www.esko-graphics.

com

PERfection 3.0
User Guide
Esko-Graphics A/S
Industriparken 35-37
DK-2750 Ballerup
Denmark

Tel.: (+45) 4473 6666

Fax.: (+45) 4473 6767

PERfection 3.0 User Guide

Doc. No.: 095-942-000
PERfection User Guide Introduction

Introduction
PERfection is a bitmap retouching program which Also, PERfection supports the EskoScan EskoDDS
runs on a Windows NT-based high performance (descreening) input format by both reading and
computer. generating control information for the EskoDDS
application.
PERfection allows the user to open, edit and save
compressed bitmap files generated by CopyDot In addition, PERfection can output CopyDot data
scanning on both EskoScan scanners and scanners to composite PDF files supporting any image size
with CopyDot capabilities from most other ven- (through tiling) and any number of separations.
dors (see the readme.txt file on the installation CD PERfection reads any PDF file written by the
for a full list of supported 3rd party scanners). The EskoScan scanner application as well as by PER
key features offered by PERfection which make it fection itself. Also, PDF files generated by 3rd
virtually indispensable to integrating screened ma- party applications like Adobe Acrobat Distiller
terial into digital production flows are : containing embedded bitmap images can be read in
most cases. PERfection supports reading and writ-
PERfection reads and writes all CopyDot relevant ing of multi-page PDF documents e.g. as used by
file formats : the EskoScan Reverse Imposition and EskoBook
applications.
• monochrome EPS files
PERfection displays CopyDot scans as composite
• multi-colour composite EPS files (spot colours), colour images and permits simultaneous editing of all
and composite CMYK separations – including scans containing spot colours.
• single or multiple TIFF files, one per colour, or
composite through TIFF low resolution file PERfection supports up to 16 separations in each
image - process, spot colour, or both.
• DCS1 files (CMYK only)
• DCS2 files – multiple or single file (C,M,Y,K PERfection works directly on full resolution image
and/or up to 16 spot colours) data giving the operator full control and confidence.
• DCS files with TIFF separations (PCC format) PERfection decompresses and recompresses image
• PSImage files conforming to the PostScript, files using CCITT Gr. 4 or other algorithms.
DSC, EPS and PSImage specifications for use in
a Scitex workflow PERfection allows editing of separation definitions
including adding, deleting, merging, and renaming
• New Linework format files supporting spot
separations as well as redefining process colour
colours containing up to 65.536 colours (see
equivalents.
page 6-10) for use in a Scitex workflow
• HandShake format files for use in a Scitex PERfection includes a long range of tools opti-
workflow. mized for use in bitmap images including text, line,

Page i
Introduction PERfection User Guide

pen, erase, clone, and fill. All of these tools work clone, text, line etc. as well as navigator, channels and
with solid colors or user specified tints. information windows. This way most users will be
able to operate PERfection from day one without ma-
PERfection can rotate, flip, crop, enlarge, and jor difficulties. The user interface is simple and
re-size CopyDot images to fit any output condition. user-friendly and - with only a few hours training -
may be operated by inexperienced users as well.
PERfection includes highly optimised filters for
CopyDot data which may be used on the full im-
Copyright Notice
age or on a user selection:
This user guide and the software described in it are
• AutoClean function which automatically re- copyrighted 2002 by Esko-Graphics A/S, with all
moves dust and dirt from non-screened areas, rights reserved.
e.g. text (see page 4-1).
• DustFilter function optimized for removing The user guide and the software described in it
small dust particles from a scan without harming may not be copied, in part or whole, or may not be
fine details in text and line graphics areas (see reproduced without the permission of Esko-Graph-
page 4-11). ics A/S.
• DotClean function which effectively eliminates
defects, i.e. dust and scratches from screened ar- Trade Mark
eas with minimal deteriorating effects (see page
• Windows NT is a registered trademark of
4-2).
Microsoft Corporation.
• Resample filter which allows resolution and size
of an image to be changed independently • Quark XPress is a registered trademark of Quark
through advanced bitmap resampling techniques Inc.
(see page 4-16).
• Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, Pagemaker and
• Registration filter for registering separation files PostScript are registered trademarks of Adobe
(see page 4-15). Systems Incorporated.
• Rotation filter for rotation of the image or a se-
• New Linework, APR and PSImage are regis-
lected area/selected active channel(s) (see page
tered trademarks of Creo Inc.
4-16).
• Dot Correction filter for selectively modifying
the dot pattern, e.g. to suit changed printing con-
ditions (see page 4-10).

PERfection does not read nor manipulate continu-

ous tone image files.

User Interface
PERfection’s user interface includes a number of tools
familiar to most users such as zoom, eraser, crop,

Page ii
 Table of Contents

Introduction 3.6 Information Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.34

3.7 Paths Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.34
1. Installing PERfection 3.8 Magnifier Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.35
3.9 Batch Log Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.35
3.10 Colors Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.35
2. Getting Started 3.10.1 Colour Palettes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.37
2.1 Starting PERfection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 3.11 Actions Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.38
2.2 Work Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 3.12 Status Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.41

3. User Interface 4. Filters

3.1 Menu System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 4.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1
3.1.1 File Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 4.2 AutoClean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1
3.1.2 Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 4.3 DotClean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2
3.1.3 Image Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 4.3.1 DotClean Settings Examples . . . . . . . 4.7
3.1.4 Filters Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8 4.4 Dot Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10
3.1.5 View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.9 4.5 Dust Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11
3.1.6 Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10 4.6 Registration Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.15
3.1.7 Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11 4.7 Rotation Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.16
3.2 Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11 4.8 Resample Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.16
3.3 Tools Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15
3.3.1 Zoom Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15
3.3.2 Colour Picker Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15
5. Batch Processing
3.3.3 Hand Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.16 5.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1
3.3.4 Ruler Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.16 5.2 Hot-Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1
3.3.5 Eraser Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17 5.3 Filter Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
3.3.6 Clone Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.18 5.3.1 AutoClean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
3.3.7 Pen Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.19 5.3.2 DotClean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
3.3.8 Line Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.19 5.3.3 Dot Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
3.3.9 Fill Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.20 5.3.4 Dust Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
3.3.10 Text Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.20 5.3.5 Registration Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
3.3.11 Path Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.21 5.3.6 Rotation Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
3.3.12 Alignment Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.23 5.3.7 Resample Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6
3.3.13 Crop Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.24 5.4 Image Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6
3.3.14 Selection Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.25 5.4.1 Canvas Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6
3.3.15 Colour Selector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.30 5.4.2 Edit Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6
3.4 Navigator Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.32 5.4.3 Orientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8
3.5 Channels Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.33 5.4.4 Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8

Page iii
PERfection User Guide Table of Contents

6. File Formats
6.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1
6.2 EPS Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1
6.3 TIFF Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6
6.4 PCC Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7
6.5 EskoDDS Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7
6.6 HandShake Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9
6.7 PSImage Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9
6.8 NLW - New Linework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.10
6.9 PDF Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.11

Page iv
PERfection User Guide

1. Installing PERfection
PERfection is supplied on a CD-ROM and requires • Install Acrobat Reader 5.0 (used for accessing
the following operating environment. the on-line user guide which is included in
PDF-format on the CD).
• Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows
XP • Install NT Service Pack 5 (updates the Windows
NT 4.0 operating system to the recommended
• Pentium III, Pentium 4, or equivalent level/version).
• 512 MB RAM (recommended)
2. Click the Install PERfection 3.0 button to start
the installation.
Alternatively, PERfection could be installed on an
existing EskoDDS or EskoProof Windows NT/
2000-server, if these applications are not utilized to 3. Choose an install drive and path.
capacity. However, in this case it is recommended
to install additional RAM.

Installing PERfection (using AutoRun) :

1. Insert the PERfection CD-ROM in your
CD-drive.

The install CD is provided with a start program

which initiates automatically when the CD is in-
serted into the drive and the drive has been closed
(see left).

The installation program proposes to install to

c:\Program Files\PERfection, but you may change
the path.

4. Click Next >>.

The opening screen contains the following options: The install program will now ask whether you
wish to have the sample images copied to the se-
• Install PERfection 3.0 (runs the install program). lected install path.

Page 1-1
 PERfection User Guide

If for some reason the AutoRun features is not acti-

vated, you can start it manually.

Installing PERfection manually :

1. Make sure the CD-ROM is inserted in the

CD-drive.

2. Click the Windows NT Start button to open the

5. Click Next >> (or <<Back, if you wish to Start menu.
change any selection made so far).

The install program now asks whether you wish to

install or update the dongle driver.

3. Click on Run.

4. In the ensuing dialog enter x:\startup.exe

(where x is the drive letter of your CD-drive)
6. Click Next >> (or <<Back, if you wish to and click OK, or
change any selection made so far).

7. Click Install (or <<Back, if you wish to change 5. click the Browse-button to open the file
any selection made so far). browser.

PERfection is now installed automatically and a 6. Locate your CD-drive by clicking on My

PERfection program group is created. Computer.

Page 1-2
PERfection User Guide

7. Double click on startup.exe which appears in

the file browser when you have located and
opened the CD-drive.

This starts the main install program.

8. Continue from item 2 on the previous page.

Page 1-3
PERfection User Guide Starting PERfection

2. Getting Started
2.1 Starting PERfection PERfection starts maximised as shown below. The
title screen remains on the screen, until you click
Once installed, the install program will have cre-
with the left mouse button somewhere in the win-
ated a Program Group called PERfection.
dow, then disappears leaving the work area as il-
To start PERfection : lustrated on the following page.
1. Click the Windows NT Start button to open the
Start menu.

2.2 Work Area

The work area contains a menu system (subsct.
3.1) and a number of floating windows :
2. Position the cursor on the line reading Pro-
grams to open the next level. • Tools window (page 3-15)
• Navigator window (page 3-31)
3. Locate the folder called PERfection and point
• Channels window (page 3-33)
and click on it to open the next level.
• Information window (page 3-34)
4. Click on PERfection 3.0 to start the application. • Magnifier window (see page 3-35)
• Paths window (see page 3-34)
• Batch Log window (see page 3-35)
• Actions window (see page 3-38) 3.0
• Colors window (see page 3-35) 3.0
• Status bar
• Image windows

Page 2-1
 Work Area PERfection User Guide

Each floating window including the Status bar can drag it, until it touches the side frames of the
be turned off - e.g. for maximising the image view- main window.
ing area - by deselecting it in the Window menu
(subsct. 3.1.6), or by clicking the close icon, and Upon docking the window will shift to a more
reopened by selecting it in the Window menu. compact form without the title bar and, if it is the
first window to be docked at that side, create a tool
strip. This operation narrows the application area
available for image display, but simplifies the ma-
noeuvring as the docked windows will never over-
lay the image windows.

