Irlam Instruments ColourMobile User manual

ColourMobile
Low-cost 24bit Colour Mobile Scanner
for RISC OS computers
Irlam Instruments Ltd, Brunel Institute for Bioengineering, Brunel University,
Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, (01895) 8 1140]

Copyright
Liability
Copyrignt © 1996 Irlam Instruments Ltd.
Brunel Institute for Bioengineering
Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH
Neither the whole nor any part of the information contained
in, or the product described in, this manual may be adapted
or reproduced in any material form except with the prior
written approval of Irlam Instruments Limited, other than for
the sole use of the owner of the product and this guide.
The information presented here has been checked for
accuracy and is given in good faith, but Irlam Instruments
Limited assumes no responsibility for Its use. Irlam
Instruments Limited cannot accept any liability for any loss
or damage arising from the use of any information or
particulars in this manual or any incorrect use of the
product.
All trade marks acknowledged.
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Welcome!
Welcome:
Suitability
Package contents
Hardware Installation
T hank you for purchasing the Irlam Colour Mobile Scanner
package. It combines hign quality colour scanning with intuitive and
simple-to-use software. So simple, a comprehensive manual is not
necessary. Nevertheless - please do spend a couple of minutes
reading this leaflet carefully.
This package is suitable for the following Acorn computers. If your
computer is not one of these then please contact your supplier.
■ A3010, A3020, A4000
■ A4
■ A5000
■ A7000
■ Risc PC
Windows™ software for PC compatibles is available for a nominal
charge. Contact us for further details.
This package should contain the following items. If any are missing
then please contact your supplier.
■ Scanner c/w Interface and motor unit
■ Mains adaptor
■ Calibration sheet
■ Floppy disc containing application software
Warning! Ensure that the computer and any peripnerals are
switched off. Failure to observe this may result in damage to the
computer or scanner.
Disconnect any dongles or printers from the parallel port. Connect
the scanner interface directly to the parallel port.
If you are using a parallel port CD-ROM drive, connect the CD-
ROM drive directly to the parallel port. Connect the scanner
interface to the rear of the CD-ROM drive.
Connect any dongles or printers to the rear of the scanner
interface.
Clip the motor unit onto the back of the scanner, being careful not
to damage the plastic mounting lugs. Ensure that the switch on the
side of the motor unit is set to the on position. The switch does not
have a particularly positive action.
Plug the mains adaptor into a convenient socket and connect the
power lead to the scanner interface. the scanner light may
illuminate immediately when power is connected.
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Getting started
Software Installation
Testing the installation
About the software
Getting started
Calibrating the scanner
Switch the computer and any peripherals on. If the computer fails to
boot-up as normal, switch everything off and carefully check the
hardware installation.
Insert the supplied floppy disc, and click on the Drive :0 icon. Copy
the contents of the disc to a suitable directory on your hard disc.
Dismount and eject the floppy disc, and store it in a safe place -
you will need it to obtain future software upgrades. Reboot your
computer.
Open the directory where you copied the software and double-click
on the Mobile application. Watch the scanner carefully - the light
should briefly flash on then off again.
Check that any dongles or printers still function correctly. If
anything fails to work as expected, switch everything off and
carefully check the hardware installation.
Two software applications are supplied with the scanner. Mobile
is the scanner driver software, and ChangeFSl is Acorn's image
mastering software.
There may also be a ReadMe file - this will document any
changes made to the software since this manual was written.
The Mobile application is designed to be permanently loaded,
presenting the scanner as a readily available desktop resource. It
is therefore recommended that the Mobile application is loaded as
part of the boot-up sequence.
ChangeFSl performs useful functions such as scaling, sharpening,
and gamma correction. We supply ChangeFSl (under license from
Acorn) with all our scanning packages because it is so useful.
Within the application directory are several text files ( !Help, FSIinfo,
FSluse, and FSlformats) which describe, in some detail, the program
and how to use it.
Open the directory where you copied the software and double-
click on the Mobile application. Before initial use the scanner will
probably require calibration.
Open the Mobile application menu, and select Calibrate. You will
then be asked if you wish to proceed with calibration.
Ensure that the brighthess knob on the side of the scanner is set to
the middle, and position the scanner on the calibration sheet. The
scanner and calibration sheet should be free from dust.
4

