News
27. December 2010
Recently, the flatbed scanner Epson Perfection V330 Photo has entered the market as successor to the V300. The low price for this solid device with transparency unit makes the V330 interesting for amateur photographers and digital imaging entry-level users.
Photos, slides, negatives and filmstrips, documents and books - the Epson Perfection V330 scans almost everything. With version 6.6.2r3a SilverFast has now been specially adapted to the V330, for being able to guarantee best results.
and do also visit Epson Perfection V330 product page.
19. November 2010
The Programme for the Future-Economy (ZPW) brings together the most important economic and regional political subsidy measures from the state of Schleswig-Holstein. LaserSoft Imaging will also participate in this project in the context of the enhanced funding priority of the future issues innovation and knowledge.
"LaserSoft Imaging is participating in the German Programme for the Future-Economy (ZPW) of Schleswig-Holstein in the field of "encouraging innovations in enterprises" and is therefore receiving funds from the the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The ZPW has € 725 million to spend on economic and regional political support in Schleswig-Holstein in the period of 2007 - 2013. These funds consist of € 374 million from the ERDF, some € 173 million from the federal-state joint agreement "Improvement of Regional Economic Structures" (GRW) and about € 175 million from additional state funds."
17. November 2010
The German Mac magazine Macwelt has tested the OpticFilm 7600i, the latest film scanner from Plustek. At a favorable price this device is an instrument with high resolution and with relatively short scan times that is quite capable of delivering high-quality results.
Especially the included SilverFast software in the Ai IT8 Studio version has been appealing to the editors. Multi-Exposure and IT8 Calibration with included IT8 target have been satisfying.
You can find the complete article as a .pdf file here …
Please also visit our OpticFilm 7600i product page.
10. November 2010
Printer profiles are an important component for any color managed digital imaging workflow. For color-true, predictable and reproducible prints you usually need an additional measuring device. Professional photographer David Brooks has now discovered how easily a printer can be profiled using a flatbed scanner and SilverFast software.
Mr. Brooks as a long-time SilverFast user recommends the SilverFast IT8 version with printer calibration option for quick and easy scanner and printer profiling. You calibrate your scanner using a LaserSoft Imaging IT8 target with just 2 mouse-clicks, you print a test chart with your printer, you scan the test chart with your scanner. That's it.
You can read the complete article in Mr. Brook's Shutterbug Blog.
Learn more about the SilverFast ICC Printer Calibration.
2. November 2010
Epson GT-20000 - now with SilverFast Support
Please also visit our GT-20000 Product page.
28. October 2010
Scanners are mostly used to protect documents, photos, slides and negatives against loss on the one hand and to make them reproducible and available for digital media on the other hand. Some users have discovered very different, very specific applications of SilverFast for themselves. Scanography is one those applications. Here, some artists utilize the scanner and its very special and compared to a camera very different characteristics as a medium for creating their artworks.
You can find more information about scanner art on our website about scanography.
16. October 2010
Even in an age of increasing digital technology, classic film is still far from being obsolete. aphog (analog photo group) offers a common platform to all photographers, who are still or again using film.
The recent aphog photo competition was won by Frank Rapp. He was awarded with a SilverFast Archive Suite for his Epson scanner. Second and third awards went to Holm Wolschendorf and Yunhai Cui.
You may also like to visit the aphog website and Frank Rapp's fotocommunity portfolio. (both German)
14. October 2010
Macwelt, a renowned German Mac magazine, has tested Canon's new flatbed scanner - it was awarded the grade "good 1,7". Considering its low price, this is a remarkable result. The image sharpness that the 9000F delivers was mentioned especially positive.
The complete test is available on the Macwelt webpages. (German)
You can find more information on our CanoScan 9000F product page.
17. September 2010
David Brooks, editor for the Shutterbug Magazine, has tested the Epson Perfection V600 Photo with the SilverFast Archive Suite for the Shutterbug's annual imaging software update. Although David is working with SilverFast for many years, he is again impressed by the new workflow:
"Considering the amount of information scanned, I could not believe that the scanning and processing could be accomplished so rapidly."
You can download the entire article as a PDF file here.
Please do also visit our Epson V600 Photo product page.
16. September 2010
Right in time for presentation at the photokina 2010 Pentacon comes up with a new scanner camera - the Scan 7000. This camera features an impressive resolution of up to 20.000 x 20.000 pixels, and thus meets the highest standards, which are mainly required in the advertising and repro photography, in museums or engineering offices.
Read more about the photokina 2010 & SilverFast. Pentacon would be pleased to welcome you in Hall 3.1, stand B020.
14. September 2010
In the current, fourth issue 2010 of the digit! - a German professional magazine for digital images - the digitization of analog pictures is one of the main topics. Why the process of scanning still remains a more or less elaborate task is explained on five pages, but also how you can make it more easily and time-saving.
Wether the professional photographer wants to digitize his image archive, or the home user likes to scan his parents' slide collection, or there's only occasionally something to scan: The digitization of analog originals always involves a lot of manual work. This is the reason, why it is important, to think about a scanning concept before buying any hard- or software.
You can save a lot of work in the end, when you take the time to elaborate an adequate scanning workflow at the beginning. Therefore it is important to consider, among other things, what kind of originals should be scanned for what purpose. It is also worth to do some thinking on the data storage and backup, color management and indexing. For one component of every scanning concept the digit!'s editors' selection is always the same:
" Who wants to bring out his scanner's optimum and to make his workflow efficient, gets this with SilverFast scanning software from LaserSoft Imaging.".
Please also visit our Archive Suite info page for learn more about our optimum scanning workflow.
The complete article can be found in the fourth issue 2010 of the German imaging magazine digit!.
10. September 2010
The photokina is the world's most important trade fair for photography and imaging. LaserSoft Imaging will be on the site again this year.
Visit us from September 21st to 26th at the photokina in Cologne.
We look forward to you.
More about photokina 2010 & SilverFast.
1. September 2010
David Brooks as a photographer and editor is always interested in new photographic equipement and technologies. He has been digitizing his own work since the early 1990s, always striving to achieve the best possible image quality. Therefore, he has tested a wide range of flatbed and film scanners, but always took SilverFast as the best choice regarding the software component.
The new Plustek OpticFilm 7600i is the only dedicated film scanner on the market today; additionally it features impressive values on its data record sheet. David Brooks has written down his own thoughts and observations about this device operated with SilverFast in an interesting article for Shutterbug magazine.
You can download the entire article as a PDF file here.
Please do also visit our Plustek 7600i product page.
26. August 2010
Vikmans is the official SilverFast distributor in India. Visit Vikmans & SilverFast at the PC Expo, South India's biggest ICT trade fair, and become acquainted with the latest scanners and imaging technologies.
3rd to 6th September 2010
PC EXPO - booth no. 15
KTPO (Karnataka Trade Promotion Organisation)
ITPL (Air Conditioned) Whitefield
Bangalore, India
23. August 2010
A "Scanner for Connoisseurs" - the new CanoScan 9000F with SilverFast SE
headlines the FotoHits, a German photography magazine in their latest issue 9/2010.
