Practical Scanning for your Photographs

1. Practical Scanning for your Photographs A “hands-on” demonstration of scanning techniques for the typical domestic environment - using the JPEG format to save the finished work JohnIGoodwin

2. Practical? • Only about four actual scans to be performed, but with explanations given as to HOW to set-up each scanner to produce down-to-earth results • The scanning techniques have been simplified to provide a mechanism for a typical user to scan his entire collection of pictures in a reasonable time and minimum costs JohnIGoodwin

3. Matters not addressed • I’m going to address photographic material only • Scanning documents is very similar to scanning printed photographs, but any presentation on this would need to go on to include scanning over-sized documents, optical character recognition, PDF production, and document storage systems JohnIGoodwin

4. The Fundamental Issues !!!!! • 1. Objective • 2. Resolution • 3. Bit-depth • 4. File Format • 5. Monitor display NOT WYSIWYG JohnIGoodwin

5. Let’s be Realistic • Your photographs aren’t masterpieces that will be offered for sale via a library • You probably have ‘hard copies’ already – so are unlikely to wish to print them again • The results will likely as not be viewed directly from your monitor where the resolution is a mere 72 pixels per inch • You don’t want to buy a series of hard disks – and keep these backed-up - to contain images of excessive sizes • Your cameras probably generate just JPEG format images, and you apparently find those results acceptable • When you used colour negative film, you probably chose one that accentuated the colours – not one that gave pastel shades • If you accept these statements, then JPEG is almost certainly adequate for you. JohnIGoodwin

6. Books on Scanning? • Unfortunately, just about every book ever written supposedly about scanning, is largely useless - because they don’t highlight the important issues and arrange the material logically • “User manuals” supplied by ALL scanner manufacturers and ALL suppliers of the software are totally useless • Such as are written rarely attempt to EXPLAIN any of the important topics; they all seem to assume that understanding the scanner is beyond the capabilities of almost everybody • I have found only two books that explain the issues adequately:- • 1)Scanning Negatives & Slides – by Sascha Steinhoff c £40 • 2) Mastering Digital Scanning – by David D. Busch c £40 • I haven’t found any other book worth purchasing; the first is a bit more technical than the second JohnIGoodwin

7. User Instructions for Scanners • Every one that I’ve ever read was grossly inadequate • File types and bit information were never addressed • Everything was grossly over-simplified to almost the level of ‘put the object on the platen and push the button’ • Most scanners can be driven by a stand-alone external driver OR by using a TWAIN-compliant driver from within a photographic application; there are advantages and disadvantages of each method • Do READ the instructions before using. Some flatbed scanners with slide attachments that plug-in, may work only when used with the supplied application JohnIGoodwin

8. TIFF or JPEG formats? • Undoubtedly, the TIFF format produces the “best” results in terms of quality – but at a considerable cost in terms of the financial outlay - and especially the time taken • If you can produced “finished” work as you scan, or are prepared to rescan particular items if and when necessary to obtain a more detailed result, then JPEG images will suffice for most other purposes JohnIGoodwin

9. Scanner Interfaces • Mostly different for every model produced by every manufacturer • Some of these differences includes settings expressed in Pixels, OR D.P.I (dots per inch), OR Samples per inch OR physical sizes for printer results. • A ‘common interface’ (of sorts) is available from SilverFast, at a ridiculous price, and modules for different machines are not available separately • The programmes ‘VueScan’ & VueScan Professional are available separately; this covers almost any scanner ever made, including some not listed within; this includes RAW TIFF files, and colour profiling; will not support special features unique to a specific machine; it’s available at no cost from ‘The Pirate Bay’ etc. via a ‘Torrent’ programme. JohnIGoodwin