User guide - Mobile
The control panel
Width and height
Colours and Resolution
Select OK to continue - the software will wait for the scanner to
warm up, before performing the calibration. The scanner may take
up to a minute to warm up from cold.
The scanner can be calibrated as often as necessary. It is
therefore recommended that you store the calibration sheet in a
safe place.
Click on the Mobile application icon with the left mouse button to
open the control panel. The control panel is used to set the
various scanning parameters which are described below.
Click on the Mobile application icon with the right mouse button to
close the control panel.
The top of the control panel is used specify the width and height
of the area to be scanned.
Values can be entered by typing them, or by using the nudge
arrows. These values can be specified in either inches or
millimetres. Remember to press Return after typing a new
value.
The maximum width and height are 4.12" (or 104.64mm) and 12" (
or 304.80mm) respectfully, and vice versa for landscape format.
The middle of the control panel is used to specify the number of
colours used to represent a scanned image, and the resolution
used to scan an image.
The number of colours can be specified from
monochrome through to 16 million.
The ability to scan an image in 32 thousand or 16 million colours
does not necessarily mean that your computer will be capable of
displaying the result.
The resolution can be specified from 100 to 400 dots per inch (dpi)
. A resolution of 100dpi gives an approximately life size result,
200dpi zooms by a factor of two, and 400dpi by a factor of four.
You will find that a resolution of 100dpi is adequate for most
scanning applications.
5

User guide - Mobile
Miscellaneous settings
The bottom of the control panel is used for several miscellaneous
settings.
Calibration should normally be enabled. This uses the data
obtained from the calibration scan to compensate for any
deficiencies in the scanner.
IIt should be disabled only to verify that the scanner has been
correctly calibrated.
Dithering should normally be enabled. This uses clusters of
pixels to create the illusion of more colours.
It should be disabled when scanning text in monochrome for use
with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, or for
scanning line art.
Landscape performs automatic rotation of a scanned image, to
allow you to scan images that are wider than the maximum width
of the scanner.
When scanning in landscape format, the scanner is positioned at
the left of the image instead of at the top.
Motorised should normally be enabled. This uses the motor to
drive the scanner along.
It should be disabled when scanning by hand with the motor
detached. During hand scanning, the computer will beep to warn
if you are scanning too fast.
Sharpening should normally be enabled. This helps to remove
fuzziness and blurring.
It should be disabled when scanning text in monochrome for use
with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, or for
scanning line art.
A minimum value of 8 produces very harsh sharpening, and a
maximum value of 32 effectively disables it. A typical value is 24.
Remember to press Return after typing a new value.
Gamma correction brightens dark areas, leaving light areas
unchanged.
A minimum value of 1 has no effect, and a maximum value of 4
produces maximum brighthess. A typical value is 2.25.
Remember to press Return after typing a new value.
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User guide - Mobile
Miscellaneous settings (
continued)
Save choices
JPEG quality specifies the output quality, and hence the level of
compression for JPEG images.
A minimum value of 5 gives very high compression with poor
image quality. A maximum value of 95 gives lower (but still high)
compression with very high image quality. A typical value is 75.
Remember to press Return after typing a new value.
The settings in the control panel can be conveniently saved for
future use. Open the Mobile application menu, and select Save
choices.
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User guide - Mobile
Scanning an image
Stopping the scan
Use with DTP packages
Click and hold the left mouse button on the Mobile application
icon - the mouse pointer will pick up a Sprite file icon. Drag this
icon to a directory viewer to save the scan, or to an application to
export it. You will then be asked if you wish to proceed with the
scan.
Ensure that the brightness knob on the side of the scanner is set
to the middle, and position the scanner at the top of the image (or
the left for landscape format). Use the markings on the scanner
to assist you.
Select OK to continue - the software will wait for the scanner to
warm up, before performing the scan. The scanner may take up to
a minute to warm up from cold.
The scanner will move down the image (or to the right for
landscape format), and the hourglass will display the percentage
of the scan completed.
When the scanner stops, the hourglass percentage will cycle
through once more while the scanned image is being processed.
The image will then be saved to the directory, or exported to the
application where you dragged the icon.
Use the right mouse button instead to save or export a JPEG
image. JPEG images are highly compressed and occupy less disc
space.
Press the turquoise start/stop button on the scanner to stop the
scan. The height (or width for landscape format) of the image will
automatically be cropped to fit.
This button serves only as a stop button, as the scanner is started
automatically by the software.
If you use a Desktop Publishing (DTP) package such as Ovation
or Impression, there is no need to specify the width and height of
the scan, as these applications can crop images themselves.
Simply create a blank frame and drag the icon to that frame.
8