Regarding its features the 9000F can keep up with the competitors, thus, its price is a real challenge in the view of the FotoHits' editorial staff. The new Canon scanner is ideal for many applications, an all-round device for almost any user group. The Grandiose here: SilverFast SE is already included.
FotoHits: "LaserSoft Imaging's SilverFast SE is well suited as the primary software for digitizing photos, […] It offers a variety of settings and outstanding image automatics for color optimization and image correction."
Note: Our launch discount of 25% on any SilverFast version and Upgrade for the Canon 9000F is valid just for a few more days, until end of august.
Please also visit our CanoScan 9000F product page ...
20. August 2010
My digital Secret Weapon - SilverFast HDR
As a photographer and editor for Shutterbug Magazine David Brooks works with SilverFast for many years. He appreciates SilverFast software for scanning, but also for image postprocessing of scanned images and especially of his digital camera shots. In this article he illustrates the differences between SilverFast HDR and conventional image editing software.
While a traditional image editing program applies every single processing step like tone, contrast and color balance adjustment immediately to the whole image, with SilverFast HDR any optimization just effects a virtual preview image. With this time-saving method all the processing is done at the end of the image optimization. The user benefits from this procedure especially when editing very large image files, like raw data scans.
David Brooks: "The unusual beauty of this Archive Suite is its very efficient "batch" scan capability that includes the infrared iSRD data in a 64bit raw scanner file.
Then when processed to a color corrected, adjusted final image with HDR the iSRD cleaning can be applied as part of the process to a finished image file.
This Archive Suite method is thus complete including cleaning and is very time efficient, particularly compared to doing raw file color correction and adjustment processing with a traditional image editor."
On the following 10 pages David Brooks describes his own HDR workflow step by step. The article, written as a guide gives a good impression of the performance of SilverFast HDR and could be a useful help for beginners.
You can download the entire article as a PDF file here.
4. August 2010
Review
- The new Plustek OpticFilm 7600i with SilverFast
For harmonizing the OpticFilm 7600i with SilverFast the companies of Plustek and LaserSoft Imaging have worked together closely when developing the scanner. This allows the 7600i to obtain best results, which are normally only achievable by devices of clearly higher-priced market segments.
Professional photographer Mark Segal has put the OpticFilm 7600i through its paces in a comparative test with the established scanners Nikon Super Coolscan 5000ED and Epson Perfection V750 Pro. Mark has used SilverFast with all three scanners to digitize 35mm color positives and negatives. Regarding the characteristics that are relevant for the scanning process like detail rendition, color consistency, dynamic range, speed and efficiency of dust and scratch removal the 7600i is hardly inferior to its competitors or performs even better. For this price range it's a real surprise!
Mark Segal concludes:
"The combination of the Plustek OpticFilm 7600i and SilverFast Ai Studio with Auto IT8 profiling provides a viable colour management solution for the scanner component of a colour-managed workflow. [...]
SilverFast iSRD works well with this scanner, which is a real boon to productivity in terms of obtaining clean scans in little time."
You can find the entire review on the Luminous Landscape homepage
or download it here as a PDF file.
20. July 2010
SilverFast Review - "A box of magic arrived on my doorstep recently."
Joan O’Brien, membership secretary of the North Coast Mac Users Group (NCMUG), has reviewed the SilverFast Archive Suite. As an photography amateur she has never used SilverFast before. Nevertheless, after a short learning curve, she was able to scan and optimize some very old material.
"The program is speedy and powerful and using just a fraction of its capabilities can produce good results, ..."
Joan has tested the SilverFast Archive Suite and she has given the opinion, that it could be the perfect solution for archiving processes. Batch processing with edge detection and automatic quality correction could save a lot of time.
You can read the complete review on page 16-18 of NCMUG's July newsletter. (.pdf)
9. July 2010
Kodak Professional Ektar 100
The finest, smoothest grain of color negative film in the world - now ideal for scanning!
With SilverFast NegaFix® you can easily and successfully scan and convert negative films into color-true positives. Starting with the SilverFast version 6.6.2r2 * we have added the current EKTAR 100, an advanced color film with extraordinary features, to the more than 120 already existing film profiles.
Take it from Kodak: "Featuring ISO 100 speed, high saturation and ultra-vivid color, EKTAR 100 offers the finest, smoothest grain of any color negative film available today.
Ideal for scanning, and offers extraordinary enlargement capability from a 35mm negative. A perfect choice for commercial photographers and advanced amateurs."
SilverFast NegaFix®
Comfortably create brilliant positive images from your negative films. Color casts are automatically removed and a slider feature provides a convenient way for you to adjust exposure. SilverFast Ai also allows you to apply your own NegaFix film profiles or customize existing profiles and save them for repeated use.
You can find out more about negative optimization with SilverFast NegaFix or read more details about the EKTAR 100 film on the Kodak website ...
* Note: Starting with version 6.6.2r2, all SilverFast versions for the scanner brands Epson, Canon, HP, Microtek, Agfa, Nikon, Pie, Reflecta, Mediax, Kodak, Plustek, Quato, Umax and Linotype include a Negafix film profile for the Kodak Professional EKTAR 100.
8. July 2010
New version online - 6.6.2r2
2. July 2010
Article: Proofing Your Negatives Digitally
The latest issue (July/August 2010) of the "photo technique" magazine features an interesting article on digitally proofing photographs, introducing a workflow using an Epson V750 paired with SilverFast Ai.
Author of this article is Jean-Christian Rostagni, who has lived in central North Carolina, USA since 1993. He has collaborated on projects with writer Clyde Edgerton, exhibited, taught and presented lectures on photography, and received honors from the Durham Arts Council among others. Rostagni’s publications, in addition to photo technique, include Le Monde, Elegant Bride, Marie-Claire and the O.E.C.D. Observer.
Mr. Rostagni's goal was to elaborate a workflow for proofing his films into full frame files that can be used for submissions or on his website, without apologies or large expenditure of time. He has chosen SilverFast Ai and a fluid mount set (without fluid) for an Epson V750 scanner. The fluid mount allows him to scan on the full 8x10" area while also scanning with a higher resolution lens system that focuses about 2mm above the bed. An anti-Newton glass on top assures perfect flatness of the film and avoids Newton rings. Rostagni describes his workflow (in short) as follows:
Rostagni: "For this, the Epson V750 paired with SilverFast Ai is the best choice I know."
You can read the full article here ... (.pdf)
16. June 2010
Test Report: Photographer John Barclay reviews the SilverFast Archive Suite
John Barclay is an award winning freelance photographer based in Bucks County, PA. John is a passionate photographer and enthusiastic workshop leader and his work has been published in a number of magazines and books.
John Barclay was recently asked by his sister, if he could suggest a solution for scanning a large quantity of family slides and negatives. He then tested the SilverFast Archive Suite with an Epson V700 and concluded:
"If you are looking for a simple, fast and efficient way to archive your precious family slides and negatives, I highly recommend SilverFast Archive Suite from LaserSoft Imaging."