Note that docked tool windows can also be re-posi-

tioned within the docking strip by placing the cur-
sor in a non-control area of a docked window,
moving the cursor to the desired position and re-
leasing the cursor.

To re-float a docked tool window :

1. Click and drag it to a position away from the

Dockable Windows
main application window borders and release it.
PERfection supports dockable windows. Dockable
windows is a practical way to organize floating
The title bar will be restored once the window is
windows into one or more tool strips at the sides of
left floating. All floating windows will have a de-
the main application window.
fault docked and a default floating position. You
can toggle a tool window between these two states
In PERfection, all permanent tool windows, i.e. the
simply by double clicking it at a position outside
Tools, Navigator, Channels, Paths, Magnifier, Batch
the active controls.
Log, Actions, Colors, and the Information win-
dows, can be docked in either the left or right side
of the main application window. As the only ex- Holding down the Ctrl key while dragging a float-
ception, the Tools window can also be docked be- ing window prevents the window from being
low the menu bar. docked no matter where it is released.

3.0 Additionally, floating Paths, Colors, Actions, and The figure left shows an example of a practical or-
Batch Processing windows can be resized and re- ganization of the tool windows into a tool strip at the
tain their sizes when docked. right-hand side of the main application window.

To dock a floating window : Note that even though the image window is maxi-
1. Click somewhere in the window to be docked, mized it will not be overlapped by any of the tool
and - while holding the left mouse depressed - windows.

Page 2-2
PERfection User Guide Work Area

The positions of the windows will be saved for fu-

ture use when PERfection is closed in a regular
way.

Note: The Tab key can be used to quickly

hide/show all activated floating or docked win-
dows.

Page 2-3
Work Area PERfection User Guide

Menu system Paths window Magnifier window Actions window Channels window

Tools window Batch Log window Colors window Information window Navigator window

Status bar

PERfection´s work area consists of user configurable elements in order to ensure maximum viewing space.

Page 2-4
PERfection User Guide Menu System

3. User Interface
PERfection is an easily operated program which The file menu contains the following items:
even to the inexperienced user will appear intu-
itive. New : Opens a new file and prompts you to enter
the dimensions of the new image (below) in terms
Program features are accessed by picking a tool of resolution and size in the current measurement
from a floating Tools window or by selecting menu unit or pixels.
items. The most frequently used features have short-
cuts for the experienced user. The Lock radio buttons allow you to lock one of
the Resolution, Size, and Pixel values to make the
3.1 Menu System other two change synchronously. To make the hori-
PERfection has the following menu items : zontal and vertical resolutions different, deselect
the check box below the resolution fields and enter
• File (subsct. 3.1.1) the desired resolution values.
• Edit (subsct. 3.1.2)
• Image (subsct. 3.1.3)
• Filters (subsct. 3.1.4)
• View (subsct. 3.1.5)
• Window (subsct. 3.1.6), and
• Help (subsct. 3.1.7)

which are all described below.

3.1.1 File Menu Clicking the Channels button allows you to specify
which channels to include in the new image (see
page 3-33 for details on specifying channels).
Shortcut : Ctrl-N : New file

Open : Opens the standard Windows file browser

for opening an image file. PERfection allows you
to select and open several files simultaneously.
When you open a PDF document containing multi-
ple embedded images which can be opened by
PERfection, a list with one line for each of these
images will be presented. Select one or more im-
ages from this list using the standard Windows
mechanisms for selecting multiple items (holding

Page 3-1
Menu System PERfection User Guide

down the Shift and/or Ctrl keys) and click Ok when Preferences : Opens the PERfection Preferences
done. window (see page 3-11) for modification of vari-
Shortcut : Ctrl-O : Open file ous default values. The windows also opens when
you double click either the Erase, Clone, Pen,
Close : Closes the image file currently open. Brush and Line tools in the Tools window.

If any editing has been done to the image, you will Filter Shortcuts :
be asked whether you want to save the changes. Allows you to as-
sign shortcut keys
Save : Saves and updates the current image file. to the filter features.
Shortcut : Ctrl-S : Save current file with existing
name and format settings To define a filter
shortcut :
Save As : Opens the Windows standard Save as-di- 1. Click on Filter
alog allowing you to save the current image file as Shortcuts to open
a new file under a new name without modifying the setup window.
the original file (subsct. 6.1).
2. Click on the New button.
Revert : Returns the image to the status of the latest
Save-operation. 3. Open the Function drop down box and click on
the filter name to which you want to assign a
shortcut key.

4. Place the cursor in the Key field and press the

desired key or key combination.

Revert operations can apply to the Whole Image or As you press a key, its corresponding name au-
Selected Area Only and additionally to All Channels tomatically shows. If you choose a key combi-
or to Active Channels Only. Revert operations can- nation which is already assigned to a function,
not be done after channel edits or resizing of the you will be notified.
image.
5. Click the Settings button to set filter parame-
Paste New : Creates a new image on the basis of a ters, if required. Parameter changes apply to
selection which is copied to the clipboard. this shortcut only.

Page 3-2
PERfection User Guide Menu System

6. Close all windows. Paste special : Offers various options for pasting a
selection :
Batch Processing : Used for setting up an auto-
mated workflow, see page 4-18.
Shortcut : Ctrl-B : Toggles batch setup window • Insert (Normal) : Pastes the selection and re-
on/off places the underlying area completely.

Recent file name(s) : Contains the file names of the

• Add (OR) : Pastes the selection and replaces
four most recent image files which have been pro-
white areas with the selection while letting other
cessed in PERfection. This allows for fast re-open-
areas shine through.
ing of the files.

Exit : Closes and exits PERfection, and saves the • Merge (AND) : Only solid areas present in both
status and position of all windows. the pasted selection and the underlying image
are kept.
3.1.2 Edit Menu
• Difference (XOR) : The resulting image is solid 3.0
only in areas where the pasted and underlying
areas differ.

• New Image : This option is equivalent to Paste

New in the File menu, and creates a new image
containing the area and separations currently
present in the clipboard buffer.
The Edit menu contains the standard Windows
Cut, Copy and Paste-commands, a one-step Undo Clear : Clears the selected area and fills with back-
or Redo, a Clear-command which erases every- ground colour.
thing inside the current selection for all active
channels, and a Fill command.
Shortcut : Del : Erase selected area to back-
ground colour

Fill : The Fill tool applies colour fill to a selected 3.0

area in order to quickly remove print colour, dust
and scratches, or overwrite text (see also subsct.
3.3.9).

Shortcut : Ins : Apply colour fill using foreground

colour

Page 3-3
 Menu System PERfection User Guide

3.1.3 Image Menu Resolution : When clicked opens a window dis-

playing the resolution of the current image. The 3.0
The Image menu offers the following options: command is also available for batch processing
(see page 5-8).

The resolutions can be changed individually, but

will result in a corresponding change of the physi-
cal dimension. The number of pixels is not
changed and no interpolation is done. The purpose
is to enable the user to proof a bitmap file at a dif-
ferent output resolution without introducing Moiré
caused by resampling.

Deselect the Keep Proportions check box to edit X 3.0

and Y resolutions individually.

For changing the resolution without changing the

image size, use the Resample filter (see subsct
4-16).

Invert Image : Inverting an image means creating a

negative image from a positive one, or vice versa.
PERfection handles any inversion with ease, how-
3.0 Screen ruling and angle : Attempts to estimate the ever, with an EskoScan scanner inversion is nor-
screen ruling and angle from the area centred in the mally unnecessary, since it may be set up to scan
current selection. originals as either negatives or positives.

3.0 Text skew angle : Estimates and displays the text

skew angle of the first active selection. Also, the
Ruler tool is used for marking a text line at the
found skew angle.

The command is also available for batch process-

ing (see page 5-8).

Page 3-4
 PERfection User Guide Menu System

3.0 Orientation : Used for rotating the image 180 de- Shortcut : Ctrl-A : Selects the entire image
grees, or 90 degrees clockwise or anti-clockwise,
or flipping the image horizontally or vertically. For Deselect : Clears all current selections.
rotating an image at arbitrary angles, use the Rota- Shortcut : Ctrl-D : Clears all current selections
tion filter as described on page 4-16.
Invert Selection : Selecting areas is normally done
The command is also available for batch process- by means of the selection tools. It is sometimes
ing (see page 5-8). more convenient to select, e.g. text and then re-
verse the selection making everything active but
the text. This task is called inverse selection, and it
makes area selection even more simple.

Bleed/Shrink Selection : You can use this menu 3.0

item for adding to or subtracting from the current
selection (see page 3-28).

Smooth Selection : The Smooth Selection function 3.0

softens the border of an existing selection (see page
3-28).

Auto Element Selection : The command makes a 3.0

new selection within the current selection (or the
Canvas Size : Allows you to extend the canvas, i.e. full image, if no prior selection is made) consisting
to add space to the existing image, by entering new of the bounding boxes of all connected elements
values for horizontal and vertical size in the current on the first active channel (see page 3-29).
measurement unit or pixels. The position of the im-
age on the new canvas is determined by clicking This function can also be used as a tool by select-
one of the position buttons. ing the Auto Marquee tool (see page 3-25) and
holding down the Ctrl key. The modified tool can
The command is also available for batch process- also be combined with selection add (hold down
ing (see page 5-6). Ctrl+Shift), selection subtract (hold down Ctrl+Alt)
and selection intersect (hold down Ctrl+Shift+Alt).
3.0 Auto Crop : Uses the Auto Marquee Selection func-
tion to calculate the new image area. Can also be Auto Magic Selection : The command selects all ob- 3.0
executed by double clicking the Crop tool button jects of the current foreground colour within the cur-
(see page 3-24). rent selection. Can also be executed by double click-
ing the Magic selection tool button (see page 3-26).
The command is also available for batch processing.
Auto Marquee Selection : Works within the current 3.0
Selection Tools selection only and can also be executed by double
Select All : When clicked selects the entire image. clicking the Auto Marquee tool (see page 3-27).

Page 3-5
 Menu System PERfection User Guide

Auto Polygon Selection : Works within the current 2. Open the Image menu and click on Merge
selection only and can also be executed by double Channels/Files.
clicking the Auto Polygon tool (see page 3-27).

Selection from Path : Use this menu item to turn a

selected path into the current selection.

