LaserSoft Imaging

The manual states that there is a setting when using USM for
"sharpen from" to prevent highlights from being sharpened (especially the sky).
I'm using the Ai version for Epson 4870 with transparencies and this
option does not appear.
Has it been removed, or does it not exist for this combination of hardware/software.

Dear Robert Feindman.

Frankly an error slipped into the manual and the english translation. The "Sharpen from" slider appears only in the Negative-mode. At the moment the dialogue states "Sharpen down to" which will be corrected to "Sharpen from" in the next release.

Sorry about this error and thank you for informing us about it.

Kind regards.

So what settings should I use for USM to prevent the sky or other
light toned areas from being sharpened?

Dear Robert Feindman.

Obviously this very much depends on the image itself. A setting of 20% in the "Sharpen from" mode (negative) means that all greyscale tones above 20% will be sharpened.
The basic principle behind this setting is to prevent noise in the darker areas of an positive (or negativ) from being increased through sharpening.
If you want to prevent the light tone areas from being sharpened adjust the "Light edge / dark edge" sliders.
I have enclosed a small animation to visualize the feature.



Kind regards.