For color accuracy, John started with the calibration of his scanner using the automatic SilverFast IT8 calibration because he doesn't like to spend a lot of time in Photoshop correcting his scans. For the second step, John tested the Auto Frame Detection and the batch scan option for scanning multiple images at one time. "What a time saver!"
John strongly suggests scanning in 48bit HDR or even in 64bit HDRi format for capturing as much data as possible. Another SilverFast feature John find noteworthy is Multi-Exposure, that increases the number of captured shades of gray (details) and reduces noise. John was very pleased with the SilverFast iSRD dust and scratch eliminating functionality as "... a very powerful feature exclusive to SilverFast products." The NegaFix negative to positive converting feature also left a favorable impression.
You can read the full test report on John Barclay's blog.
15. June 2010
CanoScan 9000F - Canon's new flagship
The new CanoScan 9000F will be available as of mid-June 2010. As the successor model of the effective 8800F, it features many improvements that make it perfect for scanning slides, film, negatives, photos and documents.
At a color depth of 48 bits the CCD sensor achieves a maximum optical resolution of 4.800 x 4.800 dpi for reflective originals and an amazing resolution of 9.600 x 9.600 dpi for transparent originals.
The awarded SilverFast SE software is included in the CanoScan 9000F's package of delivery.
SilverFast SE holds several advantages over the manufacturer's software for you. The excellent Auto-Adjust function as well as the professional dust and scratch removal iSRD®, the effectiveness of which can be adjusted by the user so that it's even applicable to B/W images and Kodachromes, are really convincing. NegaFix® gives you total control for converting negative film into positives - with more than 120 film profiles!
The professional SilverFast Ai IT8 Studio version features an additional fully automatic IT8 calibration, that color-calibrates the Canon 9000F with just a single mouse click. The award-winning SilverFast Multi-Exposure is also included.
With the launch of our software you will obtain a 25% discount on any SilverFast version or upgrade for the Canon 9000F until the end of August.
Please also visit our CanoScan 9000F product page ...
11. June 2010
Adobe Photoshop CS5: Use it with SilverFast!
Adobe's new Creative Suite containing the new Photoshop version CS5 has been released. We have adjusted our SilverFast software without delay, so that you can use SilverFast as a Photoshop plug-in with version 6.6.2r1 and later.
SilverFast is available for any current Mac or PC system. There is no support for the Photoshop 64bit version just yet. However, an additional CS5 32bit application, for which SilverFast has been optimized, will always be installed automatically.
As always, SilverFast is still available as a TWAIN module with other image processing software and as an independent stand-alone application, which we particularly recommend for quick processing and best results.
10. June 2010
New version online - 6.6.2r1
2. June 2010
Special upgrade offer now for additional scanners: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target set.
For the following scanners:
Version 6.6 incl. target set for 119,- $ *
(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until June 30th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system.
The target set contains a transparent 4x5" Fuji target and a reflective 5x7" Fuji target. 1. June 2010
Special upgrade offer now also for Nikon LS 40ED and LS 50ED as well as Reflecta iScan 3600 and CrystalScan 7200: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target.
Version 6.6
incl. 35mm target for 139,- $ *
(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until June 30th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system. 18. May 2010
The IPEX fair 2010 - LaserSoft Imaging will be there
The IPEX is the world's largest English presentation for print, publishing and media. It's taking place from May 18th to the 25th in NEC, Birmingham, England. This year, LaserSoft Imaging will participate in the fair sending Gerhard Wolff, who will introduce the brand-new CanoScan 9000F in conjunction with SilverFast at the Canon booth in hall 10.
If you have plans on visiting the IPEX trade fair, you may like to meet Mr. Wolff (stand 10-CDEF270). He will surely be glad and willing to answer your questions concerning SilverFast or the new Canon 9000F scanner.
More information regarding the IPEX fair you can get on the IPEX homepage...
18. May 2010
Special upgrade offer now also for Plustek Opticfilm 7200 and 7200i: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target.
Version 6.6
incl. 35mm target for 139,- $ *
(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until June 15th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system. 17. May 2010
NEW: Plustek OpticLab H850
A scanner for histology samples
Medical and botanical histology samples have never before been digitized so easily and quickly as with Plustek's new OpticLab H850.
Using SilverFast with this scanner for the lab work is especially easy and time saving.
If interested, please visit our produt page for the Plustek OpticLab H850 ... 14. May 2010
Price reductions: SilverFast products at a reduced rate for some scanners
We have considerably reduced prices for the SilverFast versions for the following scanner models due to general price alignments:
Special upgrade offer now also available for Plustek OpticPro ST48 and ST64 as well as for Microtek ScanMaker i700 and i800: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target set.
Version 6.6 incl. target set for 119,- $ *
(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until May 31th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system.
The target set contains a transparent 4x5" Fuji target and a reflective 5x7" Fuji target. 7. May 2010
Special upgrade offer now also for Canon CanoScan 8400F, 8600F, 8800F and 9950F: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target set.
Version 6.6 incl. target set for 119,- $ *
(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until May 31th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system.
The target set contains a transparent 4x5" Fuji target and a reflective 5x7" Fuji target. 3. May 2010
Special upgrade offer for Epson Perfection Photo scanners 3200, 4870, 4990 and V700: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target set.
The offer is only available for the Epson Photo scanners 3200, 4870, 4990 and V700.
(In the upcoming days we will expand this offer to further scanner models.)
In order to achieve the best-possible workflow quality for your digital image processing, you must begin with optimal color reproduction, which will ensure the maximum quality of your output. This is accomplished by the award-winning fully automatic IT8 scanner calibration, which is available as an upgrade offer for a limited time:
Version 6.6 incl. target set for 119,- $ *
(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until May 15th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system.
The target set contains a transparent 4x5" Fuji target and a reflective 5x7" Fuji target. 6. April 2010
New version online - 6.6.1r7
23. March 2010
Video Scanning Tutorial for the Epson Perfection V750 Pro
Due to the ongoing success of the Epson Perfection V750 Pro we would like to present the video tutorial by Vincent Oliver covering batch scanning once more.
Mr. Oliver is an Editor at photo-i and he periodically releases scanner and software reviews. He knows all the difficulties users may encounter when digitizing and optimizing film. With this video he demonstrates the perfect interaction of the V750 Pro and SilverFast.
Here you can visit our V750 Pro product page. 3. March 2010
NEW SilverFast Video
After the IT-Enquirer extensively covered SilverFast recently, Erik Vlietinck has made a video to demonstrate just how easy it is to bring color-faded negatives back to life in no time using the SilverFast Archive Suite.
(For the best view watch the video in HD fullscreen mode please.)
You can read the complete article here ... 26. February 2010
What can software do to improve a scan?
Quite a lot! Erik Vlietinck has ascertained this fact in his latest article for the IT-Enquirer.
Nowadays producing digital copies of photos and slides is fairly easy. Several scanner manufacturers have low-priced devices on the market that simply have to be connected to the computer to be detected automatically by actual operating systems and are then immediately ready to use.
The results of this are at utmost mediocre, though. To produce scans whose quality can compare to or exceed that of digital photographs, it's not sufficient to just use a very expensive scanner; the most important component is the scanner software.
