Hi folks...

I have been trying out Vuescan. I scan a lot of books, that are
similar to comics - cartoon-type drawings on off-white
recycled/newspaper-like paper.

Anyway, on the scanner (HP ScanJet 4100C), I scan these on the "color
drawings" setting in the HP PrecisionScan LT software. This made all
blank areas of the page would print perfectly white. (If scanned as
"color photo", little dots of ink cover all the blank areas of the
page, effectively trying to print the actual color of the original's
paper, if you know what I mean.) Or to describe it another way,
scanning as a "color drawing" prevents capturing what was on the
reverse side of the original.

I cannot get even close to the same result on Vuescan. I've fiddled
with combinations of settings for hours. If I use "line drawing"
(which you would think would suit a cartoon) a LOT of detail is lost.
Many bits of the image disappear and winding the color up far enough
to see them, turns colors black.

If I scan as "magazine", it is too washed-out, as if my eyesight is
failing. Fiddling with settings doesn't improve the situation much in
either case.

Then I thought I'd scan with the HP software to have something to
compare with, while fiddling with the Vuescan settings. I instantly
get a bright, clear, crisp scan with all white blank areas - on the
default HP setting.

It's sad really. I hate using the HP software, because I have to
reset the settings with every new scan. What a pity Vuescan is far
from the hype on the author's site: "higher quality scans than the
software that comes with your scanner."

Hm... I wish.

Ah well... Can anyone else suggest a good third-party scanning
software?

Allan

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 18:20:41 +1000, Allan <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>I have been trying out Vuescan. I scan a lot of books, that are
>similar to comics - cartoon-type drawings on off-white
>recycled/newspaper-like paper.
....
>Then I thought I'd scan with the HP software to have something to
>compare with, while fiddling with the Vuescan settings. I instantly
>get a bright, clear, crisp scan with all white blank areas - on the
>default HP setting.
>
>It's sad really. I hate using the HP software, because I have to
>reset the settings with every new scan. What a pity Vuescan is far
>from the hype on the author's site: "higher quality scans than the
>software that comes with your scanner."
>
>Hm... I wish.

At a risk of defending Vuescan but are you sure your HP software isn't
doing all the editing (i.e. setting the black and white points
automatically) resulting in pure white background. You should compare
that to the default Vuescan settings (delete Vuescan.ini and rerun).

Vuescan doesn't really have a user interface so it's very easy to mess
things up if you do anything other than use its default settings.

Of course, Vuescan is also notoriously buggy and unreliable so even
when you do use correct settings it can (and does) regularly produce
corrupt output.

>Ah well... Can anyone else suggest a good third-party scanning
>software?

Essentially the only other alternative is (somewhat pricey) SilverFast

http://www.silverfast.com/

You can download a free trial version but you have to navigate a maze
in order to get to and download a specific version for your scanner.

Don.

"Allan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
SNIP
> I hate using the HP software, because I have to reset the settings
> with every new scan. What a pity Vuescan is far from the hype
> on the author's site: "higher quality scans than the software that
> comes with your scanner."

If you tell us what settings you used for Whitepoint on the Color Tab,
then maybe we can suggest settings that allow you to abandon the HP
software. If you only want to express an opinion, then we cannot be of
any constructive help with VueScan.

Bart

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 12:04:22 +0200, Don <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 18:20:41 +1000, Allan <(E-Mail Removed)>
>wrote:
>
>>I have been trying out Vuescan. I scan a lot of books, that are
>>similar to comics - cartoon-type drawings on off-white
>>recycled/newspaper-like paper.
>...
>>Then I thought I'd scan with the HP software to have something to
>>compare with, while fiddling with the Vuescan settings. I instantly
>>get a bright, clear, crisp scan with all white blank areas - on the
>>default HP setting.
>>
>>It's sad really. I hate using the HP software, because I have to
>>reset the settings with every new scan. What a pity Vuescan is far
>>from the hype on the author's site: "higher quality scans than the
>>software that comes with your scanner."
>>
>>Hm... I wish.
>
>At a risk of defending Vuescan but are you sure your HP software isn't
>doing all the editing (i.e. setting the black and white points
>automatically) resulting in pure white background. You should compare
>that to the default Vuescan settings (delete Vuescan.ini and rerun).

Thanks. I deleted the ini file and scans do look better, but I still
can't get the white areas of the page to blank - without washing out
the picture again. I read the author's website and he conveniently
blames the paper. Funny how the HP software hasn't had the same
problem for the last few years and thousands of scans.

