Read Me First Copyright (C) 1994 This document contains the latest information that might be different from the user's guide. DO contact your dealer if you have any problem. . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> This Scanner Utility Disk contains the following items 1. Scanner Device driver 2. TWAIN Driver * Setup program(SETUP.EXE) will automatically guide you to install item 1 and 2 into your Hard Disk and also configure environments for scanning. * Scanner Device Driver The next pages will tell you how to set the parameters to scan if the default settings does not fit to you. . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> The device driver, SCANDEV?.SYS, contains several functions: 1) Usage: By inserting the line DEVICE = [path\] SCANDEV?.SYS in your config.sys file, you are using the default parameter. In order to specify parameters other than the default value, please refer to the description that follows. A BEEP sound will indicate a wrong parameter setup. 2) PARAMETER editing: a) Changing IRQ : the default is set at IRQ 11. However, on some PC, IRQ 11 might have already been occupied by other add-on card. If you have an 8-bit interface card, then you can either select IRQ2, IRQ3 , IRQ4 or IRQ5 though IRQ2 is not recommended. If you do not have any proper IRQ left in an 8-bit card, Please consult your dealer and upgrade to a 16-bit slot card. The reason behind is three extra IRQ settings, namely IRQ 10, IRQ 11 and IRQ 12. For example, if you want to set to IRQ 10, then your config.sys file will have a line like this: DEVICE=C:\SCANDEV?.SYS /I10 . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> Of course, don't forget to change the jumper setting in your add-on card to IRQ 10. b) Changing I/O address: the default I/O address is 270h, and there are total 8 addresses available - 220h, 230h, 260h, 270h, 320h, 330h, 360h and 370h. By using 3 jumpers, you can change the I/O address as desired. If this task looks complicated, you can use SCANTEST to change addresses. The device will finally look like this, DEVICE=C:\SCANDEV?.SYS /H3 Where /H3 implies I/O address at 270H. c) Changing GRAY mode's gray map: Human eyes judge and monitor display different gray scales compared to the actual output produced by scanner. Therefore, gray map (Gamma) correction is essential for a better overall result. One should also understand that gray mapping is application dependent. Some applications need input as non-Gamma and others Gamma. Some even have 'Monitor Calibration' functions to modify the scanner input data. The way to know what you actually need depends a lot on your eyes. First, scan a picture into your application by using default setting. If the picture appears to be too light, change Gamma setting to either . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0. Zero (0) implies no Gamma has been added to the scanner input data. For software with built-in 'Monitor Calibration' function or something similar, we suggest that you select the no Gamma option. Then you can use the built-in monitor calibration function to adjust with what your eyes see. For application that does not come with this function, the users can add a switch to the config.sys file. Gray map scales run from 0 to 9, where 0 is no gray map and 9 is extremely light. As an example, your device line for your scanner might look like this: DEVICE=C:\SCANDEV?.SYS /G4 By default, the device is set at G5. d) Changing COLOR mode's Gamma: Like GRAY, color scanning also needs color mapping to enhance viewing. Zero (0) is no color map and 9 is extremely light. By default, color mapping is set at C5. For example, the line DEVICE=C:\SCANDEVC.SYS /C4 it stands for color map level 4. . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> In the next few sections, we will have a more detailed description on scanner, monitor and printer. e) Adjusting Black/White mode threshold default: This scanner offers a software Black/White threshold adjustment function. If your software application program does not offer Brightness adjustment within scan menu, and the threshold is not what you like, please adjust the threshold value based on your previous scan (previous document). By default, the threshold value is selected at 102 and is being set for regular paper DEVICE=C:\SCANDEV?.SYS /B102 However You can adjust it from 1 to 255, though it might cause the inconvenience to user who frequently switch between papers with different qualities and background colors. . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> f) Filter Setting: This function is for color dither prints. In reduce mode, one may observe some kind of texture lines in the output of a color dither print. However, by enlarging it, those texture lines disappeared. This is generally being referred as the filtering process. A uniform output color is being produced by averaging the value of a block and it's neighboring blocks. It is not as obverse as it sounds though it's true. By adding the switch /F1, DEVICE=C:\SCANDEV?.SYS /F0, it means auto filter, for 0 is auto filter, 1 is two pixels averaging, 2 is four pixels averaging, and 3 is off. By default, filter setting is being set at 3 (OFF). A Few points to note, for true color photograph, no filtering is necessary. Two pixels averaging is generally enough for color dither prints. . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> Description on Our Scanner =========================== The Scanner is only an input device. It is not the final solution. The output data that you get from the Scanner is linear and they go accordance to CCD. Unfortunately, human eyes and monitor display are not linear. Even some printers will not accept pure linear data. To produce a scanned image to look like the original one, trials and errors are usual for a beginner. Nevertheless, there are some short cuts in getting a better picture, but it all depends on what you finally want to do with it and the application software you will be using. If your purposes are presentation, image data base, multimedia, etc., that require only monitor display, then it will be necessary to do Gamma correction in the scanner driver (e.g., /g5 /c5, as described above). Normally, for a regular picture, set Gamma value for monitor to 1, within the scanning software. The reason behind is obverse: it is very unlikely that you would not output this image for further usage. Keeping in mind that the final software (e.g., Presentation, Image database, etc.,) may not have a built-in Gamma correction function. If you get a very dark picture on the screen, you need to re-adjust the "default" value. . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> The key point here is not to get cheated by your application's monitor Gamma value. Your actual image data can still be extremely dark (for human eyes). For WINRIX or PICTURE PUBLISHER 3.x (image capturing and editing software), we suggest /G4 /C4 (or /G5 /C5) respectively. However, you are free to set any value as the adjustable default value, e.g., /G0 /C0, and use the Scanner Calibration function in Picture Publisher to modify your scanned input(it is generally not recommended unless you are a well-experienced user). If you are a beginner trying to obtain an output to look like the original photo, try using the suggested initial value. Before dwelling into the action of scanning, there are a few points to note. *. If you want to judge the quality of a print-out, e.g., in PAGEMAKER or other software, try printing a demo picture that comes with the software and compares it with that on the screen. By doing this, you will get to know the printer's characteristic. If the demo print-out appeared too small to compare, you can also identify your printer's characteristic by reading the User's Guide. The last resort is to set device driver at /G0 (for gray print-out) or /C0 (for color print-out) and reboot the system. Select your monitor Gamma as approximate 2.2. If your application does not support . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> Gamma manipulation on the monitor, don't modify. Scan a picture and print out. If print-out appears too dark, modify device driver to /G5 for gray or /C5 for color. Select a higher value (e.g., /G8) if the picture is too dark and a lower value for a faded picture. Always remember to reboot your system after these changes. **. It is true that some application software do not specify the detailed usage of Gamma correction and at what stages they will modify the picture. Gamma correcting procedure can generally be applied either during (i) Scanning or (ii) Displaying. If it is done in the previous case, then your effort will be destroyed and you must try again. If not, you can treat it as monitor calibration. Either way, it is very inconvenient for having to physically change the value each time you scan or open an image. The saved image data though good for printing might not be good for appli- cations that only display images on monitors. ***. Quality of print: Though your laser printer can print at 300 dpi (dots per inch), but each dot is made up of either black or white (space or color) composed by dither pattern. Therefore the actual output might look fuzzy, for the printed resolution is only approximately 51 lpi (lines per . <<< Press any key for next page, or [ESC] to exit ReadMe >>> inch). This is much less as compared to the actual scanning resolution (300 dpi/300 lpi). Sometimes it is because that the printer driver is not combined with the printer calibrations. One should realize that this particular issue is printer related and is a complicated topic by itself to calculate the optimum value. The End . <<< Press any key to exit ReadMe >>>