IT-Enquirer about SilverFast: "Some software can get very near to perfect results, though. By exploiting modern scanners’ technical and optical capabilities to the fullest, the scanner software can do more than just turn on the lamp and move the scanning element. It can detect and remove dust speckles and scratches; it can sharpen the image and colour correct the image. It can even correct photographs that, due to old age, display colour shifts you normally can’t correct in one Photoshop session."
Besides iSRD® and HDRi the article introduces some other SilverFast features the author claims are responsible for producing near perfect results. Scanner specific data is saved with the image data, e.g. for a later automatic Unsharp-Masking, which takes into account the scanner's specific characteristics. When scanning transparencies SilverFast Multi-Exposure® is able to increase the scanner's dynamic range, i.e. the contrast range.
Color casts are reliably removed by an integrated color management, which does also allow the scanning of very challenging film types like Kodachrome slides. Therefore the automatic IT8 color calibration with a special calibration target produced by LaserSoft Imaging is especially helpful.
You can read the entire article here ... 15. January 2010
The optimum archiving solution: SilverFast Archive Suite
The latest issue 01/2010 of the French .psd PHOTOSHOP magazine features an enthused article about the SilverFast Archive Suite.
.psd magazine: "LaserSoft Imaging succeeded to develop a software that allows the effective digitization of large image collections in record time."
(cf. .psd magazine 01/2010 p.49)
The new 64-bit HDRi format, which contains the infrared channel's data aside from the usual image information, is introduced initially. These additional RAW scan infrared data can be used later on to remove dust and scratches with SilverFast iSRD®. The improved iSRD® uses more searching and detail saving than the usual iCE®, and operates up to 4x faster on systems with multi-core processors.
Some further SilverFast features are addressed in the second part of the article as well as the workflow of the Archive Suite in detail. 12. January 2010
Update: The improved Auto-Sharpening USM is now available for Canon and Nikon scanners
While this feature was previously available for EPSON scanners only, it can now be used with Canon and Nikon scanners as well.
Read more about the SilverFast Unsharp Masking.
8. January 2010
Filmscans that last forever - with SilverFast
"They lie in boxes and cases, they fade and mold - slides and negatives from many years of analogue photography."
This is the introduction to a detailed article on film scanning released in the latest issue 02/2010 of German MACup magazine. Problems that often occur when scanning older film and some basic tips to address them are covered as well as new and helpful technologies - also understandable for beginners.
The MACup editorial staff soon concludes: "Prerequisite for perfect scans of transparent originals is a proper film scanner. The device should feature an infrared sensor in any case, [...] and it should cooperate with the latest version of scan software SilverFast."
The second part starts with a detailed introduction of SilverFast, which explains important features like SilverFast Multi-Exposure®, iSRD® and the new 64-bit HDRi format. A following SilverFast workflow résumé completes the article.
Please read the entire article in the actual MACup magazine issue (German) or ...
... visit our HDRi website.
6. January 2010
A way to recover old Kodachrome treasures - with SilverFast Ai 6.6
After 75 years of production Kodak has discontinued the successful Kodachrome film in 2009. Due to the durability of these films, the treasure of film material that is lying in photographer's archives or private slide collections is hard to imagine. Kodachrome film has very special characteristics, because of which it is not easy to save these treasures, i.e. to digitize or to scan them. The German photography magazine fotoforum devotes an article to this topic in the first issue of 2010 and therefore tests the digitization of Kodachrome slides with SilverFast.
A Reflecta DigitDia 5000, which is capable of batch scanning up to 100 slides using a slide feeder and the SilverFast automatics, was used for the testings. The SilverFast Kodachrome profiles prevented the bluecast, that normally shows up when scanning Kodachromes. Perfect truecolor results were received after calibrating the scanner using a special Kodachrome IT8 target from LaserSoft Imaging. An automatic dust and scratch removal is very complicated with Kodachrome slides. Using SilverFast's iSRD® however, the editorial staff managed to quickly achieve impressive results.
The fotoforum's conclusion: "The scan software SilverFast is well suited for achieving great Kodachrome scans. The Kodachrome calibration ensures that Kodachromes are recognized colortruly without requiring the user to do extensive color corrections afterwards. Additionally SilverFast's dust and scratch removal iSRD does a good job of digitally cleaning the old Kodachrome slides."
Learn more about the SilverFast Kodachrome features and the Kodachrome targets on our websites.
Recently, the flatbed scanner Epson Perfection V330 Photo has entered the market as successor to the V300. The low price for this solid device with transparency unit makes the V330 interesting for amateur photographers and digital imaging entry-level users.
Photos, slides, negatives and filmstrips, documents and books - the Epson Perfection V330 scans almost everything. With version 6.6.2r3a SilverFast has now been specially adapted to the V330, for being able to guarantee best results.
Features:
Test SilverFast with your Epson V330 for free |
(Please click to enlarge) |
19. November 2010
The Programme for the Future-Economy (ZPW) brings together the most important economic and regional political subsidy measures from the state of Schleswig-Holstein. LaserSoft Imaging will also participate in this project in the context of the enhanced funding priority of the future issues innovation and knowledge.
"LaserSoft Imaging is participating in the German Programme for the Future-Economy (ZPW) of Schleswig-Holstein in the field of "encouraging innovations in enterprises" and is therefore receiving funds from the the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The ZPW has € 725 million to spend on economic and regional political support in Schleswig-Holstein in the period of 2007 - 2013. These funds consist of € 374 million from the ERDF, some € 173 million from the federal-state joint agreement "Improvement of Regional Economic Structures" (GRW) and about € 175 million from additional state funds."
17. November 2010
The German Mac magazine Macwelt has tested the OpticFilm 7600i, the latest film scanner from Plustek. At a favorable price this device is an instrument with high resolution and with relatively short scan times that is quite capable of delivering high-quality results.
Especially the included SilverFast software in the Ai IT8 Studio version has been appealing to the editors. Multi-Exposure and IT8 Calibration with included IT8 target have been satisfying.
|
Macwelt: "... Our first action was to profile the scanner using the IT8 target, which was perfectly and almost automatically done by SilverFast's profiling wizard [...]
The optical resolution of this dedicated 35mm film scanner is clearly an advantage, although, the device's dynamic range should get optimized by the time-consuming Multi-Exposure function of the very good scan software SilverFast Ai IT8 Studio." |
(Click to enlarge) |
You can find the complete article as a .pdf file here …
Please also visit our OpticFilm 7600i product page.
10. November 2010
Printer profiles are an important component for any color managed digital imaging workflow. For color-true, predictable and reproducible prints you usually need an additional measuring device. Professional photographer David Brooks has now discovered how easily a printer can be profiled using a flatbed scanner and SilverFast software.
