit images, as more detail can be seen in such images. The zoom level can be seen in the Zoom indicator (item

d above). To zoom out, hold down

the Option key (Shift key for Windows) and click on the mouse simultaneously.

Use the Hand tool to scroll through the curve if the curve has been zoomed in. The Hand tool can be used only if the curve has been zoomed in with the Magnifying Lens tool. Otherwise, the Hand tool will be dimmed.

4-56

Curve tool procedure

Choose the channel in which the curve will be modified.

Usage: To create special effects for images.

• Select RGB to modify gamma in the red, green and blue color

channels of the image simultaneously.

• Select color channels individually (red, green, blue) to modify

the tone curve in that particular color channel, if desired.

• For grayscale scanners, only the gray channel is available.

2 Choose the Method in which the curve will be modified; select

from Line, Curve, or Gamma. There is no difference in the method you select, and the choic-

es are provided to give you more flexibility in adjusting the curve.

3 Choose a curve tool; select from Pointer, Magnifying Lens, or

Hand.

4 Click on the curve to define the points where the curve will be

modified. You can then either raise or lower the curve at that point and see changes to the image accordingly.

5 Click on an action button.

• Click Apply to accept changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Cancel to abandon all changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Reset to restore settings to original default values.

• Click Revert to cancel the effect of the current image adjust-

ment tool.

6 To save a curve, click on the Save button. A dialog box will

appear.

• Save the curve in either SprintScan or Photoshop format. The

SprintScan format allows you to have as many as 64 control points in the curve for more precision; Photoshop allows a maximum of 19.

• Choose the Channel. Select All if your channel (in #1) is RGB;

select Current if you selected one of the three color channels (red, green or blue).

Reference 4-57

To use a previously saved gamma curve for another image, click on the Load button, then specify the curve to be loaded. Photoshop-saved curves can also be loaded.

How to read the curve

Original curve Modified curve

The curve shows the relationship of the brightness changes across the middle pixels between the resulting image and the original.

When you open the Curves dialog box, the line on the graph is diagonal because the Input and Output values are the same.

4-58

The x axis of the graph represents the original brightness values of the pixels, from 0 to 255; the y axis represents the new brightness values. Clicking on the diagonal line then plots a point that can be adjusted.

When the curve is moved up or down, the relationship between input value and output value changes accordingly.

Original image Modified image

• In areas where the curve is moved down, pixels in that por-

tion of the image are darkened.

• In areas where the curve is moved up, pixels in that portion of

the image are lightened. Contrast in an image can be seen by the angle of the line. The

steeper the slope, the higher the contrast. The closer the line is to horizontal, the lower the contrast.

Filters tool The Filters tool lets you apply or create special effects to your

images. This tool is disabled when your image type is set to Billions of Colors, or 4096 Shades of Gray (grayscale).

The filters include:

• Blur

• Blur More

• Sharpen

• Sharpen More

• Unsharp Mask

Blur Filters

The Blur filters eliminate noise in the parts of the image where significant color transitions occur. The Blur filters decrease the contrast between adjacent pixels, making the image appear hazy and out of focus.

Reference 4-59

Usage: For additional controls in adjusting your scanner and image.

• Blur smoothes out the transitions by lightening pixels next to

the hard edges of defined lines and shaded areas.

• Blur More produces an effect three or four times stronger

than Blur.

Sharpen Filters

The Sharpen filters do the opposite of the Blur filters and increase the contrast of adjacent pixels, making images appear sharper and more focused.

Both Sharpen and Sharpen More filters improve clarity. The Sharpen More filter has a stronger sharpening effect than the Sharpen filter.

Filters tool procedure

Click on the Filters tool in the Settings window. When the

Image Adjustment dialog box appears, click on the Filter box.

2 To preview filters and see their effects immediately, click on

the Simulate on Preview box.

3 Select the filter to be used from the pop-up window:

Note: The image you obtain in the preview when you use the

Filters tool may differ from the way the image will appear when you scan it in. This depends on your resolution, and the higher the setting, the less obvious certain filters (like Blur) will have.

4-60

4 Click on an action button.

• Click Apply to accept changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Cancel to abandon all changes and exit the dialog box.

• Click Reset to restore settings to original default values.

• Click Revert to cancel the effect of the current image-adjust-

ment tool.