10. What is TIFF • It is the “master” format from which all other photographic formats (except BMP images, that are actually Internet format) have been derived • At its’ most detailed, it can capture the “RAW” data from a scanner, enabling all possible manipulations to be performed at some later date; as soon as a departure is made from this RAW data state, then limitations become imposed as to what changes will subsequently be possible – without having to re-scan the original image • However, there are many different formats of TIFF in use, in which less detail is captured – resulting in the reduction of possibilities of making later changes • Most photographic libraries will insist that work be submitted in a particular TIFF variant as specified by them • The ‘File TYPE’ of ‘.TIFF’ applies to almost all the variant formats, and it isn’t possible to tell what the actual characteristics are for and given file, other than by opening from within Photoshop etc. and making deductions. JohnIGoodwin

11. What is JPEG? • It was derived from TIFF! • It really isn’t a photographic format at all – it was an expedient designed to support imaging on the Internet. It compresses images very efficiently, to minimise file sizes, and thereby reduces transmission times. • You don’t get anything for nothing! The compression process reduces the image quality, and the ability to make later changes • The JPEG format has been adopted for use with ‘basic’ cameras, whose users are apparently satisfied with the results produced – BUT some size “errors” result JohnIGoodwin

12. Disadvantages of using TIFF • Scans will generally take longer to run • Files generated could be up to FIFTY times larger than an equivalent JEPG – with minimal compression • Much more storage space will be required to keep the results and their back-ups • You may need to get more sophisticated equipment to produce fully-featured TIFF files JohnIGoodwin

13. Disadvantages of using JEPG • Colours recorded will be more ‘basic’ because an 8-bit (per channel) system of recording colour is used • Very limited adjustment to an image will be possible once saved in this format • The compression used will destroy some of the detail in the image • Every time that an image is opened, AND RESAVED (even if no changes made) – it is recompressed and so more detail lost • After about five re-saves, the recompression will introduce visible artefacts in the image • If you were planning to scrap the original photographs, you may need to reconsider that decision, just in case a re-scan is required at some later date to recover the lost quality. JohnIGoodwin

14. Advantages of using TIFF • Greater variation of colours may be recorded • There is more flexibility as to what may be changed after the file has been created • If the original has been saved as RAW TIFF, then it may be practical to dispose of the original photograph (however, continued development is producing machines capable of producing even better results, but prolonged storage of the originals does not improve them). JohnIGoodwin

15. Advantages of using JPEG • Lower cost of equipment • Quicker to produce • Much more practical to store the images • Gives similar results to those obtained by snap-shotters cameras JohnIGoodwin

16. Decision Time! • JPEG would appear to have many advantages for the home user, and using TIFF for an entire collection of photographs is largely impractical • Everything from now on in this presentation will be based upon production of the final image as JPEG • Specific Photographs that are required in further detail or higher quality, may always be singled-out for special attention – or re-scanned later • Scanning to produce TIFF files, is essentially the same – but using different settings on a scanner, and may require a better quality of scanner (or process) to be used. The scanning process would be considerably longer. JohnIGoodwin

17. Making a Start • Sort and clean the photographs. Discard any that are too badly damaged to restore. Eliminate ‘duplicates’, and photographs of unknown persons. Identify as many persons as possible in unlabelled pictures, and attach your own labels to the back. Enlist relatives to help in the identification process • Marry-up prints with negatives • Separate out 1) unmatched negatives, 2) unmatched prints, and 3) transparencies/slides JohnIGoodwin

18. Types of Source Materials • Reflective Materials – that is those that must be viewed by shining light ONTO the surface • Transparency Materials – that is those that must be viewed by shining light THROUGH them. Such materials may be either NEGATIVES or POSITIVES (“slides”) JohnIGoodwin

19. Reflective or Transparency Methods ? • When only a ‘print’ exists, there is no choice but to process such by ‘reflective’ methods • When both the print and a negative exist, then a choice of using either the ‘reflective’ method of ‘transparency’ method exists. Technically, the negative can produce the better result – but will you actually notice the difference? (Try it and see!) • If you have ‘Colour slides’, then you must use the ‘transparency’ method JohnIGoodwin

20. Equipment Required • Reflective materials can be scanned only by a flatbed scanner. The prints are placed directly on the platen, and the scanner illuminates them from beneath the platen • Transparencies can be scanned using a dedicated slide scanner – but recently some flatbed scanners are available that permit transparencies to be processed, because they have an alternative means of illumination within the scanner lid • There are, however, photographic methods of copying both prints and transparencies JohnIGoodwin