Mr. Brooks as a long-time SilverFast user recommends the SilverFast IT8 version with printer calibration option for quick and easy scanner and printer profiling. You calibrate your scanner using a LaserSoft Imaging IT8 target with just 2 mouse-clicks, you print a test chart with your printer, you scan the test chart with your scanner. That's it.
| David Brooks: "It is not cheap, but SilverFast is good and much easier to use and more efficient than Photoshop. So don’t be afraid to learn new software. Once you have you will appreciate the advantages. Personally, I just wish Adobe would learn something from LaserSoft Imaging or better still SilverFast would become a full replacement of Photoshop." |
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You can read the complete article in Mr. Brook's Shutterbug Blog.
Learn more about the SilverFast ICC Printer Calibration.
2. November 2010
Epson GT-20000 - now with SilverFast Support
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As a faster A3 scanner, the Epson GT-20000 is particularly suitable for companies that need to scan large documents such as maps, books and magazines.
The adaptation of SilverFast specifically to the GT-20000 now allows optimal scanning quality and workflow performance with this device. |
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Please also visit our GT-20000 Product page.
28. October 2010
Scanners are mostly used to protect documents, photos, slides and negatives against loss on the one hand and to make them reproducible and available for digital media on the other hand. Some users have discovered very different, very specific applications of SilverFast for themselves. Scanography is one those applications. Here, some artists utilize the scanner and its very special and compared to a camera very different characteristics as a medium for creating their artworks.
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On our new website about scanography you will find information on the topic and some images as well as workflow descriptions by scanner artist Marsha Tudor and by Christian Staebler, who is webmaster of Scannography.org, which is the world's most important website about scanography. Here, many scanography artists have come together, who are currently also looking for a suitable venue to exhibit the artworks of over 30 scanographers.
More about this:  Scannography.org Info PDF
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You can find more information about scanner art on our website about scanography.
16. October 2010
Even in an age of increasing digital technology, classic film is still far from being obsolete. aphog (analog photo group) offers a common platform to all photographers, who are still or again using film.
The recent aphog photo competition was won by Frank Rapp. He was awarded with a SilverFast Archive Suite for his Epson scanner. Second and third awards went to Holm Wolschendorf and Yunhai Cui.
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Frank Rapp has been photographing since three decades with just a short stop off in the digital photography. Initial enthusiasm soon gave way to the realization that the quality cannot compete with conventional photography regarding resolution and dynamic range.
Frank Rapp: "Only the hybrid processing gave me the opportunity to photograph analog, but to transfer the costly and time-consuming elaboration of raw material from the "wet" darkroom to the "dry" computer workstation by scanning my slides and/or negatives. For scanning I use an Epson V750 for quite some time in connection with "SilverFast Ai". This gives me the best digital source material for further processing." |
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You may also like to visit the aphog website and Frank Rapp's fotocommunity portfolio. (both German)
14. October 2010
Macwelt, a renowned German Mac magazine, has tested Canon's new flatbed scanner - it was awarded the grade "good 1,7". Considering its low price, this is a remarkable result. The image sharpness that the 9000F delivers was mentioned especially positive.
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Beside the technical data, Macwelt writes, it is in particular the included software that is responsible for the good scanning results. And they further state:
"Scanner software SilverFast SE, which is included in delivery, is providing much better results. The range of adjustments is really wide and it's capable of rescuing even critically exposed images" |
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The complete test is available on the Macwelt webpages. (German)
You can find more information on our CanoScan 9000F product page.
17. September 2010
David Brooks, editor for the Shutterbug Magazine, has tested the Epson Perfection V600 Photo with the SilverFast Archive Suite for the Shutterbug's annual imaging software update. Although David is working with SilverFast for many years, he is again impressed by the new workflow:
"Considering the amount of information scanned, I could not believe that the scanning and processing could be accomplished so rapidly."
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The 64bit HDRi RAW data format allows a quick scanning and saving of any capturable image information into an archive. When processing these files later the contained infrared information are taken for a dust and scratch removal using the advanced SilverFast iSRD® technology: "The image cleaning is now visually controllable, fast, and effective." David Brooks: "Just buying inexpensive hardware may be enough for some, but having a good marriage between hardware and software produces a superior result in all ways, …" |
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You can download the entire article as a PDF file here.
Please do also visit our Epson V600 Photo product page.
16. September 2010
Right in time for presentation at the photokina 2010 Pentacon comes up with a new scanner camera - the Scan 7000. This camera features an impressive resolution of up to 20.000 x 20.000 pixels, and thus meets the highest standards, which are mainly required in the advertising and repro photography, in museums or engineering offices.
For the customer can take full advantage of the new product's technical qualities to work efficiently with a well-thought-out workflow, Pentacon has chosen to operate the Scan 7000 with the renowned scanner software from LaserSoft Imaging. The top level version, the SilverFast Archive Suite is included in every camera's delivery.
 Scan 7000 & SilverFast workflow info sheet as PDF
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Read more about the photokina 2010 & SilverFast. Pentacon would be pleased to welcome you in Hall 3.1, stand B020.
14. September 2010
In the current, fourth issue 2010 of the digit! - a German professional magazine for digital images - the digitization of analog pictures is one of the main topics. Why the process of scanning still remains a more or less elaborate task is explained on five pages, but also how you can make it more easily and time-saving.
Wether the professional photographer wants to digitize his image archive, or the home user likes to scan his parents' slide collection, or there's only occasionally something to scan: The digitization of analog originals always involves a lot of manual work. This is the reason, why it is important, to think about a scanning concept before buying any hard- or software.
You can save a lot of work in the end, when you take the time to elaborate an adequate scanning workflow at the beginning. Therefore it is important to consider, among other things, what kind of originals should be scanned for what purpose. It is also worth to do some thinking on the data storage and backup, color management and indexing. For one component of every scanning concept the digit!'s editors' selection is always the same:
" Who wants to bring out his scanner's optimum and to make his workflow efficient, gets this with SilverFast scanning software from LaserSoft Imaging.".
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"The last mohican on the scanner software market. […] SilverFast's possibilities go beyond those of the included programs." The IT8 calibration ensures a correct color management, SilverFast Multi-Exposure® and the RAW workflow help to capture as many information as possible at all. To conclude the article LaserSoft Imaging employee Gerhard Wolff gives a few tips for an efficient scanning workflow. |
Please also visit our Archive Suite info page for learn more about our optimum scanning workflow.
The complete article can be found in the fourth issue 2010 of the German imaging magazine digit!.
10. September 2010
The photokina is the world's most important trade fair for photography and imaging. LaserSoft Imaging will be on the site again this year.
Visit us from September 21st to 26th at the photokina in Cologne.
We look forward to you.
More about photokina 2010 & SilverFast.
1. September 2010
David Brooks as a photographer and editor is always interested in new photographic equipement and technologies. He has been digitizing his own work since the early 1990s, always striving to achieve the best possible image quality. Therefore, he has tested a wide range of flatbed and film scanners, but always took SilverFast as the best choice regarding the software component.
The new Plustek OpticFilm 7600i is the only dedicated film scanner on the market today; additionally it features impressive values on its data record sheet. David Brooks has written down his own thoughts and observations about this device operated with SilverFast in an interesting article for Shutterbug magazine.
| David Brooks concludes: "So, if you want a new, high-performance 35mm film scanner at an affordable cost, this is it. As far as the performance of the hardware and SilverFast software is concerned, it provides better scans of 35mm film than any other scanner I have used, and that includes all of the popular brands and models of the past." |
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Please do also visit our Plustek 7600i product page.
