LaserSoft Imaging

I have SilverFast E-5.2.1r06 on a PowerMac G4/466 and MacOS 9.1 with my brand new SprintScan 4000. The application I am using is GraphicConverter PPC V4.1.

When I try to use the TWAIN interface it appears that almost nothing works. A window does popsup with several buttons on its left side, but beyond that:

1) Supposedly the Scan Pilot should come up the first time you run, but I've yet to see it.

2) Most of the buttons just pop up a tip when the mouse is over them, but do nothing when clicked. The color calibration button DOES work.

3) After a few scans, the application typically quits unexpectedly or else hangs --bye bye system.

What's wrong here?

If anyone knows of a cheap or free photo processing package I can download, perhaps I can determine whether GraphicConverter might be at fault.

Well, since my original post I discovered something else.

If I use GraphicConverter's AppleScript to call the twain interface, instead of doing so from the File menu, all the right windows come up. But the only thing you can do with most of them is to close them, which causes SilverFast to exit. The only window that functions at all is the one I described in the original post.

And the next time I use the File menu, the windows all show up that way too! But they still don't work.

I can run the SS4000 and SS120 from every Twain capable program on my Mac G4 with OS9.2.2 So it would appear your problem is likley more to do with GraphicConverter than SilverFast.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ilyons on 2002-01-03 19:28 ]</font>

It does appear that there is an interoperability problem. LaserSoft has finally told me that SF won't work with GraphicConverter. I'm trying to hook them up with the author of GraphicConverter to see if they might mutually want to fix that.

The latest oddness I've seen here:

Once I get the ScanPilot to show up (as described above in an earlier post), pressing "Enter" moves you from step to step in ScanPilot. But most of the windows ignore mouse clicks, not all the steps in ScanPilot do anything, and almost all of the other windows that come up are completely broken.

Only the tool that lets you draw compensation curves (is that the right name?) works at all, and then just the "log/linear" button and the slider next to it. You can mouse-click to the various fields, but keyboard input is ignored.

I'm not sure if you are experiencing a bug of SilverFast, but I do know when the Scan Pilot is active, it doesn't allow you to have complete manipulation over the dialogs... some features seem to disable when using Scan Pilot.

The best bet is to remember the steps of the scan pilot.. the order in which things are done. This is the key to good scans.

- Nick D.

Just in case anyone else is interested now or later:

LaserSoft Imaging eventually told me that SilverFast TWAIN won't work with GraphicConverter.

I have been unable to install the Printshop plugin (apparently since I don't have Printshop) so I haven't been able to check that out with GraphicConverter. But I've heard conflicting stories as to whether that plugin will work with anything except an actual copy of full Printshop, so I doubt it would be worth the effort.