Epson scanner automatic settings

[mitrajoon]

Not sure if anyone is still interested in this but, based on the suggestions above, I did some "tests" on the different Configuration options in Epson Scan. Where I netted out for Configuration with color negs was to use the ICM option with Adobe RGB as the target. (You need to download this from the Adobe site, it doesn't come with the Epson). I am really a novice so there may be dozens of reasons this is not the best approach, but I'll stick with it for a while. My biggest "aha" was with digital ice. I had never used it before but ran it as part of my tests. I was really surprised at how well it cleaned up the image I was working on. Yes it doubles or triples the time it takes to scan an image, but I would spend more time than that spot healing. And while the image is being scanned, I can be doing something else. Again, YMMV.

This was a very helpful thread and I appreciate everyone's time on presenting their POV.

[Ted Baker]

Of all the options that is one Not to choose unless you had a specific reason to do so. I.e. that is the one that will clip some of your values.

[mitrajoon]

Ted,
I assume you prefer the no Color Control option. The problem with that is you can make no adjustments at all. I generally only set B&W points but as I mentioned above, really liked digital ice. Of course No CC also means I just need to crop and scan.

Anyway, I reran my test image again using no CC. FWIW, my approach is to take the scans into ACR, crop, straighten and hit Auto as a starting point. I make minor adjustments to get the colors and contrast the way I want and look as similar as possible, then apply curves, sharpening, etc, at the same levels for both images. It seems to my novice eye that the No CC image is pretty much the same as the Icm argb image. Size wise it's identical to the ICM argb image w/o digital ice.

In the next few days I'll try a couple more images and also B&W which can't use digital ice. I would appreciate any suggestions regarding what to look for that might distinguish the two approaches.

Thxs again.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

One thing to note is that color profiles do not work on color negatives. If you prep well enough your dust will be kept to a minimum. PS is awesome for removing dust and film spots. When I was getting a lot of dust, I would spend about an hour removing dust, now I spend a bout 10-20 minutes. I spend more time fixing blemishes from developing or scratching film than removing dust. I never use digital ice unless I am scanning a ton of 35mm film like when I am archiving decades of family film. If there are any I want to do more with, I would rescan it for making a good print.

[Ted Baker]

Ted,
I assume you prefer the no Color Control option. The problem with that is you can make no adjustments at all. I generally only set B&W points but as I mentioned above, really liked digital ice. Of course No CC also means I just need to crop and scan.

Anyway, I reran my test image again using no CC. FWIW, my approach is to take the scans into ACR, crop, straighten and hit Auto as a starting point. I make minor adjustments to get the colors and contrast the way I want and look as similar as possible, then apply curves, sharpening, etc, at the same levels for both images. It seems to my novice eye that the No CC image is pretty much the same as the Icm argb image. Size wise it's identical to the ICM argb image w/o digital ice.

In the next few days I'll try a couple more images and also B&W which can't use digital ice. I would appreciate any suggestions regarding what to look for that might distinguish the two approaches.

Thxs again.

I don't use Epson scan unless I was doing some software testing to see if my stuff works with Epson. But I would choose option 3 if working in 16 bit, and assign an appropriate profile in a photo editor at the start.

I just wanted to point out for you and others that the 2nd option can clip values, depending on what you have chosen. Caveat I have not tested this properly because the whole way this works is obsolete. (In epson scan)

If for example you have a green value of say 95% and 0%red and blue and apply a matrix operation that has a coefficient of say 1.1 you end with 1.1 x .95 which is bigger than 1 and will clip values.

The software is a dog's breakfast as per my original post.

[mitrajoon]

OK, thxs I appreciate your POV.