26. August 2010
Vikmans is the official SilverFast distributor in India. Visit Vikmans & SilverFast at the PC Expo, South India's biggest ICT trade fair, and become acquainted with the latest scanners and imaging technologies.
3rd to 6th September 2010
PC EXPO - booth no. 15
KTPO (Karnataka Trade Promotion Organisation)
ITPL (Air Conditioned) Whitefield
Bangalore, India
23. August 2010
A "Scanner for Connoisseurs" - the new CanoScan 9000F with SilverFast SE
headlines the FotoHits, a German photography magazine in their latest issue 9/2010.
Regarding its features the 9000F can keep up with the competitors, thus, its price is a real challenge in the view of the FotoHits' editorial staff. The new Canon scanner is ideal for many applications, an all-round device for almost any user group. The Grandiose here: SilverFast SE is already included.
FotoHits: "LaserSoft Imaging's SilverFast SE is well suited as the primary software for digitizing photos, […] It offers a variety of settings and outstanding image automatics for color optimization and image correction."
Note: Our launch discount of 25% on any SilverFast version and Upgrade for the Canon 9000F is valid just for a few more days, until end of august.Please also visit our CanoScan 9000F product page ...
20. August 2010
My digital Secret Weapon - SilverFast HDR
As a photographer and editor for Shutterbug Magazine David Brooks works with SilverFast for many years. He appreciates SilverFast software for scanning, but also for image postprocessing of scanned images and especially of his digital camera shots. In this article he illustrates the differences between SilverFast HDR and conventional image editing software.
While a traditional image editing program applies every single processing step like tone, contrast and color balance adjustment immediately to the whole image, with SilverFast HDR any optimization just effects a virtual preview image. With this time-saving method all the processing is done at the end of the image optimization. The user benefits from this procedure especially when editing very large image files, like raw data scans.
David Brooks: "The unusual beauty of this Archive Suite is its very efficient "batch" scan capability that includes the infrared iSRD data in a 64bit raw scanner file.
Then when processed to a color corrected, adjusted final image with HDR the iSRD cleaning can be applied as part of the process to a finished image file.
This Archive Suite method is thus complete including cleaning and is very time efficient, particularly compared to doing raw file color correction and adjustment processing with a traditional image editor."
On the following 10 pages David Brooks describes his own HDR workflow step by step. The article, written as a guide gives a good impression of the performance of SilverFast HDR and could be a useful help for beginners.
You can download the entire article as a PDF file here.
4. August 2010
Review
- The new Plustek OpticFilm 7600i with SilverFast
For harmonizing the OpticFilm 7600i with SilverFast the companies of Plustek and LaserSoft Imaging have worked together closely when developing the scanner. This allows the 7600i to obtain best results, which are normally only achievable by devices of clearly higher-priced market segments.
Professional photographer Mark Segal has put the OpticFilm 7600i through its paces in a comparative test with the established scanners Nikon Super Coolscan 5000ED and Epson Perfection V750 Pro. Mark has used SilverFast with all three scanners to digitize 35mm color positives and negatives. Regarding the characteristics that are relevant for the scanning process like detail rendition, color consistency, dynamic range, speed and efficiency of dust and scratch removal the 7600i is hardly inferior to its competitors or performs even better. For this price range it's a real surprise!
Mark Segal concludes:"The combination of the Plustek OpticFilm 7600i and SilverFast Ai Studio with Auto IT8 profiling provides a viable colour management solution for the scanner component of a colour-managed workflow. [...]
SilverFast iSRD works well with this scanner, which is a real boon to productivity in terms of obtaining clean scans in little time."
You can find the entire review on the Luminous Landscape homepage
or download it here as a PDF file.
20. July 2010
SilverFast Review - "A box of magic arrived on my doorstep recently."
Joan O’Brien, membership secretary of the North Coast Mac Users Group (NCMUG), has reviewed the SilverFast Archive Suite. As an photography amateur she has never used SilverFast before. Nevertheless, after a short learning curve, she was able to scan and optimize some very old material.
"The program is speedy and powerful and using just a fraction of its capabilities can produce good results, ..."
| Faded photos from the 1890's, family photos from 1960's and 70's with red cast and even old negatives and slides have proved to be no problem for Joan. She quickly and easily restored details and original colors using the SilverFast automatics. The ScanPilot - a step by step guiding system - was a great help to familiarize with the new software. |
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Joan has tested the SilverFast Archive Suite and she has given the opinion, that it could be the perfect solution for archiving processes. Batch processing with edge detection and automatic quality correction could save a lot of time.
You can read the complete review on page 16-18 of NCMUG's July newsletter. (.pdf)
9. July 2010
Kodak Professional Ektar 100
The finest, smoothest grain of color negative film in the world - now ideal for scanning!
With SilverFast NegaFix® you can easily and successfully scan and convert negative films into color-true positives. Starting with the SilverFast version 6.6.2r2 * we have added the current EKTAR 100, an advanced color film with extraordinary features, to the more than 120 already existing film profiles.
Take it from Kodak: "Featuring ISO 100 speed, high saturation and ultra-vivid color, EKTAR 100 offers the finest, smoothest grain of any color negative film available today.
Ideal for scanning, and offers extraordinary enlargement capability from a 35mm negative. A perfect choice for commercial photographers and advanced amateurs."
SilverFast NegaFix®
Comfortably create brilliant positive images from your negative films. Color casts are automatically removed and a slider feature provides a convenient way for you to adjust exposure. SilverFast Ai also allows you to apply your own NegaFix film profiles or customize existing profiles and save them for repeated use.
| The NegaFix negative conversion is so easy to use: |
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You can find out more about negative optimization with SilverFast NegaFix or read more details about the EKTAR 100 film on the Kodak website ...
* Note: Starting with version 6.6.2r2, all SilverFast versions for the scanner brands Epson, Canon, HP, Microtek, Agfa, Nikon, Pie, Reflecta, Mediax, Kodak, Plustek, Quato, Umax and Linotype include a Negafix film profile for the Kodak Professional EKTAR 100.
8. July 2010
New version online - 6.6.2r22. July 2010
Article: Proofing Your Negatives Digitally
The latest issue (July/August 2010) of the "photo technique" magazine features an interesting article on digitally proofing photographs, introducing a workflow using an Epson V750 paired with SilverFast Ai.
Author of this article is Jean-Christian Rostagni, who has lived in central North Carolina, USA since 1993. He has collaborated on projects with writer Clyde Edgerton, exhibited, taught and presented lectures on photography, and received honors from the Durham Arts Council among others. Rostagni’s publications, in addition to photo technique, include Le Monde, Elegant Bride, Marie-Claire and the O.E.C.D. Observer.
