LaserSoft Imaging

INTRO:
We have purchased at work the A3 flatbed Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL. Along with it came Silverfast Ai 6.4.1R4B. We are using it with Adobe Photoshop CS2. We needed Ai mostly for the calibration feature, since we want to digitize old documents, photos, art work and we want to make sure the digital image files are an exact copy of the original. We are interested a lot in keeping correct metadata .

PROBLEM:
Scanning with Microtek Scanwizard Pro, no metadata are produced about the scanner in the Camera Data 1 tab of the File Info in Photoshop CS2. With Silverfast Ai v.6.4.1R4B the File Info contains information only about the Make and Model. No date or anything else. In Camera Data 2, just the dimensions (X,Y) and resolution (X,Y) and resolution unit. And although we have done the IT8 calibration in color space it says uncalibrated (I guess it has to do with the options we have in CMS tab - we ask it to embed the created ICC profile).

Questions:
1. Is there a way to acquire more information about the scanning procedure?

2. How can we embed correctly the created from IT8 calibration ICC profile to make correct images and so that it appears as well in the metadata?

Maroussa

Hello

1) We try to put in more Information into the Exif data. Could you name, what Information you like to have ?

2) The ColorSpace Value (switched off in current version of SilverFast for TIFF files) is mainly for JPG and only saying "sRGB" / "AdobeRGB" or "uncalibrated". This has nothing to do with the embedded Profile, which is used in first place.

kind regards

Hello,

I guess the metadata in the File Info Panel (and XMP) are more orientated to images captured with digital cameras. However, like the Make and Model, some information can be presented about scanned images as well.

We'd like to have the most of the possible technical metadata. Some of them do appear when you go to the advanced Tab, but not at the relative tab of the File Info. For example the Date Time is recorded, yet not shown at the Camera Data 1 tab. The bits per sample are recorded but not shown on the camera data 2 tab.

If it were possible we'd ideally want the capturing software (in this case Silverfast Ai v6.4.2r2b which would record the change in versions from image to image) and the scan time to be automatically recorded, however, I don't know if that is designed to be recorded. You can see that it is recorded via Photoshop when you open the plug in and not the launcher.

Do tell us if some of the above are possible or if we're asking too much.

Thanks a lot,

Maroussa

** also, does anyone know if we can write metadata about a specific area of an image with XMP via Photoshop/Bridge CS2 or via another software?

Hello,

The Metadata you ask for is called "Tiff / Exif". The Exif data are made for Digital cameras in first place. We write down some small things. As I know, the datetime is saved (in the Tiffpart, which is used as "last change"). Also the Software is saved in Tiff "Software" tag. With versionnumber.
Those Information are saved in the Tiff Header tags, where also the Make and Model could be found.

You could check with an Exif Viewer (if the file is JPG) or with the AsTiffTagViewer.

kind regards

This topic regarded the file info panel of the Photoshop CS2. The information may be recorded but it is not shown at the appropriate tab of the file panel (only at the advanced tab).

To reply about the color space mentionned in your previous reply. When we calibrate through HDR or even through Ai -when we scan- the color space is not recorded. When we open and save the same image via Photoshop -as TIFF- then this information is "revealed" even if no other modifications are done to the file. Just saving it in Photoshop adds that info as well as information about the software -being Photoshop CS2 Windows (although it was captured with Lasersoft Ai v.6).

There is one more question I would like to ask:
Where does the "tiff:DateTime" "exif:DateTimeDigitized" or "xap:CreateDate" information come from? Silverfast? Why would this information be recorded wrong by one month (while it is digitized on the 24th of July it would write 24th of June) ??

Thanks for answering my questions, although I don't really explain well what we really want to get

Maroussa

There are defined fields for the most Information, just Photoshop shows them later on.
If you click in SilverFast / Options/ CMS / Embedd Profile, then the Profile is embedded. If you scan into Photoshop, Photoshop takes the profile, and save this with the Image. When you scan directly to HD ("Normal (File)" instead of "Normal), then SilverFast saves the Profile into the file.
If SilverFast wouldn't save the profile into file (or give it to Photoshop), Photoshop couldn't save the profile either.

The Softwaretag is filled by the Software, which save the Image onto HD.

The month is one digit wrong. That a bug, which will be fixed with the 6.4.2r3 version commin.

kind regards

I hope the new version is out soon..

About other metadata now...

When we convert a (TIFF) file into another format (JPEG) and save it as a new file (of course) all the history metadata of the original file is lost and of course no info is recorded about the conversion on the new file.

I realize that this is also the case with Photoshop's batch actions (image processor script). Is there any way we can change this? If this information can be recorded when you do this function through Photoshop for an individual file why shouldn't this be the case for a batch action? what prevents it from recording it?

I can't tell what Photoshop does with the Metainformation. We put them into the files. Every other Software could discard this information, if the developer like to do so.
Looks like you need features of Photoshop to handle the file. Else you could save the file directly from SilverFast without put it through Photoshop. That would preserve the informations.
Photoshop saves some Informations also during conversation, mostly Make / Model and other Exif Information (cameraspecific). The Tiffinformations like software or datetime are overwritten.

kind regards

Please tell me, if you know, to make this clear in order to look for other solutions:

Is it up to Adobe Photoshop to record this information? OR does Silverfast HDR Studio keep information about this conversion and it is up to Photoshop to reveal it?
If it is the last one, does HDR Studio send this information to Photoshop ONLY when it is opened as plugin or as a launcher as well?

Would another image processing program record into the history metadata field the batch processing done with job manager of HDR Studio?

again thanks..

Maroussa

(does this interest anybody else? have any other digitization projects "battled" with this feature? I know Staffordshire Past Track has used Ai for the calibration but not what they did to import images and about metadata)

SilverFast record the information, and its up to Photoshop to reveal it. SilverFast save this data into file. Savin on HD or givin the image to Photoshop makes no difference (both, with launcher and started with Photoshop).
I donno exactly, but I think the most software but in his own marks (some discard all Tiff/Exif Informations)

kind regards

Could you please estimate when the new version with correct digitized date/time will be released? Should we wait for it by the end of this week? Tomorrow? Is it worth delaying our digitization?
OR is there way to correct already digitized files?

Maroussa

Hi,

There is no release date, but I think this will be next week for the new version.
At normal it is hard to change the ExifInformation later on, cause you need to rebuild the whole file. In this case a normal hexeditor could do the job, when you know how to work with this. There you could change the month one value up.
But there is no Software I know, which could change the Value automaticly.

kind regards