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How to scan a document using Silverfast
- SilverFast is another program used to scan documents, and one that gives more control than just using the Epson Software. If you want better quality scans, use this program instead!
- Open SilverFast (if there is not a desktop shortcut, open up the File Explorer and choose This PC > OS Disk > Program Files > SilverFast Application > Silver Fast 8 > Silver Fast.exe).
- In SilverFast, there is a “prescan” option at the very top of the program, used to see what the scan is going to look like before you actually scan it. This means you will not have to scan a page multiple times to get it the way you want, and you will not have to use Photoshop to edit it later.
- On the top left there are several options: Positive; 48 -> 24 Bit; and Frame.
- Positive is for pictures and print documents. Clicking “Positive” will show you two other options, Kodachrome and Negative, which are both for slides and film.
- 48-24 Bit means your scan will be in color. Clicking this option gives you other color options, from greyscale to black and white. This choice depends on the kind of scan you want to make.
- Frame refers to the red marquee around your picture. Clicking “Frame” gives you several options for this feature, including reverting any changes you have made to the frame.
- Under these options is:
- Name (the name of your image),
- Path (where your image will save to),
- Format (how large you want your frame to be) and
- Preset (the DPI or PPI of your image – basically, the quality of your image. The higher the Preset the better the quality). Mess with these to see what you prefer for your scan.
- Under this is where the color correction options will appear. There are several color editing tools: Histogram, Auto CC (Color Correction), Global CC, or Selective CC. You can use any of these to change the colors of your image to suit your needs. Play around with them until you find something that you like!
- To the right of this is another bar with more options:
- the magnifying glass will make the image in your frame area larger or smaller;
- Rot/Flip will rotate or flip your image to make it appear upright
- Pipette is for finding the levels of colors
- USM is unsharp masking, and changes the “sharpness” of your image
- SRD is dust and scratch removal, for when your pictures or slides have minor flaws you want to remove
- AACO is Auto Adaptive Contrast Optimization, to lighten up dark areas without changing your midtones
- GANE is Grain and Noise Elimination, which influences the "graininess" of higher-resolution images
- The rest of the options are not for primary use, but you can look at them if you would like.