Path from Selection : Allows generation of a new

3.0 path with the shape of the current selection. This
menu item contains a sub-menu with one item for
each path type. Select the appropriate menu item to
assign the corresponding type to the new path.

Shortcut : Ctrl-Shift-A : Create path of type Un-

defined with the shape of the current PERfection opens the merge window displaying
selection. each separation in its own drop-down box. PER-
Ctrl-Shift-T : Create path of type Text fection looks for separation files of identical sizes
with the shape of the current selection. and - if it finds them - puts them in the appropriate
Ctrl-Shift-S : Create path of type Screen box. Otherwise, the drop-down box will list the
with the shape of the current selection. separation files for you to select and place manu-
Ctrl-Shift-B : Create path of type Blank ally. If you require a blank separation, you may
with the shape of the current selection. choose the item New in any of the process colour
Ctrl-Shift-O : Create path of type Solid file drop-down boxes.
with the shape of the current selection.
Ctrl-Shift-G : Create path of type Graph- 3. When you have selected the files to merge,
ics with the shape of the current selection. click the OK button to start the merging pro-
cess. If the OK button is disabled, at least two
Please see page 3-21 for details on the use of paths. of the selected image files differ in pixel size
and cannot be changed.
Merge Channels/Files : Merging channels allows
the user to handle separate separation scans in A status window displays the status of the merging
TIFF or EPS formats as a composite colour image process, as it progresses.
and save such files into EPS, DCS, or TIFF for-
mats with a composite colour preview.

For merging other than CMYK separations, use the

Edit Channels, Add-function described below.

To merge channels/files :
1. Open those separation files which you wish to
merge.

Page 3-6
 PERfection User Guide Menu System

When the merging process is complete, you have a The window contains a drop-down box which de-
composite bitmap image which can be saved in faults to New and fields for selecting the name of
any of the supported output formats (subsct. 6.1). an open image for merging with the current image.

Edit Channels : PERfection supports up to 16 sep- 3. Enter the name of the new channel, or use the
arations in each image - process or spot colours. drop-down list to select an existing channel name
from the current colour palette (see page 3-35 for
more information on colour palettes).

4. Select New (blank) as the source, OR select an

The Edit Channels dialog lets you add, duplicate, already opened monochrome image of the ex-
3.0 merge, swap, reorder, delete, or redefine channels. act same pixel size as the current image in the
drop-down list.
An important example of the use of Edit channels
could be to use PERfection to generate colour sep-
arations sets containing different blacks for re-
gional or national ad versions. This means that
scanning of the common separations only has to be
done once. Use Delete channel followed by Add
channel to perform this task.

The Edit Channels dialog can also be opened by

double clicking the label of the Channels tool win-
dow.

To add a new channel :

5. Click OK to accept the settings and return to
1. Open the Image menu and click on Edit Chan- the Edit Channels window.
nels.
6. Enter the CMYK values in the appropriate
2. Click the Add button to open the Add Channel fields and check the Opaque field, if you wish
window. the new colour to be opaque.

Page 3-7
 Menu System PERfection User Guide

When you click OK, the new colour has been You will receive a warning if not all channels in the
added to the Channels window. selection have the same process colour definition.

To duplicate / delete / rename a channel : The merged separation will get the name and pro-
1. Open the Image menu and click on Edit Chan- cess colour definition of the first selected channel,
nels. but this can be altered freely as described above.

2. Click on the channel name you wish to dupli- To swap two channels : 3.0
cate, rename, or delete. 1. Select two channels from the channels list.

3. Redefine the colour, if required. 2. Click the Swap button

3.0 4. Click the Duplicate, Rename, or Delete buttons, This operation swaps the image content of the two
respectively. selected channels, but does not reorder the chan-
nels in the channels list.
If you click the Duplicate or Rename buttons, you
will prompted to enter a new name for the selected To reorder channels : 3.0
channel, or select one from the current colour pal- 1. Select a channel to reorder.
ette (see page 3-35).
2. Press the Up-Arrow button to move the selected
5. Click OK to accept and close the window. channel up in the channels list, or the Down-
Arrow button to move it down.
The colour sample field always attempts to visual-
ise the CMYK equivalent of the selected channel. Most of the functionality of the Edit Channels dia-
log is also available in batch processing or action
To merge two or more channels into one : mode (see page 5-6).
1. Select the channels that should be merged in
the channels list. 3.1.4 Filters Menu

AutoClean : The AutoClean function is a unique

filter which automatically removes dust and
2. Click the Merge button scratches from areas with a non-screened back-

Page 3-8
PERfection User Guide Menu System

ground, e.g. text areas. The user selects AutoClean Registration : Designed for users who have no
and a dialog pops up. The radius value is inserted, other means of registering separation sets (see page
depending on the extent of dirt to be eliminated. 4-15).

Rotation : Provides free clock or counter clock ro-

Threshold values above 50% will make black areas
tation of an image or a selection (see page 4-16).
grow, i.e. positive text will be fatter and small dots
will grow. The opposite is true for threshold values
Resample : The Resample filter allows the resolu-
below 50%.
tion and size of an image to be changed independ-
ently (page 4-16).
The AutoClean filter (together with the DotClean
and DustFilters described below) speeds up the The shortcut Ctrl-F or F2 allows the operator to
whole editing process leaving, if any, only few ma- reuse the recent filter settings of the latest ap-
jor scratches or dust grains to be removed manu- plied filter without having to reopen the dialog.
ally (page 4-1).
3.1.5 View Menu
DotClean : PERfection features another automatic
function which is truly unique. DotClean not only
removes unwanted image data from screened ar-
eas, it also rebuilds the original raster pattern.
DotClean recognises raster patterns and distin-
guishes between dust grains and small dots (page
4-2). DotClean can even repair scratches up to a
specific size. For larger scratches is may be neces-
sary to use the Clone tool (page 3-18).

Dot Correction : The filter allows selective

changes of halftone dot sizes to prepare the image
for a printing condition different from what was
originally intended. It is possible to specify dot
The View menu contains the following items:
percentage transfer curves for all or individual sep-
aration colours (page 4-10).
Rulers : Clicking the Ruler menu item toggles dis- 3.0
play of horizontal/vertical rulers on and off. The rul-
DustFilter : The DustFilter function is optimized ers use the unit currently selected under Preferences.
for removing tiny dust particles from a scan with-
out damaging fine details or small halftone dots. Shortcut : Ctrl-R : Toggle rulers on/off
The filter has a number of controls to be used for
specifying which objects to keep and which to fil- (Clear) Guides : When rulers are displayed, hori- 3.0
ter away (page 4-11). zontal and vertical guides can be added in the im-

Page 3-9
Menu System PERfection User Guide

age by clicking on either ruler at the desired posi- Shortcut : Ctrl-’+’ : Zoom in
tion.
Zoom Out : Zooms out/diminishes the centre of
the image in steps corresponding to the preset
zoom ratios (see below).
Shortcut : Ctrl-’-’ : Zoom out

Fit to Window : Maximizes the full image to the

best possible fit within the current window.

Fit to Selection : Maximizes the current selection to

the best possible fit within the current window.
If you wish to be absolutely precise, keep the Shift
button depressed while clicking on the ruler to Zoom presets : Lists thirteen preset zoom ratios
open the below dialog: ranging from 128:1 to 1:8 (800%).

3.1.6 Window Menu

Choose a unit, enter the position, and click the OK

button to insert the guide.

A guide position can be modified by clicking and

holding the left mouse button on the guide in the
ruler display while moving the mouse left or right,
or by keeping the Shift button depressed while
clicking on the guide to open the above dialog.

Guides are cleared individually by keeping the Ctrl

key depressed while clicking on the guide in the
ruler display. All existing guides are cleared by In addition to the four standard Windows items
clicking on Clear Guides in the View menu. Cascade, Tile Horizontally, Tile Vertically and Ar-
range Icons, the Window menu contains :
Zoom In : Zooms in/enlarges the centre of the im-
age in steps corresponding to the preset zoom ra- • Next and Previous image
tios (see below). • Tools Palette (subsct. 3.3)

Page 3-10
 PERfection User Guide Preferences

• Navigator (subsct. 3.4)

• Channels (subsct. 3.5)
• Information (subsct. 3.6)
• Paths (see subsct. 3.7)
• Magnifier (see subsct. 3.8)
• Batch Log (see subsct. 3.9)
3.0 • Colour Palette (see subsct. 3.10)
3.0 • Actions (see subsct. 3.11)
• Status Bar (see subsct. 3.12). About PERfection : Displays the PERfection
splash screen and program version number.
The above items control the display of the respec-
tive windows on the screen, i.e. a check mark indi- The remaining items in the help menu are links to
cates that the corresponding window is displayed. the Esko-Graphics A/S and PERfection home
pages on the Internet and to the Readme.htm file
3.0 Open image windows can be selected from the list installed with the software. The Internet links will
in the bottom of the menu, or by clicking on Next only work correctly if the machine on which PER-
or Previous in the menu. fection is installed has a properly configured
Internet connection and a correctly configured
Shortcut : Ctrl-PgUp : Switch to next open image Internet browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer
Ctrl-PgDn : Switch to previous open or Netscape Navigator.
image
3.2 Preferences
3.1.7 Help Menu

The Help menu has the following items :

Contents : Opens the PERfection User Guide.

General tab
Shortcut : F1 : Open online help document Path for temporary files : Permits you to designate

Page 3-11
Preferences PERfection User Guide

a specific location for temporary files. Click the

Select button to open the folder browser.

Pen tab
Click on the Pen tab to modify the current setting
for the Pen tool. Enter a value to set the width of
the tool in pixels, and determine whether to use
square or round pen shape. 3.0

Open files at magnification : Click on one of the

options to set the desired magnification level on
opening an image, or select Fit to window to maxi-
mize the full image to fit the current application
window size.

Sampling Size : indicates the area in pixels (the Erase tab

width of a square box) of the dot percentage mea- Click on the Erase tab to modify the current setting
surement in the Information window (see subsct. for the Erase tool. Enter a value to set the width of
3.6). the tool in pixels, and determine whether to use
square or round eraser shape. 3.0

Units tab
Click on one of the Units radio buttons to choose
the current working unit separately for size and
resolution measurements.

Page 3-12
 PERfection User Guide Preferences

Clone tab
Click on the Clone tab to modify the current setting
for the Clone tool. Enter a value to set the width of
the tool in pixels, and determine whether to use
3.0 square or round pen shape.
For explanations regarding the choice of clone area
mode, please see page 3-18.