Unsharp Masking

The Unsharp Masking filter adjusts the contrast of edge detail

and creates the illusion of more image sharpness. This filter can be useful for refocusing an image that has become blurry from interpolation or scanning.

To use Unsharp Masking:

1 Choose Unsharp Masking from the Filters menu. The Unsharp

Reference 4-61

Mask dialog box appears.

2 Enter a value in the Amount box to specify the percentage of

Click here to expand

the filter’s effect. The higher the percentage, the stronger the effect of the filter.

3 Enter the Radius value in pixels. The radius determines the

depth of pixels that will be affected at the edge.

4-62

• With a high value, more of the pixels surrounding the edge

pixels are sharpened.

• With a low value, only the edges are sharpened.

4 Enter a value in the Threshold box.

This option allows you to specify a tolerance range to prevent overall sharpening that might generate noise or cause other

unexpected results. The Threshold defines the required range of contrast between

adjacent pixels before sharpening is applied to an edge. A lower value produces a more pronounced effect.

More Options tool The More Options tool provides you with additional scanner

and image controls. These controls include:

• Scan Quality

• Gray Scan CCD Filter

• Use Linear Gamma Curve

Scan Quality

This option allows you to select the quality of your scans.

• Choose Draft if you’re outputting images as drafts. This

option speeds up the scanning process, but the image may be a little coarse (compared to the Final option).

• Choose Medium if you wish to have a scanned image of better

quality. This option is slower than Draft.

Reference 4-63

• Choose Final if you wish to have a scanned image of the best

quality. This option, however, is the slowest.

Gray Scan CCD Filter

This option allows you to select a particular color channel when scanning grayscale images and is useful for obtaining certain effects.

When scanning grayscale images, one of the color channels of the CCD can be used for scanning; this could be the red, green, or blue color channel. For some scanner hardware types, this setting may default to gray.

Use Linear Gamma Curve

This option allows the scanning software to read only raw image data, so that no color adjustment (not even the generic color correction profile) is applied to your image when it is scanned.

This control is helpful for professional graphic designers who wish to create very specific effects and are thoroughly familiar with the scanning process. If you are not familiar with this feature, leave this option turned off.

More Options tool procedure

Click on the More Options tool in the Settings window.

2 When the More Options screen appears, select the particular

control to be modified and its option, then click Apply (OK for Windows).

Window Expansion button The Window Expansion button lets you expand the Settings

window to its full size, with the bottom half of the window revealing shortcuts to the image-adjustment controls.

When the bottom half of the Settings window is open, you can use the image-adjustment functions directly by dragging on the slide bars for each control. This is like clicking on an imageadjustment tool, which takes you to the Image Adjustment dialog box where you can change the controls.

4-64

I n f o rmation window

a The Zoom Level Display shows the magnification levels possi-

Using the slide bars to adjust images may be faster, but using the image-adjustment tools gives you greater control over adjusting images and shows you “before-and-after” images in the dialog box.

To close the bottom half of the window, click on the Window Expansion button again.

The Information window provides information on the cursor and the preview image. It also allows you to change zoom levels directly, in much the same way as using the Magnifying Lens tool in the Preview window.

The Information window is a “floating window” and does not appear when you start up the scanning software unless you last exited the scanning software with the window open. To display the information window, click on the Show Info window command in the View menu (in the Preview window).

ble – from 100% to a maximum 1600% view.

b The Cursor Locator shows where the cursor is on the coordi-

nates along the x (horizontal) and y (vertical) axis, based on the unit of measurement selected for the rulers.

c The Color Meter Display indicates the values of the red, green,

and blue (RGB) color channels of that part of the image to where the cursor is pointing. The numbers represent the values in the 0-to-255 pixel range.

d The Pixel Display shows the pixel and color information of

the image area where the cursor is resting.

Reference 4-65

Polaroid SprintScan User Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Ta b le of contents

1 I n t ro d u c t i o n

SprintScan documentation set

How to use this guide

Obtaining assistance

2 S o f t w a re installation

SprintScan for Macintosh

3 Quick sca n ning

Q u i c k S t a rt

SprintScan windows and menus

Adjusting an image

Working with scan jobs

4 R e f e re n c e

SprintScan software

P review window

Scanner menu

The Tool buttons

Settings window

Image Adjustment tools

I n f o rmation window