21. An Aside • Before we delve into the scanning process, lets us not overlook the ‘old’ methods of copying prints and slides by conventional photographic processes – but updating the operation by using a digital camera. • You would need a good quality “35mm” digital camera for the process, with either some means of close focussing for reflective materials, and/or a slide copying attachment • People that already have suitable equipment will not need to be told in detail just how to use it • The close focussing lens/equipment does not need to be at all sophisticated, as the focussing is done merely in two dimensions. • This process can produce results VERY much quicker than scanning, but the results will not be of the same quality as that obtainable on quality scanners using high resolution – but are you really going to notice any difference? • ION market several devices that can PHOTOGRAPH transparencies cheaply – but at limited resolution; possibly sufficient for most users; these are NOT scanners JohnIGoodwin

22. The ‘secret’ of getting a good result from JPEG • Scan in just as much (or little) detail as actually needed, make any adjustments required (cropping, colour, brightness etc.) to the quality of the image NOW, add the textual information – THEN SAVE and don’t adjust again! • Choose a level of compression that is not too great. Do remember that by choosing to use JPEG, you will immediately have lost half the detail originally available from the scan, then loose a bit more (between 5% and 95% FURTHER) depending upon the degree of JPEG compression chosen • Scanning from WITHIN a good photographic editor, will facilitate a greater level of control in the editing process than available from just the scanner interface JohnIGoodwin

23. Technical Terms that Need to be Understood • BIT-DEPTH – a means of controlling the degree of subtlety in colours or greys. JPEG uses just 24-bit for colour and 8-bit for greyscale, but you have to scan at 64-bit to utilise the dust and scratch removal facility (even if saving as 24-bit). Claims for greater numbers are simply fraudulent in order to sell scanners • RESOLUTION – a control over the amount of detail resolved, generally related to the degree of enlargement possible. Except on dedicated slide scanners where the maximum (4,000?) should always be used; exceeding a resolution of 600 pixels for reflective images is rarely helpful, and apparatus that claims to resolve beyond 600 is generally the subject of fraudulent claims, or is in fact re-sampling the target many times, thus taking a far greater time to complete the process JohnIGoodwin

24. Channels? • Understanding a discussion about bit-depth, can seem a trifle complicated at first – but is really very simple. • A optical instrument captures colour information by channel – there being one channel for each of the colours RED, BLUE, and GREEN; GREYSCALE uses but one channel, as does BLACK & WHITE; features such as Dust & Scratch removal use a fourth channel – INFRARED, that is rarely explained. • EACH channel carries data as either 8 or 16 bit, thus requiring a total of typically either 24 or 48 bit structure to record a colour image – these being either 3 x 8 or 3 x 16. Greyscale uses but one channel, so the data is either 8 or 16 bit, whilst genuine ‘Black & White’ uses just 2 bits! • When Dust and Scratch removal are applied, resultant images will be 64-bit, because this is available ONLY in 16 bit mode, and furthermore the infra-red channel content is rarely counted in any expression of the image characteristics. • Encountering other sets of numbers when using older equipment, occurs because the makers may have used a 10,12, or 14 bit system instead of 16. Such get “padded-out” to be stored as 48-bit. • I have seen fraudulent claims for 96-bit 6 colour images! JohnIGoodwin

25. Enlargement • The scanning process has a general similarity to the silver halide process of printing and enlarging a photograph • Any digital photographic image can normally be enlarged to only a certain degree, after which the image degenerates into a series of rectangular blotches, once the limitation of ‘actual pixels’ has been reached • One ‘cheat’ to increase image size, is called ‘interpolation’, and involves ‘multiplying-up’ the actual pixel data • The other ‘cheat’ is by “increasing” resolution by multi-sampling of the original image • Both ‘cheats’ generally result in claims for “resolutions” that vastly exceed the true optical resolution • Some of your “contact prints” when being scanned, may benefit to some extent by selecting higher resolution settings, so as to produce an image large enough to fill your computer screen automatically, but often images generally get “stretched” or reduced to fill the screen • Some scanner interfaces will ask for a size setting to be made as if for printing, rather than give an option to set the “resolution” • Slides/Negatives/Transparencies are normally scanned with “same size” settings JohnIGoodwin