Colors tab
Display single plates as black : When the box is
checked, PERfection displays single separation
files in black when all other separation are turned
Brush tab invisible - otherwise it will be displayed in the col-
Click on the Brush tab to modify the current set- our defined for that particular separation.
ting for the Brush selection tool. Enter a value to
set the width of the tool in pixels, and determine Hide colors with non-present plates : When
3.0 whether to use square or round brush shape. checked, the Colors window displays only those
colours which are present in the image.

Edit colors : Clicking the button opens the dialog 3.0

below for editing, adding, and deleting colours in
the current colour palette (see page 3-35).

Line tab
Click on the Line tab to modify the current setting
for the Line tool. The value determines the width
of the line to be drawn in pixels.

Click on either radio buttons to have lines drawn

with flat or rounded end caps.

Page 3-13
 Preferences PERfection User Guide

3.0 Edit plates : Clicking the button opens the dialog Cursors tab
below for editing, adding, deleting, and renaming Applies to the cursor representation on the screen.
plates in the current colour palette. If you click the Precise radio button, the cursor will
be displayed as a cross rather than e.g. the eraser
symbol allowing you a higher degree of precision
when using the tools.

This dialog is very close to the Edit Channels dia-

log (see page 3-7), but adds controls for setting
screening defaults for each plate. Select Automatic
to have the software estimate a screen ruling from
the current image when needed, or deselect Auto-
matic and enter appropriate values for Ruling and
Angle.

If a palette has been loaded from an external file,

the palette name will be shown in this dialog tab.
PERfection warns you, if changes have been made
to a loaded palette, and these changes are not saved
prior to loading a new palette file.

Page 3-14
 PERfection User Guide Tools Window

3.3 Tools Window 3. Press the Alt key and click the left mouse but-
ton.
From the Tools window you select different tools
for either cleaning, editing or viewing an image. PERfection zooms out at the same ratios.
As the only window, the Tools window can be
docked under the menu bar. To zoom to fit :
1. Double clicking on the Zoom tool in the Tools
3.3.1 Zoom Tool window will zoom to fit the image, or - if a se-
When an image is opened, it is first dis- lection has been made - to that selection.
played at the magnification ratio set in
Preferences, and you can use either the Zoom settings range from 128:1 (0.781%) to 1:8
Navigator window or the Zoom tool for focussing (800%) allowing an original, scanned at 2540 dpi,
on a specific area of the image to be reduced 4 times or enlarged up to 280 times
assuming that the screen resolution is 72 dpi.
To zoom in :
1. Click the Zoom tool with the left mouse button.

2. Position the cursor as closely as possible to the

centre of the desired area and click the left
mouse button.

PERfection zooms on the current cursor position.

Each time you click the left mouse button, the
zoom ratio is doubled.
The Zoom tool is related to the Navigator window,
3.0 To zoom on an area of interest : as any zoom action is reflected immediately in the
1. Click the Zoom tool with the left mouse button. Navigator window (subsct. 3.4).

2. Click and hold the left mouse button as you 3.3.2 Colour Picker Tool 3.0
drag the mouse and draw a box round the ob- As indicated the Colour picker tool can be
ject(s) on which to zoom and release the mouse used for quickly sampling a colour from
button. the image.
PERfection zooms on the selected area. To use the Colour picker :
1. Click the Colour picker tool with the left mouse
To zoom out :
button.
1. Click the Zoom tool with the left mouse button.
2. Locate the colour to be sampled by zooming or
2. Position the cursor as closely as possible to the displaying one channel only, and click on the
centre of the desired area. colour with the left mouse button.

Page 3-15
 Tools Window PERfection User Guide

The sampled colour is displayed immediately in Starting at the upper left corner, the W key will step
the Colour Selector as the foreground colour (see forward through the image first advancing 3/4 of a
page 3-30). screen to the right, then, when the right border of
the image is reached, 3/4 of a screen down fol-
The colour picker can also be used for adding lowed by a shift of the direction to the left. At any
colours directly to the current colour palette (see time, the Q key can be used to step backward along
subsct. 3.10). the same path. If preferred, keys P (forward) and O
(backward) can be used in place of W and Q.
3.3.3 Hand Tool
3.3.4 Ruler Tool 3.0
As the name indicates the Hand tool
serves as the user’s electronic hand and The Ruler tool can be used for measuring
allows you to pan round the image. distances and angles in the current image.
To use the Hand tool : To use the Ruler tool :
1. Click the Hand tool. Click the Ruler tool to select it.
2. Start panning by clicking and holding the left
mouse button as you move the mouse in the 1. Click and hold the left mouse button at the
desired direction. starting point in the image

When you work with small details in greatly mag- 2. Draw a line to the end point and release the
nified areas the Hand tool can be used for navigat- mouse button.
ing round the image while maintaining the magni-
fication ratio.

3.0 The Hand tool can be activated regardless of the

selected tool by holding down the Space key, as
long as the keyboard focus is not on any control in
a tool window when you activate the Space key.

Scrolling can also be done by pressing the keys E,

D, S, and F (up, down, left, and right) or I, K, J, and
L (up, down, left, and right) which will move 3/4 of
the current image display in the desired direction
(see also page 3-15), or you may choose to the
move the red-lined box in the Navigator window When you release the mouse button, the line re-
(page 3-31). mains, and the Information window displays the
distance and angle at which the line was drawn.
It is also possible to use a single key to scroll
through the entire image at any preferred magnifi- The ruler can be modified by dragging any of the
cation without skipping any parts. two end point handles.

Page 3-16
PERfection User Guide Tools Window

The Eraser tool can be limited to move only hori-

zontally by down the Shift key or vertically by
holding the Ctrl and Shift keys (in that order). Prior
to using the eraser, the area covered by the eraser
The ruler line remains in the image, until you draw can be displayed by pressing the C key. This also
another one, but it is visible only when the Ruler works with the Shift and Ctrl+Shift modifiers.
tool is selected.
Should you happen to erase more than was in-
3.3.5 Eraser Tool tended, you are allowed to perform a partial
The Eraser tool can be used for removing unerase of the last erase operation.
dust and scratches manually.
To perform partial unerase :
To use the Eraser tool :
1. Press and hold the Alt key while depressing the
1. Click the Eraser tool to select it and decide on left mouse button and moving the mouse over
which colour to use as background colour (see the area to be unerased.
page 3-30).
This action will rebuild part of the area you have
The erased area will be filled with the selected just erased. The Undo-function will rebuild all of
background colour. the area just erased.

2. Click and hold the left mouse button depressed The partial unerase function is very useful, as it
on the spot where erasing is to start. allows for partial undoing of all image opera-
tions which can be undone fully with the Undo
function.

The Eraser tool size may be set at values from 1 to

100 pixels depending on the size of the area the
user wants to erase, and be set to round or square
shape. This is done in the Preferences dialog which
is opened by double clicking the eraser icon in the
Tools window, or by selecting Preferences in the
File menu (see page 3-2).

Shortcuts : + (plus) - Increase tool size 3.0

- (minus) - Decrease tool size
3. While keeping the mouse button depressed, * (asterisk) - Change tool shape
drag the mouse in the desired direction.
An alternative and fast way of erasing large areas
This action replaces the current pixel colour with is by making a selection followed by a Clear-oper-
that of the current background. ation (Del key).

Page 3-17
Tools Window PERfection User Guide

3.3.6 Clone Tool The illustration shows how cloning can be used for
even complicated retouching tasks.
The Clone tool is an advanced copy-tool
and can be used for copying a square area
of pixels from one area of the image to In aligned mode, the distance and angle between
another. In this way it can also be used for remov- the sample and destination points is maintained,
ing dust, scratches, text or lines for a single colour, until you choose a new sample point.
or all colour channels simultaneously.
In non-aligned mode, the two points move in the same
To use the Clone tool : way as described above, however the sample point al-
1. Click the Clone tool in the Tools window. ways picks up on the same spot whenever you press
the left mouse button, until you choose a new one.
2. Pick an area to clone by keeping the Alt key
depressed while clicking the left mouse on the In Aligned with guide mode the sample and desti-
sample area and release the Alt key. nation points are defined in a slightly different way.
To define the sample point, hold down the Alt key
and press the left mouse button at the sample loca-
tion. Without releasing the button, drag it to the ap-
proximate destination position and release. This
will leave a straight line in the image from the
Note that the small arrow in the tool symbol sample to the destination location with a crosshairs
changes from black to white, as you “pick up” the indication of the destination point. The latter point
sample area. can be fine tuned by using the keyboard arrow
keys to adjust the destination position. When the
3. Move the cursor to the destination point. position is correct, press the Enter key. Now clon-
ing can be performed in the usual way described in
step 4 above.

Double clicking the clone icon in the Tools window

invokes the Preferences window in which you can
modify the Clone tool size, tool shape, and select
aligned, non-aligned, or aligned with guide mode.
The most appropriate tool size depends on the size
of the area to be cloned.

Shortcuts : + (plus) - Increase tool size 3.0

4. Click the left mouse button and keep the button - (minus) - Decrease tool size
depressed as you move the mouse. * (asterisk) - Change tool shape

An outline box will show both the current source Holding down the C key displays the size and 3.0
and destination areas for the cloning operation. shape of the tool prior to applying it.

Page 3-18
 PERfection User Guide Tools Window

3.3.7 Pen Tool Shortcuts : + (plus) - Increase tool size 3.0

- (minus) - Decrease tool size
The Pen tool is used for free hand draw- * (asterisk) - Change tool shape
ing lines and/or box segments.

To use the Pen tool : 2. Position the cursor at the point where the line is
to start and click the left mouse button.
1. Click the Pen tool in the Tools window and de-
cide on the tool size and shape (see page 3-11),
and foreground colour to be used with the Pen The cursor changes to cross shape.
tool (see page 3-30).
3. Drag the mouse in the desired direction and re-
2. Position the cursor at the point where you want lease the mouse button at the stop position.
to begin drawing.

3. Click and hold the left mouse button as you

move the mouse in the desired direction.

The Pen tool can be limited to move only horizon-

tally by down the Shift key or vertically by holding
the Ctrl and Shift keys (in that order).
As you release the mouse button, the line is drawn
The Pen tool size and shape can be modified in the in the selected foreground colour.
Preferences (see page 3-11) dialog accessed by
double clicking the pen icon in the Tools window.