Mr. Rostagni's goal was to elaborate a workflow for proofing his films into full frame files that can be used for submissions or on his website, without apologies or large expenditure of time. He has chosen SilverFast Ai and a fluid mount set (without fluid) for an Epson V750 scanner. The fluid mount allows him to scan on the full 8x10" area while also scanning with a higher resolution lens system that focuses about 2mm above the bed. An anti-Newton glass on top assures perfect flatness of the film and avoids Newton rings. Rostagni describes his workflow (in short) as follows:
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Rostagni: "For this, the Epson V750 paired with SilverFast Ai is the best choice I know."
You can read the full article here ... (.pdf)
16. June 2010
Test Report: Photographer John Barclay reviews the SilverFast Archive Suite
John Barclay is an award winning freelance photographer based in Bucks County, PA. John is a passionate photographer and enthusiastic workshop leader and his work has been published in a number of magazines and books.
John Barclay was recently asked by his sister, if he could suggest a solution for scanning a large quantity of family slides and negatives. He then tested the SilverFast Archive Suite with an Epson V700 and concluded:
"If you are looking for a simple, fast and efficient way to archive your precious family slides and negatives, I highly recommend SilverFast Archive Suite from LaserSoft Imaging."
For color accuracy, John started with the calibration of his scanner using the automatic SilverFast IT8 calibration because he doesn't like to spend a lot of time in Photoshop correcting his scans. For the second step, John tested the Auto Frame Detection and the batch scan option for scanning multiple images at one time. "What a time saver!"
John strongly suggests scanning in 48bit HDR or even in 64bit HDRi format for capturing as much data as possible. Another SilverFast feature John find noteworthy is Multi-Exposure, that increases the number of captured shades of gray (details) and reduces noise. John was very pleased with the SilverFast iSRD dust and scratch eliminating functionality as "... a very powerful feature exclusive to SilverFast products." The NegaFix negative to positive converting feature also left a favorable impression.
| John Barclay: "I like being able to scan HDR files knowing I’m capturing as much data as possible. [...] Having Multi-Pass and Multi-Exposure assures that I’ll have clean files with as much dynamic range and detail possible. HDRi and iSRD is very helpful with those images that had lots of dust and scratches and works very well. The job manager in SilverFast HDR made the process of final output a breeze!" |
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15. June 2010
CanoScan 9000F - Canon's new flagship
The new CanoScan 9000F will be available as of mid-June 2010. As the successor model of the effective 8800F, it features many improvements that make it perfect for scanning slides, film, negatives, photos and documents.
At a color depth of 48 bits the CCD sensor achieves a maximum optical resolution of 4.800 x 4.800 dpi for reflective originals and an amazing resolution of 9.600 x 9.600 dpi for transparent originals.
The awarded SilverFast SE software is included in the CanoScan 9000F's package of delivery.
SilverFast SE holds several advantages over the manufacturer's software for you. The excellent Auto-Adjust function as well as the professional dust and scratch removal iSRD®, the effectiveness of which can be adjusted by the user so that it's even applicable to B/W images and Kodachromes, are really convincing. NegaFix® gives you total control for converting negative film into positives - with more than 120 film profiles!
The professional SilverFast Ai IT8 Studio version features an additional fully automatic IT8 calibration, that color-calibrates the Canon 9000F with just a single mouse click. The award-winning SilverFast Multi-Exposure is also included.
With the launch of our software you will obtain a 25% discount on any SilverFast version or upgrade for the Canon 9000F until the end of August.Please also visit our CanoScan 9000F product page ...
11. June 2010
Adobe Photoshop CS5: Use it with SilverFast!
Adobe's new Creative Suite containing the new Photoshop version CS5 has been released. We have adjusted our SilverFast software without delay, so that you can use SilverFast as a Photoshop plug-in with version 6.6.2r1 and later.
SilverFast is available for any current Mac or PC system. There is no support for the Photoshop 64bit version just yet. However, an additional CS5 32bit application, for which SilverFast has been optimized, will always be installed automatically.
As always, SilverFast is still available as a TWAIN module with other image processing software and as an independent stand-alone application, which we particularly recommend for quick processing and best results.
10. June 2010
New version online - 6.6.2r12. June 2010
Special upgrade offer now for additional scanners: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target set.
For the following scanners:
- Epson Perfection 2400, 2450 and 4490
- Microtek ScanMaker 6100
- Umax Powerlook 1000, 1100 and 2100XL *
- Umax Astra 2200, 4500, 4700, 6400 and 6450 *
Version 6.6 incl. target set for 119,- $ *(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until June 30th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system.
The target set contains a transparent 4x5" Fuji target and a reflective 5x7" Fuji target. 1. June 2010
Special upgrade offer now also for Nikon LS 40ED and LS 50ED as well as Reflecta iScan 3600 and CrystalScan 7200: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target.
Version 6.6incl. 35mm target for 139,- $ *
(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until June 30th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system. 18. May 2010
The IPEX fair 2010 - LaserSoft Imaging will be there
The IPEX is the world's largest English presentation for print, publishing and media. It's taking place from May 18th to the 25th in NEC, Birmingham, England. This year, LaserSoft Imaging will participate in the fair sending Gerhard Wolff, who will introduce the brand-new CanoScan 9000F in conjunction with SilverFast at the Canon booth in hall 10.
If you have plans on visiting the IPEX trade fair, you may like to meet Mr. Wolff (stand 10-CDEF270). He will surely be glad and willing to answer your questions concerning SilverFast or the new Canon 9000F scanner.
More information regarding the IPEX fair you can get on the IPEX homepage...
18. May 2010
Special upgrade offer now also for Plustek Opticfilm 7200 and 7200i: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target.
Version 6.6incl. 35mm target for 139,- $ *
(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until June 15th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system. 17. May 2010
NEW: Plustek OpticLab H850A scanner for histology samples
Medical and botanical histology samples have never before been digitized so easily and quickly as with Plustek's new OpticLab H850.
Using SilverFast with this scanner for the lab work is especially easy and time saving.
If interested, please visit our produt page for the Plustek OpticLab H850 ... 14. May 2010
Price reductions: SilverFast products at a reduced rate for some scanners
We have considerably reduced prices for the SilverFast versions for the following scanner models due to general price alignments:
- Crosfield - C 200
- Heidelberg - Circon, Quickstep and Saphir
- Heidelberg - LinoScan - 1400, 1450, 1800, 2200, 2400XL and 2650
- Howtek - D2500, D4000/4500, D5500, D6500 and D7500
- Storm - Scan Pro Drummer
Special upgrade offer now also available for Plustek OpticPro ST48 and ST64 as well as for Microtek ScanMaker i700 and i800: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target set.
Version 6.6 incl. target set for 119,- $ *(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until May 31th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system.
The target set contains a transparent 4x5" Fuji target and a reflective 5x7" Fuji target. 7. May 2010
Special upgrade offer now also for Canon CanoScan 8400F, 8600F, 8800F and 9950F: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target set.
Version 6.6 incl. target set for 119,- $ *(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until May 31th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system.
The target set contains a transparent 4x5" Fuji target and a reflective 5x7" Fuji target. 3. May 2010
Special upgrade offer for Epson Perfection Photo scanners 3200, 4870, 4990 and V700: Upgrade from SilverFast SE to SilverFast Ai with IT8 color calibration including a free target set.