26. Previous “Scanner” Presentations • I’ve given two presentations before – one on selecting and buying a scanner, and the other on all the file types and other technical terms involved. I’m not endeavouring to repeat either here, so I’ve placed copies of the presentations upon our website for downloading. JohnIGoodwin

27. Scanner Devices - Flatbed • A “flatbed” scanner will be required for scanning “print” images. • Some flatbed scanners also have a lamp built into the lid, plus devices intended to hold transparency materials on the platten. Such may be cumbersome to use, and generally do not give as good as result as a dedicated slide scanner – but their results may be good enough for the purpose intended JohnIGoodwin

28. Scanner Devices - Transparency • A dedicated transparency scanner will be needed to obtain the best results from transparency (film) materials, but cannot handle reflective materials at all • Dedicated transparency scanners are quite pricey, so you may need to consider a cheaper solution involving a flatbed scanner, or photographic method JohnIGoodwin

29. Selecting the equipment • This was covered in detail in an earlier presentation, so isn’t being covered in detail here. • Most flatbed scanners for sale will fraudulently claim resolutions greatly in excess of the true resolution; check the detailed specification to find the true optical resolution (generally 600 pixels); if the optical resolution isn’t mentioned anywhere, then the claims are obviously fraudulent – so do not purchase. • Transparency scanners generally quote their specifications truthfully, but the same caveat still applies, and price is very often a tell-tale. New equipment should have a genuine optical resolution of 4,000 pixels. • Specifications shewn on the packaging, frequently overstate the equipment capabilities by including the results of interpolation and multi-scanning. JohnIGoodwin

30. Transferring scanned data • Scanning produces really VAST amount of data to be transferred to your computer. We are talking about 1,000s of millions of bits of data (that’s billions to the uneducated) • You MUST have a FAST interface to perform a scan, and must not accidentally degrade it. • By correctly trimming the areas to be scanned and setting the required resolution appropriately, and orienting the target most efficiently, the scanned time may be kept to a more reasonable level. Scanned times could well exceed 15 minutes without due care taken. JohnIGoodwin

31. Section Two Hands-on Scanning JohnIGoodwin

32. Scan Session – 1 - Reflective • Epson Perfection 3170 Scanner • Lamp mounted in lid • Slide holder supplied – but no holder for film strips • HP G4050 Scanner • Lamp mounted in lid • Both slide holder and JohnIGoodwin

33. Notes • Connection – USB Firewire SCSI • USB2 v USB 1.1 • Time taken to transfer data • Software interface – stand alone or application • Simple or advanced settings • Focus imperfection - with film not in contact • Mount film in oil? JohnIGoodwin

34. Canon 2700F Slide Scanner • Scans slides and negatives to 3,000 pixels • Works with Vuescan • Can handle slides individually, or uncut 35mm film as strips, or APS cassettes JohnIGoodwin

35. Notes • Handles both positives and negatives JohnIGoodwin

36. ION “Film 2 PC” Device • This device is one of a series that sometimes incorrectly claim to be scanners, and will turn a slide or a negative into a digital image at 1800 pixels per inch • They are actually camera devices – similar to a “webcam” that send an image of the slide to a PC, transferring it into the supplied editor programme, that can then make limited adjustments then save the results as JPEG or perhaps TIFF • Some versions of the ION devices merely save their results directly to an SD card, and don’t connect directly to a computer JohnIGoodwin

37. Notes • May not include a negative carrier in every model • This is a photographic method • Versions that write to an SD card, have to have their JPEG images modified – if necessary – after the image is saved in the JPEG format • Some versions include the ability to generate both TIFF or JPEG images. The TIFF versions are just 8-bit files, so no real benefit obtained JohnIGoodwin