3.0 Shortcuts : + (plus) - Increase tool size

- (minus) - Decrease tool size
* (asterisk) - Change tool shape

3.0 Holding down the C key displays the size and

shape of the tool prior to applying it.
Lines may be drawn at any angle, however, if you
3.3.8 Line Tool want to draw lines at exactly 0, 45, or 90 degrees,
press and hold the Shift key as you draw the line.
The Line tool can be used for redrawing
lines and/or box segments.
Colour control is done by selecting the appropriate
To draw a line : active colour separation or combination of separa-
tions in the Channels window, or by specifying the
1. Click the Line tool in the Tools window and de- foreground colour as described on page 3-30.
cide on the tool size (see page 3-11), line caps
and foreground colour to be used with the Line If you already have an active selection, the line will
tool (see page 3-30). only appear inside the selection box.

Page 3-19
Tools Window PERfection User Guide

3.3.9 Fill Tool The fill colour is controlled by defining the fore-
ground colour as described in subsct. 3.3.15.
The Fill tool applies colour fill to a se-
lected area in order to quickly remove 3.3.10 Text Tool
print colour, dust and scratches, or over-
CopyDot scanning always reproduces text
write text (see also 3-3).
in a screened ad to perfection, however,
To use the Fill tool : no scanner can invent something that
never was, i.e. sometimes a worn original may re-
1. First select the desired area with the selection
quire re-entry, or replacement of text, or maybe
tool (subsct. 3.3.14).
text needs to be corrected or added.
2. Decide which separations should be affected
To use the Text tool :
by the fill operation by (de)checking the appro-
priate separations in the Channels window 1. Click on the text icon in the Tools window, and
(subsct. 3.5) click the left mouse button on the insertion
point in the image.
3. Decide which foreground colour to use (page
3-30) by clicking the arrow symbol and click 2. In the ensuing dialog select the desired font
the Fill tool. and enter the required text.

4. Position the cursor inside the selected area and

click the left mouse button.

The selected area now fills with the selected fore-

ground colour which may be solid or screened.

3. Determine font characteristics and horizontal

alignment of the text.

4. When all is set, click OK to close the window.

For very small or large font sizes it may be unprac-

tical to enter the text at the actual font size. For this

Page 3-20
 PERfection User Guide Tools Window

reason, the text can be entered at a fixed size by de- 3.3.11 Path Tool
selecting the Display text at actual size check box.
The Path tool is designed primarily for support of
the path feature on images scanned on the
When the text entry window is closed, the text will
EskoScan JPS Version 9.0. However, paths may
appear in an active selection box which allows you
be added to any image which can be read by PER-
to reposition it in the image (indicated by changed
fection.
cursor shape) by keeping the left mouse button de-
pressed while moving it to the desired position, or
shifting it using the arrow keys. The idea behind the path feature is to subdefine ar-
eas of an image and limit the effects of e.g. the
The text can also be rotated freely by holding the DotClean and Dust filters to areas of relevance.
Ctrl key down while depressing the left mouse but- Filtering of paths can be incorporated in batch pro-
ton within the text selection box and dragging it in cessing as part of the hot-folder setup (see page
a circular direction, until the correct rotation is ob- 4-18, 5-1).
3.0 tained. Rotation can be restricted to multiples of 1
degree (by holding the Ctrl and Alt keys) or 45 de-
grees (by holding the Ctrl and Shift keys).

To use the Path tool :

5. When you are happy with the positioning of
the text box, press Ctrl-D to deselect and fix the 1. Open an image containing paths defined in the
text position. scanner application, or any image in which you
want to add path(s).
The colour of the text is controlled by defining the
foreground colour as described in subsct. 3.3.15. It 2. Open the Window menu and click on Paths to
is possible to both “overprint” and “knock-out” the open the Paths window.
underlying image by proper setting of the Active
and Fill check boxes in the Channels window (see The Paths window immediately shows the paths
subsct. 3.5). and path types present in the image.

Page 3-21
 Tools Window PERfection User Guide

Each path type is represented by its own colour,

3.0 and each path is labelled with a path number in the
Paths window and in the image.

At the far left, a small black rectangle indicates the

separation(s) to which a specific path applies.

3.0 Paths can be selected by pressing and holding the

Shift key and clicking the left mouse button inside
When the dialog opens, it displays all separations
the image path area. If several paths surround the
present in the image and copies the check marks
position clicked, the top-most (last in path list) of
from the Active-list in the Channels window.
them is selected.

2. Click the appropriate check boxes to select the

Display regions : Click the check box to display the separations to which the new path is to apply.
paths in the image. Each path type is displayed in
its own colour. Only paths present in active chan- 3. Open the Type drop down box and click on the
nels are displayed in the image. appropriate type.

Type : Open the drop down box to assign a type to

the a selected path (see below). The names of the
path types indicate the intended use only.

New and Del : Click the buttons to add a new path

and delete a path selected in the list.
4. Click on the starting point of the new path and
drag the cursor to the next position.
Up and Down : Click either button to move a se-
lected path up/down in the list - the topmost have
priority. As you drag the cursor, you will see a trailing line
which breaks when you click the mouse button at
the next position.
To create a new path :
5. Close the path either by clicking on the starting po-
1. Click the New button. sition, or double clicking anywhere in the image.

This adds the new path in the Paths window and Pressing the Esc key aborts the current path
opens the dialog below. definition.

Page 3-22
 PERfection User Guide Tools Window

To insert, move, or delete points on the path :

1. Insert a point by clicking on the current path at

the insertion point.

2. Move a point by clicking and holding the left

mouse button on the point to be moved and
dragging the point to the new position.

Double clicking on a path in the path list re-opens

3. Delete a point by pressing and holding the Alt but-
the Active Separations dialog allowing you to
ton while clicking on the point to be deleted.
change the separation properties of the path.
Clicking on the line between two handles with
the Alt key depressed, deletes that subpath.
3.3.12 Alignment Tool

A new path may also be created on the basis of the The Alignment tool serves two purposes;
current selection by selecting Path from selection in it moves and aligns selections. The user
the Image menu once a selection is made. may move a selection to another position
by dragging it with the mouse and then fine-tune
its position by means of the arrow keys.
Shortcuts are available for creating a path from a
selection and automatically assigning a certain type
to this path:

3.0 Shortcuts: Ctrl-Shift-A: Create Undefined path

from current selection.
Ctrl-Shift-B: Create Blank path from
current selection.
Ctrl-Shift-O: Create Solid path from
current selection.
Ctrl-Shift-S: Create Screen path from
current selection.
Ctrl-Shift-T: Create Text path from cur-
rent selection.
3.0 Ctrl-Shift-G: Create Graphics path
from current selection
The tool also allows the user to align the separa-
tions manually. Normally, separations are aligned
If you wish to change the type of the new path, se- electronically during scanning. Nevertheless, there
lect it in the path list, open the Type drop-down box is always a remote possibility that one of the sepa-
and click on the desired type. rations is out of register.

Page 3-23
Tools Window PERfection User Guide

2. Click and hold the left mouse button to mark

the upper left corner of the image portion to be
selected.

3. As you hold the mouse button depressed, drag

the mouse in the desired direction to extend the
selection.

Thanks to the Alignment tool the user can make the

necessary corrections and avoid doing a rescan.
The user compares the critical separation (visible
and active) to the selected reference separation
(visible but not active) and then manually moves
the separation into register – step by step – using
the arrow keys. A simple process which guarantees
perfect alignment of non-rotated separations. For
registration of rotated and/or shifted separations
use the Registration filter (see page 4-15). 4. Release the mouse button when your selection
is complete - this leaves the crop selection box
Pixels vacated by the alignment are filled with the for modification by dragging the handles, or
selected background colour. the crop lines.

3.3.13 Crop Tool If you position the cursor inside the selection
box, you may move the entire selection box by
The Crop tool is used for cropping, i.e. depressing the Ctrl and the Shift keys and the
cutting out a portion of an image. In some left mouse button simultaneously while mov-
cases it may be more convenient to crop ing the mouse.
an image after the scanning, as it provides for
highly accurate cropping.

To crop an image :

1. Click on the Crop tool to select it.

Page 3-24
PERfection User Guide Tools Window

3.3.14 Selection Tools

The selection tools are used for specifying an area in
an image. When an area has been selected and
marked, the image portion can be used for cut and
paste action and for limiting an area of operation, i.e.
cloning, line drawing, filling, erasing, filtering, etc.

To use the Marquee tool :

1. Click the Marquee (or square) selec-
tion tool and locate the area in the image
to be selected.

2. Click and keep the left mouse button depressed

to mark the upper left corner of the area to be
selected.
5. Click the left mouse button inside the selection
box to cut out the selected image portion while 3. With the mouse button depressed drag the se-
discarding the remainder. lection box to the point of the lower right cor-
ner of the area to be selected and release the
mouse button.

As you drag the mouse the selection box extends

and appears as shown when you release the mouse
button.

The marquee selection can also be modified by

typing the anchor point coordinates and/or the size
in the current measurement unit directly in the
readout boxes of the Info window (see subsct. 3.6).

A crop selection can be changed to a marquee

selection and visa versa simply by selecting the
appropriate tool in the Tools window. This fea-
ture allows for defining a marquee selection us-
ing the convenient dragging of borders enabled
for the crop selection tool only.
The area to be cropped can be modified by typing
the anchor point coordinates and/or the size in the To move a selection :
current measurement unit directly in the readout
boxes of the Info window (see subsct. 3.6). 1. Position the cursor inside the selection box.

Page 3-25
Tools Window PERfection User Guide

2. Keep the Ctrl and Shift keys depressed while 2. Click the left mouse button and keep it de-
using the mouse to move the selection. pressed as you move the mouse and draw your
selection.
Selections can be extended or shrunk by combin-
ing the different selection tools described in this If/when you release the mouse button, PERfection
section with the keyboard combinations (depress in will automatically close the selection by drawing a
the shown order and keep depressed): straight line between the starting point and current
cursor location.
To extend an existing selection : Keep the Shift key
down. The cursor changes to a crosshairs cursor Like the Brush selection tool described below, the
with a small ‘+’ sign. Freehand selection tool is especially useful for refin-
ing (extending or limiting) an existing selection us-
To subtract from an existing selection : Keep the Alt ing the Shift, Alt and Alt+Shift keyboard modifiers.
key down. The cursor changes to a crosshairs cur-
sor with a small ‘-’ sign. To use the Polygon selection tool : 3.0
1. Click on the Polygon selection tool and
To intersect with an existing selection : Keep both locate the point of origin.
the Alt- and Shift keys down. The cursor changes
to a crosshairs cursor with a small ‘x’ sign. 2. Click the left mouse button at the starting point
and move the mouse - and a trailing line - to the
next point and click the left mouse button again.
Press the Esc key to release the latest set point.