The offer is only available for the Epson Photo scanners 3200, 4870, 4990 and V700.
(In the upcoming days we will expand this offer to further scanner models.)
In order to achieve the best-possible workflow quality for your digital image processing, you must begin with optimal color reproduction, which will ensure the maximum quality of your output. This is accomplished by the award-winning fully automatic IT8 scanner calibration, which is available as an upgrade offer for a limited time:
Version 6.6 incl. target set for 119,- $ *(to our online shop)
Further details about this special upgrade offer you can access here...
* Note: Please take advantage of this offer only valid until May 15th, 2010. This offer is not combinable with a coupon code. Please have your current SilverFast SE serial number ready. Please check the compatibility of the software and its features with your device and operating system.
The target set contains a transparent 4x5" Fuji target and a reflective 5x7" Fuji target. 6. April 2010
New version online - 6.6.1r723. March 2010
Video Scanning Tutorial for the Epson Perfection V750 ProDue to the ongoing success of the Epson Perfection V750 Pro we would like to present the video tutorial by Vincent Oliver covering batch scanning once more.
Mr. Oliver is an Editor at photo-i and he periodically releases scanner and software reviews. He knows all the difficulties users may encounter when digitizing and optimizing film. With this video he demonstrates the perfect interaction of the V750 Pro and SilverFast.
Here you can visit our V750 Pro product page. 3. March 2010
NEW SilverFast VideoAfter the IT-Enquirer extensively covered SilverFast recently, Erik Vlietinck has made a video to demonstrate just how easy it is to bring color-faded negatives back to life in no time using the SilverFast Archive Suite.
(For the best view watch the video in HD fullscreen mode please.)
You can read the complete article here ... 26. February 2010
What can software do to improve a scan?Quite a lot! Erik Vlietinck has ascertained this fact in his latest article for the IT-Enquirer.
Nowadays producing digital copies of photos and slides is fairly easy. Several scanner manufacturers have low-priced devices on the market that simply have to be connected to the computer to be detected automatically by actual operating systems and are then immediately ready to use.
The results of this are at utmost mediocre, though. To produce scans whose quality can compare to or exceed that of digital photographs, it's not sufficient to just use a very expensive scanner; the most important component is the scanner software.
IT-Enquirer about SilverFast: "Some software can get very near to perfect results, though. By exploiting modern scanners’ technical and optical capabilities to the fullest, the scanner software can do more than just turn on the lamp and move the scanning element. It can detect and remove dust speckles and scratches; it can sharpen the image and colour correct the image. It can even correct photographs that, due to old age, display colour shifts you normally can’t correct in one Photoshop session."
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In SilverFast Archive Suite version 6.6.1 the 64-bit HDRi color files and 32-bit grayscale files contain all readable image information including the information of modern scanners’ infrared channels, using this data for image optimization, e.g. dust and scratch removal." |
Besides iSRD® and HDRi the article introduces some other SilverFast features the author claims are responsible for producing near perfect results. Scanner specific data is saved with the image data, e.g. for a later automatic Unsharp-Masking, which takes into account the scanner's specific characteristics. When scanning transparencies SilverFast Multi-Exposure® is able to increase the scanner's dynamic range, i.e. the contrast range.
Color casts are reliably removed by an integrated color management, which does also allow the scanning of very challenging film types like Kodachrome slides. Therefore the automatic IT8 color calibration with a special calibration target produced by LaserSoft Imaging is especially helpful.
You can read the entire article here ... 15. January 2010
The optimum archiving solution: SilverFast Archive SuiteThe latest issue 01/2010 of the French .psd PHOTOSHOP magazine features an enthused article about the SilverFast Archive Suite.
.psd magazine: "LaserSoft Imaging succeeded to develop a software that allows the effective digitization of large image collections in record time."
(cf. .psd magazine 01/2010 p.49)
The new 64-bit HDRi format, which contains the infrared channel's data aside from the usual image information, is introduced initially. These additional RAW scan infrared data can be used later on to remove dust and scratches with SilverFast iSRD®. The improved iSRD® uses more searching and detail saving than the usual iCE®, and operates up to 4x faster on systems with multi-core processors.
Some further SilverFast features are addressed in the second part of the article as well as the workflow of the Archive Suite in detail. 12. January 2010
Update: The improved Auto-Sharpening USM is now available for Canon and Nikon scanners
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With version 6.6.1r4b SilverFast saves scanner related information along with the image data. This allows an advanced automatic Unsharp Masking for the later post-processing with SilverFast HDR, which takes the specific scanner details into account and is therefore able to produce brilliant, pin sharp images. |
While this feature was previously available for EPSON scanners only, it can now be used with Canon and Nikon scanners as well.
Read more about the SilverFast Unsharp Masking.
8. January 2010
Filmscans that last forever - with SilverFast"They lie in boxes and cases, they fade and mold - slides and negatives from many years of analogue photography."
This is the introduction to a detailed article on film scanning released in the latest issue 02/2010 of German MACup magazine. Problems that often occur when scanning older film and some basic tips to address them are covered as well as new and helpful technologies - also understandable for beginners.
The MACup editorial staff soon concludes: "Prerequisite for perfect scans of transparent originals is a proper film scanner. The device should feature an infrared sensor in any case, [...] and it should cooperate with the latest version of scan software SilverFast."
The second part starts with a detailed introduction of SilverFast, which explains important features like SilverFast Multi-Exposure®, iSRD® and the new 64-bit HDRi format. A following SilverFast workflow résumé completes the article.
Please read the entire article in the actual MACup magazine issue (German) or ...
... visit our HDRi website.
6. January 2010
A way to recover old Kodachrome treasures - with SilverFast Ai 6.6After 75 years of production Kodak has discontinued the successful Kodachrome film in 2009. Due to the durability of these films, the treasure of film material that is lying in photographer's archives or private slide collections is hard to imagine. Kodachrome film has very special characteristics, because of which it is not easy to save these treasures, i.e. to digitize or to scan them. The German photography magazine fotoforum devotes an article to this topic in the first issue of 2010 and therefore tests the digitization of Kodachrome slides with SilverFast.
A Reflecta DigitDia 5000, which is capable of batch scanning up to 100 slides using a slide feeder and the SilverFast automatics, was used for the testings. The SilverFast Kodachrome profiles prevented the bluecast, that normally shows up when scanning Kodachromes. Perfect truecolor results were received after calibrating the scanner using a special Kodachrome IT8 target from LaserSoft Imaging. An automatic dust and scratch removal is very complicated with Kodachrome slides. Using SilverFast's iSRD® however, the editorial staff managed to quickly achieve impressive results.
The fotoforum's conclusion: "The scan software SilverFast is well suited for achieving great Kodachrome scans. The Kodachrome calibration ensures that Kodachromes are recognized colortruly without requiring the user to do extensive color corrections afterwards. Additionally SilverFast's dust and scratch removal iSRD does a good job of digitally cleaning the old Kodachrome slides."
Learn more about the SilverFast Kodachrome features and the Kodachrome targets on our websites.
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