Troubleshooting guide
Poor image quality on
screen
Poor colour definition
Reduced colour detail is usually caused by the current screen mode
having insufficient colours to correctly render the image.
■ Change to a screen mode with 256 [or more] colours.
Images that are either too light or too dark are usually caused by
incorrect calibration, or incorrect setting of the brightness knob.
■ Recalibrate the scanner.
■ Ensure that the brightness knob on the side of the scanner is set to
the middle.
Saturated or false colours are usually caused by an incorrect value of
sharpening or gamma correction.
■ Set the value of sharpening to 24.
■ Set the value of gamma correction to 2.25.
Banding
Banding, especially at lower resolutions, is usually caused by scanning
printed material. This banding is caused by interference patterns
between the printed dots, and the image sensor pixels in the
scanner.
■ Increase the scanning resolution.
■ Scan at a slight angle to the original.
■ Increase the value of sharpening, or disable it.
Jagged edges
Jagged edges, especially at higher resolutions, are usually caused by
an incorrect value of sharpening.
■ Reduce the scanning resolution.
■ Increase the value of sharpening, or disable it.
Vertical or horizontal lines
Vertical or horizontal lines are usually caused by dirt on the lens of
the scanner, or incorrect calibration
■ Gently clean the scanner lens with a soft cloth.
■ Recalibrate the scanner.
9

Troubleshooting guide
Poor image quality when
printed
Computer beeps during hand
scanning
Repeated calibration errors
Repeated scanning errors
Repeated transfer errors
If the image quality is good on screen, but disappointing when
printed, your printer or its driver software may be incorrectly setup.
■ Contact your printer supplier for assistance.
During hand scanning, the computer will beep to warn if you are
too fast.
■ Try to move the scanner more slowly.
■ Use motorised scanning instead.
Repeated calibration errors are usually caused by the software not
being able to save the data obtained from the calibration scan. This
should only occur on networks where the user does not have write
permission to the Mobile application directory.
■ Ensure that the user has write permission to the Mobile
application directory.
Repeated scanning errors are usually caused by having insufficient
free hard disc space to save temporary files.
■ Free some disc space by deleting any unwanted files.
■ Reduce the scan area.
Repeated transfer errors are usually caused by having
insufficient memory to process the scanned image.
■ Reduce the scan area or resolution.
■ Quit any unused applications.
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Notes
Scanning by hand
Scanning text and line art
Warm up
Start/stop button
Printers
When scanning by hand, remember to disable the motorised
setting, and detach the motor. During hand scanning, the
computer will beep to warn if you are scanning too fast.
When scanning text or line art, remember to disable the dithering
and sharpening settings.
For Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, we recommend
Sleuth 2 from Beebug Limited.
The warm up procedure may be skipped by pressing Escape. This
will result in reduced image quality, but is useful for preview scans.
The turquoise start/stop button on the scanner serves only as a
stop button, as the scanner is started automatically by the software.
If you have a printer connected, it must be switched on in order
for the scanner to function correctly.
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