UMAX Technologies PowerColor User manual

UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide
This guide will introduce you to the fundamentals of UMAX’s PowerColor Photo and Press edition
professional scanning software. You will launch the application, perform basic setups, and execute
an Overview scan and Region scan using some basic tools and commands. This guide begins with
basic operations and then moves into some of the finer points of the software.
Image Selection Tools
Probe Region: The Probe (or Pointer) tool is used to select items and to move around the image to
sample pixels. The tool deselects the Crop and Zoom tools.
Zoom: Click on the image with the Zoom tool to enlarge the image for more precise examination of a
region. If necessary, resize the image window to accommodate the new view. The magnification is shown
at the bottom left-hand corner of the image window. To reduce the view again, hold down the Option key
(Macintosh) or Control key (Windows) while clicking on the image with the Zoom tool. Note: The point
where the Zoom tool is clicked becomes the new center of the image in the window.
Crop Region: Use the Crop tool to select a portion of the image, for example to cut out the clack
edges of a film frame or tape used to hold images on the scanning surface.
Auto Range: Automatically adjusts the tonal range, setting the highlight and shadow points.
Pick Neutral Point: Uniquely selects multiple gray points in an image by holding down the Option key
(Macintosh) or Control key (Windows) and clicking on quarter, mid, and three quarter tone values.
Highlight Value Shadow Value: Automatic values for each image highlight and shadow
range are made with both buttons selected (default setting). Deselecting either button will result in a new
auto range without the deselected value. Edit/Undo, from Main Menu reverts to last values.
Refresh: With automatic updating off, click on the Refresh key to update the active region with all
changes since the last update.
Queue Manager Tools
Prescan all: Batch previews all the regions in the Queue Manager
Final scan all: Batch scans all the regions in the Queue Manager
Prescan one region: Previews the single region located above the icon. During scanning the region’s
Preview button appears red, green and blue. Once the preview is complete, the buton turns all red.
Final scan one region: Scans the single region located above the icon.
PowerColor Quick Start Guide Image Selection Tools 3

PowerColor Shortcuts
Macintosh Version Windows Version Function
z + . (Period) Escape Key (Esc) Stop a preview
z+ D Control + D Launch the Descreening window
z+ I N/A Get info on PowerColor, change
memory allocation (Mac Only)
z+ K Control + K Update image manually
z+ M
Control + M Close Queue Manager window
z+ P
Control + P Launch the RGB Probe
z+ S
Control + S Save
z+ U
Control + U Launch the USM window
Option +
Control + Reduce view
The following shortcuts are for Press mode
z+ 0 Control + 0 Display 4 plates
z+ 1
Control + 1 Display the Cyan plate
z+ 2
Control + 2 Display the Magenta plate
z+ 3
Control + 3 Display the Yellow plate
z+ 4
Control + 4 Display the Black plate
4 Shortcuts UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide

UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide Performing a Scan 5
Performing a scan
1. Launch PowerColor by double-clicking on the Application Icon . First, the Splash Screen
appears, indicating which version of the application is being used. Then the Control Bar,
Toolbar, Queue Manager and Overview Region windows appear.
Note:The History (H) and Duplicate (D) Icons are located at the bottom of the Region Window when
using the Macintosh version of PowerColor. For the Windows version, the icons are located in the
Toolbar.
2. For new users or for the simplest controls, we recommend you set your preferences to Photo
(RGB) and Basic. Preferences are found in the Edit drop down menu. This is using the RGB
scan mode only.
3. On the left side of the Tool Bar, the current Region should be the Overview, the current Scan
Type should match the type of media being scanned, and the Scan Mode should be RGB.

4. Choose Preview from the Command drop down menu, or double-click on the three horizontal
parallel bars in the bottom left corner of the Queue Manager.
The scanner performs the Preview and displays all of the images that are mounted on the
scanner inside of the crop box area. The Progress Bar in the top of the Queue Manager
Window indicates the current status of the scan.
5.The Crop Tool should be active. The Crop Tool is used to select the area of the flatbed to
be scanned. Resize the Crop Area so that only the desired image, or portion thereof, is
selected. When adjusting the Crop Area on the Overview, the Crop does not have to be
precise. The crop can be adjusted at any time in its respective Region Window to allow image
correction and to set final image size.
zz-Dragging on a Mac, or Ctrl-Dragging on Windows inside of the Crop Area marquee moves
the Crop Area. Dragging on any corner(s) of the marquee resizes the Crop Area. A new Crop
Area can be created by drawing a new marquee starting on the outside of the current Crop
Area, but only one Crop Area can exist at any one time.
6. Double-click inside of the Crop Area, then name and save the region to add it to the Queue
Manager Window as a new Region. Add as many new Regions to the Queue Manager
Window as desired. At this point the Queue will contain the Overview as well as any cropped
regions.
7. Make the Queue manager Window active by clicking anywhere in the window, and then
double-click on the desired image. This opens the Region Window for the selected image, and
the Overview Window disappears. Only one Window (Region or Overview) can appear at a
time.
8.The image is now ready for a Preview Scan. Click on the three horizontal parallel bars in
the bottom left corner of the region in the Queue Manager.
6 Performing a Scan UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide

