Importing images using WIA (Windows Image Acqui- sition) Support

Importing images using WIA (Windows Image Acqui- sition) Support

Certain digital cameras and scanners can be used to import images using WIA Support. When you use WIA Support Photoshop works with Windows and your digital camera or scanner software to import images directly into Photoshop.

Note: WIA Support is only available if you are using WindowsME or Windows XP.

To import images from a digital camera using WIA Support:

Choose File > Import > WIA Support.

Choose a destination on your computer for saving your image files.

Make sure Open Acquired Images in Photoshop is checked If you have a large number of images to import or if you want to edit the images at a later time deselect it.

Make sure Unique Subfolder is selected if you want to save the imported images directly into a folder named with the current date.

Click Start.

Select the digital camera that you want to import images from.

Note: If the name of your camera does not appear in the submenu verify that the software and drivers were properly installed and that the camera is connected.

Choose the image or images you want to import:

Click the image from the list of thumbnails to import the image.

Hold down Shift and click on multiple images to import them at the same time.

Click Select All to import all available images.

Click Get Picture to import the image.

To import images from a scanner using WIA Support:

Choose File > Import > WIA Support.

Choose a destination on your computer to save image files to.

Click Start.

Make sure Open Acquired Images in Photoshop is checked If you have a large number of images to import or if you want to edit the images at a later time deselect it.

Make sure Unique Subfolder is selected if you want to save the imported images directly into a folder named with the current date.

Select the scanner that you want to use.

Note: If the name of your scanner does not appear in the submenu verify that the software and drivers were properly installed and that the scanner is connected.

Choose the kind of image you want to scan:

Color picture to use the default settings for scanning color images.

Grayscale picture to use the default settings for scanning grayscale images.

Black and White picture or Text to use the default settings.

Click Adjust the Quality of the Scanned Picture to use custom settings.

Click preview to view the scan Crop the scan if needed by pulling the rectangle so it surrounds the image.

Click Scan.

The scanned image will be saved in the .bmp file format.

Scanning using the resolution setting (Photoshop)

You can determine the resolution for your scan using the original and final image dimen- sions and the resolution of your output device Scan resolution translates into image resolution when you open the scanned image in Photoshop.

To estimate scan resolution:

Do one of the following:

For laser printers and imagesetters multiply the printer s screen frequency by 2.

To determine your printer s screen frequency check your printer documentation or consult your service provider.

For ink jet printers check your printer documentation for the optimal resolution.

Many dye sublimation printers and devices that print directly onto photographic paper have an optimal resolution of 300 to 400 dpi.

Determine the ratio of the final image dimensions to the original image dimensions. For example the ratio of a 6-by-9-inch final image to a 2-by-3-inch original image is 3.

Multiply the result of step 1 by the result of step 2.

For example suppose you are printing to an imagesetter with a screen frequency of 85 lpi and the ratio of the final image to the original is 3 First multiply 85 (the screen frequency) by 2 to get 170. Then multiply 170 by 3 to get a scan resolution of 510 ppi If you are printing to an ink jet printer with an optimal resolution of 300 dpi multiply 300 by 3 to get a scan resolution of 900.

Note: Different color separation procedures might require different ratios of image resolution to screen frequency It s a good idea to check with your ser vice provider or print shop before you scan the image.

Scanning using the file size setting (Photoshop)

You can create a dummy file to predict the file size needed for the final output of your scan.

To calculate the file size before scanning an image:

In Photoshop choose File > New.

Enter the width height and resolution for your final printed image. The resolution should be 1.5 to 2 times the screen frequency you will use to print Make sure that the mode you plan to scan in is selected For more information see About color modes and models (Photoshop) on section 86 The New dialog box displays the file size.

For example suppose you want the final image to be 4 inches wide and 5 inches high.

You plan to print it with a 150-line screen using a 2:1 ratio so you set the resolution to 300. The resulting file size is 5.15 MB.

To produce the scan enter the resulting file size in your scanner settings Don t worry about resolution or image dimensions After you have scanned the image and imported it into Photoshop use the Image Size command (with the Resample Image option deselected) to enter the correct width and height for the image.

Optimizing the dynamic range of the scan (Photoshop)

Keep in mind that the human eye can detect a wider tonal range than can be printed. If your scanner allows set the black and white points before scanning a file to produce

the best tonal range and capture the widest dynamic range. Then use Photoshop s color adjustment tools to set the white and black points for the scanned image (See "3 Adjust the tonal range. on section 129

Eliminating unwanted color casts (Photoshop)

If your scanned image contains an unwanted color cast you can perform a simple test to determine whether the cast was introduced by your scanner If it was you can use the same test file to create a color-cast correction for all images scanned with the scanner.

To identify and correct a color cast introduced by a scanner:

Make sure that your monitor has been calibrated (See "Creating an ICC monitor profile"

on section 117

Open a new Photoshop file and use the linear gradient tool to create a blend from pure black to pure white.

Choose Image > Adjust > Posterize and posterize the blend using 11 levels.

Print the 11-step gray wedge on a black-and-white printer and then scan it into

Photoshop.

Note: You can also perform this test using an 18-percent neutral gray card or an 11-step gray wedge from a photography store.

Open the Info palette and read the RGB values on-screen for each of the gray levels. Uneven R G and B values indicate a color cast.

Use Levels or Curves to correct the color cast and then save the dialog box settings.

(See "4 Adjust the color balance. on section 130

Open the scanned image you want to correct reopen the dialog box you used to correct the cast in step 6 and load the saved settings.