3. Repeat step 2, until the selection is complete

and double click at the end point to close the
selection.

To use the Magic selection tool :

The Magic selection tool is designed primar-
ily for selecting areas of solid texture, e.g.
text. Often it can be advantageous to make this type of
selection with only selected channels active, e.g.
when an area to be selected consists of both solid and
non-solid channels, selection is significantly easier, if
In cases when you wish to select an irregular shape the non-solid channels are deselected.
in an image, you may prefer to use the freehand,
polygon, or brush selection tools. 1. Click with the left mouse button somewhere
within a solid area.
To use the Freehand selection tool :

1. Click on the Freehand tool and locate

the point of origin.

Page 3-26
PERfection User Guide Tools Window

To use the Auto Marquee tool : 3.0

1. Click the Auto Marquee tool to select
it.

2. Click and keep the left mouse button depressed

to mark the upper left corner of the area to be
selected.

This displays a dialog with a choice of selecting a 3. With the mouse button depressed drag the se-
single or all objects of the colour pointed at. The lection box to the point of the lower right cor-
latter option is more useful together with the inter- ner of the area to be selected as shown below.
section selection modifiers (hold down both the
Shift and Alt keys before making the selection).

If you check the Don’t ask med again.. box, this di-
alog will not appear, until PERfection is restarted.

Press the Esc key to abort a magic selection op-

eration without deleting any existing selection. 4. Release the mouse button.

The Magic selection tool can also be used in a drag

selection mode for easy selection of objects within
a restricted area. In this mode, any pixel set in any
of the active channels will be selected within the The software now modifies the selection by nar-
area covered by the mouse drag operation. Press rowing the rectangular outline of the selection box.
and hold the Ctrl key to use the Magic selection
tool in drag mode. To use the Auto Polygon tool : 3.0
1. Using the same example as above,
To use the Brush selection tool :
click the Auto Polygon tool and draw the
Use the Brush tool, e.g. to add to an exist- selection box.
ing selection by pressing and holding the
Shift key while moving the brush over the area to
be included in the selection. The covered image 2. Release the mouse button.
area will be displayed inverted, until the mouse
button is released and the selection is activated.

The brush selection size is changed in Preferences

(Brush tab) which is opened by double clicking the
Brush selection tool button.
Again, the software modifies the selection, only in
this case the software looks for the polygon shape.

Page 3-27
 Tools Window PERfection User Guide

Obviously, the quality of the scan has an influence 3. Click the Bleed radio button, and determine the
on the success of any selection, i.e. a clean scan of- size of the bleed margin either in pixels, inches
fers the best results. or millimetres (in the Units drop-down box).

Refining Your Selection

PERfection provides various tools for narrowing 4. Click the Rounded corners check box, if you
down your selection, as described below, which want the selected area to look like the one
makes selecting easier and quicker. The Image shown below.
menu has six commands described below which
can be used on the current marquee selection: 5. Click the OK button to add the bleed margin to
the current selection as shown below.
• Bleed/Shrink Selection,
• Smooth Selection
• Auto Element Selection
• Auto Magic Selection
• Auto Marquee Selection
• Auto Polygon Selection.

3.0 To use Bleed/Shrink Selection :

1. Make a selection, e.g. as illustrated below.

Clicking the Shrink radio button instead would

produce the below result.

2. Open the Image menu and click on Bleed/

Shrink Selection.

The above applies to all types of selections.

Shortcut : b : Repeats the latest Bleed/Shrink op-

eration using the same settings

Page 3-28
 PERfection User Guide Tools Window

3.0 To use Smooth Selection : 2. Open the Image menu and click on Auto Ele-
The Smooth Selection function softens the border ment Selection.
of an existing selection.

The Smooth by size parameter controls the degree

of softening. If the Smooth type Open is selected, PERfection changes the selection to consist of the
border details are preserved to some degree while bounding boxes of all connected elements on the
holes in the selection with a radius of the Smooth first active channel.
by size or smaller are closed. If the Smooth type
Close is selected, the smoothing will be strongest The function can also be executed by double click-
on the borders while holes in the selection to some ing the Auto Marquee selection tool with the Ctrl
degree will be preserved. key depressed.

3.0 To use Auto Element Selection : To use Auto Magic Selection

3.0
This command makes a new selection within the When selected from the Image menu, the com-
current selection such as the one above (or the full mand selects all objects of the current foreground
image if no selection made). colour within the current selection. The command
is also executed by double clicking the Magic se-
lection tool button.

To use Auto Marquee Selection 3.0

When selected from the Image menu, the com-
mand accomplishes the same as described above
under Auto Marquee tool (see page 3-27). The
command is also executed by double clicking the
Auto Marquee tool button.

To use Auto Polygon Selection 3.0

When selected from the Image menu, the com-
1. Make a selection using the Marquee tool, e.g. mand accomplishes the same as described above
as shown above. under Auto Polygon tool (see page 3-27). The com-

Page 3-29
Tools Window PERfection User Guide

mand is also executed by double clicking the Auto • The Text, Line, Pen, and Fill tools use the cur-
Polygon tool button. rent foreground colour restricted to the currently
active channels.
Shortcuts : Ctrl-A : Select All, select the full image
• the Eraser tool uses the current background col-
area of all active channels.
our restricted to the currently active channels.
Ctrl-C or Ctrl-Insert : Copy, save cur- • the Alignment (move) tool and the Cut and Clear
rently selected area of all active chan- commands fill vacated pixels with the back-
nels in clipboard. If no selection is ground colour.
made, the full image is copied.
To toggle between the foreground and background
Ctrl-D : Deselect, remove any active se- colours :
lection. 1. Click on the arrow symbol and
Ctrl-V or Shift-Insert : Paste, merge repeat to toggle back.
current clipboard into currently active
channels. The foreground colour relies on the
Ctrl-X or Shift-Delete : Cut, save cur- selection of Active Channels, i.e. if
rently selected area of all active chan- only the cyan separation is active, the foreground
nels in clipboard and fill area with colour will display as cyan.
background colour. If no selection is
made, the full image is cut. To restore the foreground colour of the currently ac-
tive channels:
Ctrl-H: Toggle the display of running
selection border lines on/off. This is 1. Click the black-over-white symbol to restore
particular useful for accurate align- the foreground and background colours to solid
ment or positioning of text or pasted se- and blank, respectively, in all channels.
lections where the running lines can be
somewhat disturbing. To select foreground/background colours :
1. Click on the colour selector symbol in the tool
Del: Erase the selected area in all ac- box to open the dialog below.
tive channels.

Ins: Fill the selected area in all active

channels.

3.3.15 Colour Selector

As PERfection works with bitmap
files, you work with only two
colours on the screen. The colour se-
lector applies to the Text, Eraser,
Line, Alignment, and Fill tools.

Page 3-30
 PERfection User Guide Tools Window

2. Select editing the Foreground or Background 2. Click the Save or Load button
colours by pressing the corresponding colour
field.

3. Edit the Dot% values of the image channels to

make up the required colour.

4. Leave the Auto check boxes checked to let the

application decide screen ruling and angle for a. To save, enter a name for the colour to be
the individual channels, or deselect Auto and saved and click the OK button.
enter values for screen Angle and ruling (in
current resolution unit). If Auto is selected for a This adds the colour to the working palette.
channel, the application will inspect that chan-
nel to locate a screen ruling and angle that co-
mes close to what is already used in the chan- b. To load, click on the desired colour in the list
nel. If no screen is found in a channel a default of colours available in the working palette and
value is used. click the OK button.

5. When both foreground and background colours

are set up correctly, close the dialog by clicking
on OK.

The foreground colour can also be modified by

When you load a colour, the colour list displays
changing the current Fill state of the individual
only those colours with corresponding plates in the
channels in the Channels window (see subsct. 3.5).
image.
3.0 To save/load a colour to/from the current palette:
1. Click and select either the foreground or back- A colour can also be loaded by double clicking on
ground colour. it in the Colors window (see subsct. 3.10).

Page 3-31
Navigator Window PERfection User Guide

3.4 Navigator Window

PERfection opens and displays any image at the
magnification ratio set in Preferences, however, in
certain cases it may be difficult to get an overview
of the image.

Some of the Zoom tools have been mentioned

above, but probably the easiest way to control the
image display is by using the Navigator window.
The Navigator window displays the full image dur-
ing the entire editing process and works in parallel
with the Zoom tool and the Hand tool.

To set the zoom ratio : 3. Point and click with the left mouse button out-
side the red box (cursor changes to pointer), and
1. Click the slider with the left mouse button and the red box moves to that part of the image.
hold it, as you drag left (zoom out) or right
(zoom in). If you prefer not to use the Navigator window, it
may be closed either by clicking the quit button in
top right corner of the window, or by unchecking
Navigator in the Window menu.

Shortcuts: D or K or Shift-Down arrow : Scroll

down 3/4 of a display
E or I or Shift-Up arrow : Scroll up 3/4
of a display
S or J or Shift-Left arrow : Scroll left
3/4 of a display
F or L or Shift-Right arrow : Scroll
right 3/4 of a display
W or P : Next display, step forward 3/4
of a screen according to current
direction
To pan the image : Q or O : Previous display, step back-
1. Position the cursor inside the red box (cursor ward 3/4 of a screen according to cur-
changes to hand shape). rent direction
Ctrl-’+’ : Zoom In, increase current
2. Click with the left mouse button and hold it, as magnification by a factor 2
you drag the red box to the desired image area, Ctrl-’-’ : Zoom Out, decrease current
OR, magnification by factor 2

Page 3-32
PERfection User Guide Channels Window

3.5 Channels Window

If you wish to inspect a single channel on its own,

just click with the left mouse button in the check
boxes next to all other channel colours.
PERfection reads and writes bitmap images contain-
ing up to 16 different spot or process colours. Indi- Active : A check mark in the column indicates that
vidual channels can be visible without being active a separation is active for editing.
for editing, whereas the opposite is never the case.
This is to prevent unexpected change of hidden Fill : A black check mark in this column indicates
channels. that the foreground colour contains 100% of this
separation colour. No check mark indicates 0% and
PERfection’s Channels window lists all channels a gray check mark signifies somewhere between
of the current image : 0% and 100%. The latter state can only be ob-
tained by defining the foreground colour in the Se-
• composite (All) channel is listed first to enable lect Foreground and Background colour dialog as
easy selection of all channels described in subsct. 3.3.15.
• up to 16 colours of the active image are listed in Separations cannot be active for editing and invisi-
the order they are defined on the scanner, or in ble at the same time. However, a channel can be
the Edit channels dialog. Long colour names visible without being active. This is useful, e.g.
will be truncated, but the full name will appear, when aligning one channel to another.
if you position the cursor over the name. This Shortcut : Ctrl-1, Ctrl-2, .., Ctrl-9 : Make channel
provides a fast and easy way to make a specific 1, 2, .., 9 active and visible and deselect
channel active and visible and deselect all oth- all others
ers.
Double clicking a channel name label (or All) se- 3.0
Shortcut : Ctrl-~ (Tilde) : Make all channels ac- lects and activates that channel (or all channels)
tive and visible and deselects all other channels.