9. In the Tool Bar Window, when Inches is selected as default, the default values are 150 for Line
Screen, 2.00 for sampling, and 100% for scale. The Width and Height dimensions reflect the
final dimensions of the Crop Area.The File Size is dependent on the Crop Area, the Sampling
resolution, and the Scale value. These functions are further discussed in the manual.
When adjusting the Line Screen, hit enter or click on another setting inside theToolbar window
for the change to take effect.
10. Choose Recall Default from the Settings drop down menu or click the Recall Default
button in the Control Bar. When the Settings dialog box appears, check Color, Tone & Cast
Histogram, and UnSharp Masking. Click OK.
11. Click the Auto Range button , the half-black, half-white circle in the Control Bar Window.
The Auto Range automatically sets the Highlight and Shadow points on the image, effectively
increasing the amount of contrast. The color engine will only evaluate the data inside of the
Crop Area. Sticky Densitometers are set for the Highlight and Shadow points, and can be
moved to a new location by holding the mouse button down over the densitometer and drag-
ging it to the new location. To do this, the Pointer from the Control Bar must be selected.
12. Now that the image has been Auto Ranged, it is ready for color correction. Select the Pointer
from the Control Bar Window, then the Color tab within the RGB Controls window. To open
the RGB Controls window, select Color from the Correction drop down menu. Click on the
area of the image that you wish to adjust. The Color Sliders will now change in color, and
allow you to accurately adjust the color of the image.This can be repeated invarious areas of
the image until you are satisfied with the result.
13.The last step to perform is adjustment of Unsharp Masking, or USM. The USM is applied by
selecting a pre-set value in the Tool Bar Window (Heavy, Medium or Light), or by selecting
Custom, and applying your own custom settings.
14.The image is ready for a Final Scan. Double check the parameters in your Tool Bar. In the
Queue Manager, select the Cropped Region you wish to scan, and click on the white page
symbol in the lower right corner of the region. The image will be scanned to disk.
To Batch Scan all of the images at the same time, click on the third button to the right in the
Queue Manager Window . This will cause all of the Cropped Regions to be scanned to disk
in the order that they appear in the Queue Manager.
15.To switch to the Press scanning package, select Press as your Separator from the
Preferences window, choose CMYK scan mode from the Toolbar. For more information on
how to scan using the Press mode, please refer to your PowerColor User’s Guide.
UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide Performing a Scan 7

Photo RGB Basic Controls
The RGB Basic Controls give the user the option of correcting with sliders as opposed to curves.
The sliders are easy to use yet give exceptional control over image correction features.
Brightness: Controls the lightness and darkness of the image. Usually referred to as the midtone
point on a gradation curve.
Contrast: Controls how fast the transition is between light and dark pixels. On a gradation curve this
would be the correlation between the quarter-tone and three-quarter points.
Saturation: The amount of chromaticity present in all hues. 0% saturation would yield a black and
white image.
8 Photo RGB Basic Controls UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide

Photo RGB Expert Controls
Tone & Cast
The RGB Expert Controls give the user the ability to correct using gradation and color curves.
Every original, film or print, has a specific density range which defines the points where the image
data starts and ends. This density range is measured on an optical density scale of 0 (lowest) to 4
(highest). The “output density range” is usually set to different values than the input range. The
default output density value is 2.7, which is the maximum value that modern CRT monitors are capa-
ble of displaying. Knowing the density range of your intended output device and using that value in
the RGB control window helps optimize the quality of the final image.
The density range of an image can also be set manually. This is done by adjusting the RGB curves
for the image in the Tone & Cast section of the RGB Control window. The purpose of the tone
curves is to define what is neutral by removing unwanted casts, and to specify tone compression
and contrast using the gradation curve. Therefore, color correction should only be performed in the
Selective Color window, where neutrals and hues are treated separately.
To adjust neutral tones, use Tone & Cast; to adjust hues, use Selective Color.
UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide Photo RGB Expert Controls 9

The gradation curve (black) defines how tone compression is handled. The horizontal axis shows
input density while the vertical axis displays the output density. The points (called “anchor points”)
are located, from left to right, at the following values: highlights, quarter tones, midtones, three-
quarter tones, and shadows. By selecting an anchor point and dragging it up or down, you can alter
the gradation value for that point.
The black lock icon at the bottom left-hand corner of the grid is open by default. By clicking on it,
you can lock the anchor points on the curve. This allows you to move the points individually without
affecting the others. Locking the anchor points is useful for fine-tuning the gradation curve.
Remember that adjustments in the gradation curve change the input-to-output tonal compres-
sion. For example, moving the three-quarter tone point down expands the shadow area of the
image by starting the three-quarter tone range at a lower optical density.
Color
The Color option in the RGB Control window provides control over high chroma (saturated) and low
chroma (pastel) in all primary and secondary colors independently.
Use the Color Selection color wheel to select the individual color to be corrected. You can also click
on any area of the image and the software automatically detects the selected pixel’s high value and
whether it is a pastel or saturated color. To toggle between the high and low chroma colors, click on
the color wheel. This toggle feature allows you to make changes in the darker or lighter colors
without affecting the other.
10 RGB Expert Controls UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide

The checkbox in the Color Correction section of the RGB Control window toggles selective color on
or off. The Color Correction checkbox should always be checked.
The sliders in the Color Correction section allow you to perform color correction in the three sepa-
rate color channels. This is performed by clicking on the area of the image that you wish to adjust,
and then using the sliders to adjust the color.
Histograms
Another way to set the tonal range is by manipulating the image’s histograms. To do so, click on the
Histograms in the RGB Control window. The window displays the input density histogram and the
output reflectance histogram.
The input histogram can be adjusted to show all three RGB channels together or each channel
individually. To adjust the limits, slide the white slider (highlight) and/or black slider (shadows) to the
desired position.
The Output Reflectance histogram is a static display that cannot be adjusted. It is designed to show
how your adjustments will affect the image when output.
Minor adjustments to histograms have strong results. Move the sliders in small increments to
avoid distorting your range values excessively. Remember to update the image regularly to
view your changes.
UMAX PowerColor Quick Start Guide RGB Expert Controls 11