Version6.1.0r3

[nmoss]

Please excuse the length of this message but I have been frustrated with SF Ai version 6 for it's entire history and I would now like to vent a little.

I am using a Windows 98 SE system with a PIE 1800u scanner. The Twain version of SilverFast Ai is used with ThumbsPlus as the calling program. All scans are done on color negatives, mostly Kodak Gold.

I have just downloaded the latest version of SilverFast Ai (6.1.0r3) for the PIE scanners and there are some problems. Installation is interrupted twice with an error message "Internal error 25001. 1615. RegistrationCosting" etc (then stuff about MsDatabaseOpenView). This also shows up when the program is uninstalled.

Anyway, I continued through these errors and the program seemed to install properly and opened up first time when I tried a scan. However, the same problem ocurred as with previous versions of 6, the scan that transmits to the calling program is not close enough to the prescan image to be acceptable. It is "washed out" with too much intensity in green and blue and not enough in red. The range is also truncated with light colors saturating and dark areas dissapearing into the gloom. The histograms of the color channels are seriously deranged with inappropriate spikes all over the place.

This is why I am still using version 5.5.2r2 which is a wonderful program with a marvelous capacity to render the most complex colors in a predictable an accurate fashion (using the twain drivers to boot). Each time a new version of 6 comes out I install it and compare the performance against the output of 5.5 and as soon as it equals that standard I will switch. Not yet.

Unfortunately, version 6 is now completely broken as it only produces black screens on every scan! I uninstalled and reinstalled it but it still won't work. (I suspect there has been a bad interaction with version 5 which is still on the computer and still performing like a champ.) In any event, I'm not particulary bothered as version 5 is still quite superior to version 6 and I am not yet prepared to switch over.

It would be good to know that LaserSoft is aware of this problem and is working to fix it. It is sad that all the bells and whistles of version 6 seem to have got in the way of what was a brilliant program. I realize that this is probably not the case for many of the versions that run on different scanners and different computers but it would be good if LaserSoft checked to see what went wrong between version 5 and 6 in the PIE version.

Sorry again about the length of this message. It is wrirtten in the hope that it will be of some help to the programmers at LaserSoft in their efforts to get this program up to snuff.

Nicholas Moss

[LSI_Kratzenstein]

We are aware of the problems, which could occur with the PIE scanner with SilverFast. There are some problems :

Windows 98 SE and USB are not stable in any case. There is a bugfix (Q240075), but it seems, this is not the problem in your case.

PIE drivers for SilverFast changes very often, and with some difficulties. And there could be one of your problems. SilverFast tries to install the current drivers everytime you install this. Cause you have also the 5.5 version installed, it seemes, like the installer couldn't do this (maybe the error messages came from that). If you send me an email to kristian.kratzenstein@silverfast.com, i could send you the current drivers.

Not all Twain Host software supports the Twain standart full, in the way SilverFast need it. Please try also to install the Photoshop version, which installes a stand alone, which could be installed/runned without Photoshop.

kind regards