Visible : A check mark in this column indicates that Double clicking the Channel label opens the Edit 3.0
the separation colour is visible on the screen. channels dialog (see page 3-7).

Page 3-33
Information Window PERfection User Guide

A single visible colour channel will be displayed in The Information window reads out dot percentage
black, if this has been specified in the Preferences. values for each channel in the active image. By de-
This is to facilitate editing of a light channel, e.g. fault the default dot percentage value is measured
the yellow channel. over 64 x 64 pixels, however, this value may be
changed under Preferences (see subsct. 3.1.1).
3.6 Information Window
Note: Remember that pixel resolution is typi-
The Information window provides detailed informa- cally 10-15 times the screen ruling, i.e. an accu-
tion about : rate dot reading requires at least 50 x 50 pixels.

• the current cursor position

For use with the Ruler tool the Information win-
• width and height of a selection/crop box as well dow also reads out Distance and Angle. The Angle 3.0
as vertical and horizontal offset of the selection field is used also while rotating a text selection.
box (anchor point). These values can be edited
by typing the new position or size in the relevant 3.7 Paths Window
box. This enables the user to accurately control
width, height, and starting point co-ordinates of
e.g. an expandable marquee selection or a crop-
ping box.
• dot percentage values beneath the cursor of all
channels/separations in the image.

The Paths window shows a list of the paths cur-

rently defined in the image. See page 3-23 for de-
tails on how to use the controls in the Paths win-
dow to add, delete, or modify paths.

Information such as pointer position (X- and Y-co- Holding down the Alt key when selecting a new
ordinates) and dot percentage values of each chan- path in the paths list will zoom to fit to the bound-
nel are read out whenever the pointer is moved. ing rectangle of that path.

Page 3-34
PERfection User Guide Magnifier Window

3.8 Magnifier Window The Batch Log window provides a practical way of
monitoring ongoing batch processing operations
The Magnifier window is a useful tool for quick in-
while at the same time using PERfection for interac-
spection of specific areas of the image.
tive image manipulations. The contents of the Batch
Log window is a short version of the Log window of
The Magnifier window displays the image data of
the active channel(s) below the current cursor posi- the Batch Processing dialog (see page 5-3).
tion at the selected magnification ratio.
The Batch Log window uses automatic folding of
completed items for improved overview. To ex-
pand folded lines or fold expanded lines manually,
double click the appropriate lines with the left
mouse button.

3.10 Colors Window 3.0

The magnification ratio of the image shown in the

magnifier window can be set in the range from 1:4
to 8:1. It is changed by moving the slider in either The Colors window allows for managing the cur-
direction. rent colour palette (see page 3-37) which is used
for fast setup of fore- and background colours used
3.9 Batch Log Window with various painting tools.

The working palette is saved when the application

is closed and restored when re-opened.

Page 3-35
Colors Window PERfection User Guide

New/Edit : Clicking the button opens the Edit col-

ors-dialog above. If a colour is selected in the list, Click on a file name to select it, and click the Open
the button text changes to Edit. Depressing the Ctrl button to open the palette in the Colors window.
key drops the current selection and re-enables the
New button. Save : Clicking the Save button, opens the Save
As-dialog allowing you to save the working palette.

Del : Click the Del button, if you wish to delete the

selected colour.

You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.

Enter a file name for the palette to be saved, and
Load : Clicking the Load button, opens the file click the Save button. If an existing palette is to be
browser with the filter set for palette files. updated, select its name in the list and click the
Save button - you will be prompted for a confirma-
tion of the update.
If changes to the working palette have been made
prior to loading another, you will be asked whether The Colour picker tool can be used as an easy way
you wish to save the current working palette. to add colours to the current colour palette.

Page 3-36
PERfection User Guide Colors Window

To make a palette colour the current foreground colour: A plate can be one of the standard process colours:
1. Double click the colour in the Colors window. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black, a colour from a
colour system like Pantone, or it can be fully user
If the selected colour contains channels which defined. Plates correspond to channels in an image
are not present in the current image, you will be and the editor used to set up a plate definitions is
asked whether you wish these channels to be very similar to the one used edit channel defini-
added automatically. tions, but with added controls for optional specifi-
cation of screen ruling and angle for each plate.
To add new colours to the colour palette : This editor can only be reached through Edit Plates
button on the Color tab in Preferences.
1. Click and select the Colour picker tool.
The second part of the PERfection colour palette is
2. Hold down the Shift key and click in the image
the palette colour list.
to add a new colour.
A palette colour is a combination of up to 16 of the
This opens the Edit Colors dialog with the se-
plates present in the palette.
lected colour values already entered.
A palette colour defines one dot percentage value
3. Enter a name for the colour and click on Save
for each of the plates which make up the colour.
to save it in the working palette.

If the Shift and Ctrl keys are both pressed and held A palette colour can be used as either foreground
when a colour is selected with the Colour picker or background colour for any image which in-
tool, a colour is added directly to the palette using a cludes at least the channels corresponding to the
generic colour name. plates defined in the colour. Subsequently, the col-
our can be applied with any of the PERfection
3.10.1 Colour Palettes painting tools: Pen, Fill, Eraser, Text, and Line.

The PERfection colour palette consists of two Palette colours can be edited in a dialog opened ei-
parts. ther from the Edit Colors button on the Color tab of
Preferences or through the Edit/New button of the
The first part is a list of plate definitions, in the fol- Colors tool window. Alternatively, the foreground
lowing just called plates, each having a unique and background colours can be saved to the work-
name, an opaque flag, and a set of equivalent ing palette, or new palette colours can be defined
CMYK dot percentage values. directly by selecting them with the Colour picker
tool.
The two latter parts define the colour appearance
of the plate and how it blends with other plates. In Please note the difference between a plate defini-
addition, a screen ruling and angle, that together tion with a set of CMYK equivalent dot percent-
describes how the colour should be rendered when ages and a palette colour made up of (possibly the
used as a tint (non-solid) value, can be configured same) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black dot per-
for each plate in the palette. centages. Where the first defines a solid plate col-

Page 3-37
 Actions Window PERfection User Guide

our on a single image channel, the latter is a blend To create a new action list :
of process colours that make up the same colour
using conventional screening techniques.
1. Click the New button to open the Action Set-
tings window.
Only one colour palette can be loaded in PERfec-
tion at any time allowing for only one set of default
screening values for each plate. However, PERfec- New and Edit are both contained in this button. If
tion can save and load the working palette to/from an action is selected in the Actions window, the
palette files allowing an easy switch of palette col- software assumes that an edit session is next. De-
our sets or default screening values. Loading or pressing the Ctrl key drops the current selection in
saving the working colour palette can be done ei- the list box and enables the New button.
ther from the Color tab in Preferences or through
the Load/Save buttons of the Colors tool window.

3.0 3.11 Actions Window

The Actions window displays and handles action

lists, which can consist of any actions available to
batch processing, i.e. both filter and other image
operations, allowing easy application of a series of
operations.

The Actions window also allows action lists to be

created (New), deleted (Del), edited (Edit), and ap-
plied to the image by double clicking the action
name in the list window. 2. Enter a name and a description for the new ac-
tion list.
Also, actions can be imported/exported (Import/
Export) to/from external setting files which pro- 3. Click on an action under Available Actions to
vides easy sharing of settings between different select it and click the Add button to ad it to Ac-
PERfection installations. tive Actions list.

Page 3-38
PERfection User Guide Actions Window

3. Click the Yes button to delete the selected ac-

tion, and No to keep it.

If the added action is a filter which has parameters Action lists can be imported/exported individually
to be adjusted, clicking on the action in the Active or in collections to allow sharing among several
Actions list enables the Edit button allowing pa- PERfection installations.
rameters to be customised individually.
To export an action list :
4. When all actions have been added to the list, 1. Click the Export button to export the selected
click the Ok button.. action list to an external file. If nothing is se-
lected, all actions are saved into one and the
same collection file.

..and the action displays in the Actions window.

Any action list composed through the Batch Pro-

cessing dialog (see page 4-18) and saved as a
named action list, is also automatically displayed
in the Actions window.

To edit/delete an action list :

2. Browse to the desired location in the file sys-
1. Click on the action list in the window to be ed- tem and enter the name for action list/action list
ited/deleted. collection file.

2. Click the Edit/Del button. 3. Click the Save button to finalise the save opera-
tion.
Clicking the Edit button opens the Action Settings
To import an action list or an action list collection :
window (see left), whereas the Del button opens
this dialog: 1. Click the Import button to open the Open dialog.

Page 3-39
Actions Window PERfection User Guide

This opens the Action Progress monitor (above)

2. Click on the desired file filter, and then click on which displays the entire process.
an action list name or collection file name.
2. To initiate an action on a disk file, press and
3. Click the Open button to open it. hold the Shift key while double clicking on the
desired action in the list box to open the File
Open-dialog.
To initiate an action :
An action can be initiated either on an open image,
or on a closed image file.

1. To initiate an action on an already open image,

double click on the action in the Action list.

If a selection is present in he image, non-global ac-

tions will process only the selected area. If the Alt
key is pressed and held while double clicking on
the action, the selection is ignored, and the full im-
age will be processed in all cases.
3. Click on the file name(s) and the Open button.

If the selected file is part of a separation set, the soft-

ware may ask you - depending on the file format -
whether you wish to process all files in the set.

Page 3-40
PERfection User Guide Status Bar

4. Click the Yes/No button to start/cancel the action.

As in the first example, the Action Progress moni-

tor opens displaying the ongoing process. If several
files are opened, the action is performed on each of
them in turn.

3.12 Status Bar

The Status bar in the bottom right of the screen dis-

plays the basic properties of the current image,
such as image dimensions in the current unit, cur-
rent resolution and the amount of disk space occu-
pied on disk for the current image.