>Vuescan doesn't really have a user interface so it's very easy to mess
>things up if you do anything other than use its default settings.

You would think that making white background all white would be one of
the first, most basic of things you would make your scanning software
do... It's as if there's a setting somewhere between "photo" and
"line drawing" that's missing, but needs to be there.

>Of course, Vuescan is also notoriously buggy and unreliable so even
>when you do use correct settings it can (and does) regularly produce
>corrupt output.

It seems to working ok, although I'm using an older version. (8.3.40)
It's just the quality that's the problem. Who wants to either print
ink on 100% of their scan - even in white areas - or, washout the
image with so much white balance to make white actually white, that
you ruin the rest of the image.

I can see how it's probably great for repetitive scanning of text or
photos. Pity there's no middle ground - it would be perfect for me
too! ; )

>>Ah well... Can anyone else suggest a good third-party scanning
>>software?
>
>Essentially the only other alternative is (somewhat pricey) SilverFast
>
> http://www.silverfast.com/
>
>You can download a free trial version but you have to navigate a maze
>in order to get to and download a specific version for your scanner.
>
>Don

Thanks - I'll take a look at that as well.

Allan

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 15:43:54 +0200, "Bart van der Wolf"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>"Allan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>SNIP
>> I hate using the HP software, because I have to reset the settings
>> with every new scan. What a pity Vuescan is far from the hype
>> on the author's site: "higher quality scans than the software that
>> comes with your scanner."
>
>If you tell us what settings you used for Whitepoint on the Color Tab,
>then maybe we can suggest settings that allow you to abandon the HP
>software. If you only want to express an opinion, then we cannot be of
>any constructive help with VueScan.
>
>Bart

Well, I've deleted the ini file as suggested by the other guy. I'm
open to suggestions from here... : )

I find it really weird there's no default setting between "photo" and
"line art." ("Colour comic book" for instance.)

Allan

> Well, I've deleted the ini file as suggested by the other guy. I'm
> open to suggestions from here... : )
>
> I find it really weird there's no default setting between "photo" and
> "line art." ("Colour comic book" for instance.)
>
> Allan

So what settings do you use for whitepoint?

"Roger S." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
SNIP
> So what settings do you use for whitepoint?

Indeed, the question, and the offer for help, is still open.

On the "Color" Tab one can play with the White point setting which is
set to 1% by default, but depending on how the scanner is calibrated
at start-up, and the brightness of the paper, one might need to adjust
it to 5% or so, I don't know what the OP's situation dictates. Try and
find out what the setting for a particular type of paper is.

With VueScan the scanner operator is at the helm, so the user instead
of the software can decide.

Bart

On 18 Jun 2006 09:46:48 -0700, "Roger S." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>> Well, I've deleted the ini file as suggested by the other guy. I'm
>> open to suggestions from here... : )
>>
>> I find it really weird there's no default setting between "photo" and
>> "line art." ("Colour comic book" for instance.)
>>
>> Allan
>
>So what settings do you use for whitepoint?

Just at the default setting (1) at the moment. I moved it up & down,
but couldn't get rid of the reversed image from the other side of the
page without washing out the correct side.

I guess my first step though is, which input media setting to use for
a comic book - knowing you want the background completely white? Color
Photo?? Or Magazine???

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Allan
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>On 18 Jun 2006 09:46:48 -0700, "Roger S." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>> Well, I've deleted the ini file as suggested by the other guy. I'm
>>> open to suggestions from here... : )
>>>
>>> I find it really weird there's no default setting between "photo" and
>>> "line art." ("Colour comic book" for instance.)
>>>
>>> Allan
>>
>>So what settings do you use for whitepoint?
>
>Just at the default setting (1) at the moment. I moved it up & down,
>but couldn't get rid of the reversed image from the other side of the
>page without washing out the correct side.

Just a thought, does putting a black sheet of paper behind the page
help?

>
>I guess my first step though is, which input media setting to use for
>a comic book - knowing you want the background completely white? Color
>Photo?? Or Magazine???

--
Surfer!
Email to: ramwater at uk2 dot net

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 08:41:23 +0100, Surfer! <surfer@127.0.0.1> wrote:

>>>So what settings do you use for whitepoint?
>>
>>Just at the default setting (1) at the moment. I moved it up & down,
>>but couldn't get rid of the reversed image from the other side of the
>>page without washing out the correct side.
>
>Just a thought, does putting a black sheet of paper behind the page
>help?

Hm... I haven't got any at the moment. I'll try and think of
something black that would do instead. Thinking about it though, it
would defeat the purpose - which was to make scanning less tedious.
[sob!]