Page 3-41
PERfection User Guide General

4. Filters
4.1 General
PERfection offers seven filter functions which con-
tribute dramatically to increased productivity in the
digital workflow:

• AutoClean
• DotClean
• Dot Correction
• DustFilter
• Registration
• Rotation
• Resample 2. Open the Filters menu and click on AutoClean
to open the filter parameter settings (see be-
The following shortcuts apply to all filters : low).
Shortcuts : 1,...,9,0 : Re-apply filter 1,...,9,10 with
the current settings (numbered as listed 3. When parameters have been set - the example
in the Filter menu) uses a radius of 4 and a threshold value of 50 -
click on OK to start processing.
Shift-1,...,Shift-9, Shift-0 : Open filter
1,...,9,10 to edit settings before applying
the filter
Ctrl-F or F2 : Re-apply last used filter
with current setting

4.2 AutoClean
AutoClean works as a filter which automatically re-
moves dust and scratches from areas with non-
screened areas, e.g. text areas.

AutoClean example :
1. Open the image (and pick a selection tool, if
you wish to focus on a specific area).

The sample image shows a typical line scan con- Provided you have balanced the parameters correctly,
sisting of text, spots and speckles. AutoClean will clean up your image to perfection.

Page 4-1
 DotClean PERfection User Guide

A checked box indicates that a path of that specific

type is processed by the filter.

AutoClean Parameter Settings

AutoClean has only two parameters to set. Parame-
4.3 DotClean
ter settings cannot be generalised and depend on
the image contents :

Radius : Determines the size of the dirt to be elimi-

nated by PERfection as expressed in pixels. Usually, a
value of 3-4 will be optimal - the maximum value is
10. The size of text expressed in pixels will typically
be significantly larger than the dirt, and the visual
degradation on the text will be minimal.

Threshold (%) : A percentage value of 50 is neu-

tral as regards the amount of black and white pix-
els. Values above 50 will tend to generate more
black pixels, i.e. fatter text and larger dots. Values
below 50 generate less black pixels.

Paths support : When checked, the AutoClean fil- DotClean is a filter feature which is designed for
ter uses previously defined paths (see page 3-21). use specifically in traditionally screened images,
By default, only Text and Graphics areas are fil- i.e. not in stochastic or frequency modulated
tered, whereas Solid areas are filled and Blank ar- screens. Channels without halftone data should be
eas are cleared. For images with only the default deactivated prior to filtering.
Undefined path, this setting is ignored by default.
DotClean procedure :
3.0 The filter behaviour for areas of different path
types can be changed by pressing the Configure 1. Open the image and focus on the area of inter-
button. est.

Page 4-2
PERfection User Guide DotClean

4. When parameters have been set, click the

In the sample image we have located an area which Ok-button to start the filtering.
contains scratches and small areas with incomplete
raster patterns. The filtering progress is indicated by a progress bar.
2. Pick a selection tool and draw your selection box.

3. Open the Filters menu and click on DotClean

filter to open the filter parameter settings (see
below).

Upon completion of the filtering you should be left

with a completely clean area as demonstrated by
the illustration below - scratches have been re-
moved and replaced by a screen which matches the
surrounding area.

If the cleaning was insufficient, you can undo it

and repeat it with a higher setting of the parame-
ters. If, on the other hand, the cleaning turned out
to be too hard on the image details, you may try a
Parameter settings cannot be generalised. The val- less harsh setting.
ues applied inevitably depend on the type of origi-
nal scanning resolution and ultimately the effect The shortcut Ctrl-F (alternatively function key F2)
you want to achieve. allows you to reuse the recent filter settings with-

Page 4-3
DotClean PERfection User Guide

out having to open the dialog. This is time saving to the filter size. For typical dust and dirt, 5-10 may
for use on various selected areas with a proven pa- be sufficient - a large scratch may require 50.
rameter setting.
Effect (%) : The effect parameter determines the
If one separation contains areas with different degree of filtering, i.e. is comparable to a volume
screen parameters (ruling or angle), every such control.
area should be selected and filtered separately,
i.e. reopen the DotClean parameter dialog be- To some extent the two above settings interact.
fore switching from one screen type to another.
Restore dot shape : The purpose of this setting is to
counteract the main purpose of the filter, i.e. it will
However, the DotClean filter can handle different attempt to restore the dot shape as produced by the
screen rulings and angles in one filtering as long as scanning.
these are located on different separations.
This is important, e.g. when you process an image
which was scanned using the built-in Moiré filter.
If you set this value to zero on such an example,
DotClean is likely to reinstate the Moiré effect
which was eliminated in the scanning.

Limit to selection : When checked, PERfection does

not look beyond the edges of selection when ana-
lysing the image data.

This option should be checked, if your result is dis-

turbed by details located outside the selection. Such
areas could be non-screened graphic areas, text, or
areas with different screen parameters. This setting
increases processing time, and consequently should
be used only in such cases mentioned above.

DotClean Parameter Settings High precision filter : When checked, PERfection

will analyse four times the number of pixels used
Generally, DotClean sets out to re-establish the by the default setting to achieve a higher degree of
original screen pattern on the basis of the one al- precision. However, this will also increase process-
ready existing in the image. ing time by approximately the same factor. The
setting is particularly useful in screened areas with
Filter size : The filter size determines the size of a very low dot percentage, i.e. where each halftone
the area which PERfection uses for its filtering dot is made up by only a few pixels.
analysis. There is a relation between the setting and
the size of dirt, that it will eliminate. Furthermore, Paths support : When checked, the DotClean filter
the calculation time is approximately proportional uses defined paths (see page 3-21). By default, Screen

Page 4-4
 PERfection User Guide DotClean

areas are filtered, Solid areas are filled and Blank ar-
eas are cleared. For images with only the default Un-
defined path, this setting is ignored by default.

3.0 The filter behaviour for areas of different path types

can be changed by pressing the Configure button.

Automatic : A mild setting which may be used on

the entire image without damaging small image
details or text/graphics. Tends to remove minor
A checked box indicates that a path of that specific particles and could be used over the entire image
type is processed by the filter. area on files which are mildly scruffy and/or dirty.

Loading and Saving Settings

Filter settings may be saved and reloaded using de-
scriptive names to suit particular requirements.

To load a named filter setting :

1. Select DotClean from the Filters menu.

2. In the DotClean dialog click the Load button to

open the DotClean Filter Settings dialog.

Line and Scratch - moderate : Removes hairs and

scratches in areas with some image detail.

Initially, PERfection loads four predefined settings Note : This setting and those below should not be
which were installed with PERfection. used on the entire image area.

Page 4-5
DotClean PERfection User Guide

Line and Scratch - Harsh : Removes large open from a default setting. This default setting can
scratches and artefacts in areas of slowly changing be changed in the DotClean dialog by pressing the
image content. Save Defaults button or restored by pressing by the
Load Defaults.
Edit maximum : Removes image content, e.g. text
or line elements, from areas with flat tints or grada-
tions.

3. Select the desired filter setting by clicking on

its name in the list box and click OK to return
the DotClean dialog.

Delete : Used for deleting selected filter setting.

4. The DotClean now reflects the values con-

tained in the selected settings file.

The settings may be used “as-are”, or you may

choose to fine-tune, e.g. toggle Limit to selection,
and/or save the settings under a new name.

5. Click OK to start the filtering process.

To save a filter setting :

1. When a setting has been found generally use-
ful, click the Save button.

2. Enter a descriptive name for the setting and

click OK to save for later use.

PERfection attaches individual filter settings to

each open image. The setting for one image can be
changed without affecting settings for other open
images. The filter setting is initialized upon image

Page 4-6
PERfection User Guide DotClean

4.3.1 DotClean Settings Examples

The Line and Scratch - moderate-setting is illus-
trated in the previous subsection. The effects of the
three other preinstalled DotClean filter settings are
illustrated below.

Page 4-7
DotClean PERfection User Guide

Page 4-8
PERfection User Guide DotClean

Page 4-9
Dot Correction PERfection User Guide

4.4 Dot Correction Edit Curve : Allows you to edit the dot correction
curve to achieve the wanted effect. You add points
The Dot Correction filter allows adaption of a set of on the curve by clicking on the curve, whereas
scanned film separations to changed printing param- points are deleted by pressing and holding the Ctrl
eters. The filter makes it possible to adjust for, e.g. button while clicking on the point to be deleted.
other than the originally intended dot gain by chang- Points may also be changed by entering Before and
ing the dot percentage selectively depending on the After-values into the list or by dragging the indi-
channel name and the original dot percentage. vidual points with the mouse.

Average size : Enter a value which produces a stable

dot percentage estimate while not giving too slow a
response in areas of rapid image information change
e.g. along edges of screened areas. Typically, a good
initial setting is app. 2-3 times the ratio between the
scan resolution and the screen ruling.

Auto average size : When checked, the software

examines the image area attempting to establish
the optimum value for the average size parameter.

Channels : You may perform dot correction on all or Load/Save Settings : Allows you to load and save
individual channels selected in the drop down box. filter settings, respectively.

Please note that settings names are not over-

written, i.e. you can have several different set-
tings with the same name.

Path support : The operation of the Dot Correction

filter can be controlled with previously defined paths
(see page 3-21). By default, only Screen areas are
filtered, whereas all other areas are left unchanged.
For images with only the default Automatic path
defined, this setting will be ignored.

The filter behaviour for areas of different path types 3.0

can be changed by pressing the Configure button.

Page 4-10
PERfection User Guide Dust Filter

DustFilter Parameter Settings

Filter radius : The radius setting determines the

action radius of the filter measured in pixels. Gen-
erally, the value should be kept low to avoid exces-
sive filtering which could damage the dot pattern.

Symmetric threshold : When checked, the two

threshold sliders below will move symmetrically,
A checked box indicates that a path of that specific i.e. raising one will lower the other.
type is processed by the filter.

To use Dot Correction filter with Batch Processing Lower/Upper threshold : The two sliders contribute
or Filter Shortcuts, see page 5-5. to determining the filtering range. Data below the
lower threshold will be turned white, whereas data
4.5 Dust Filter above the upper threshold will be turned black.
The Dust filter is a built-in feature which - when
used correctly and with caution - automatically re- Restore dotshape : The function is designed to
moves dust and scratches present on the originals re-establish data which was unwantedly deleted in
from the scanned image(s). the filtering process.
Clicking on DustFilter opens the settings window
with the default values shown below: This is accomplished by comparing the non-fil-
tered data with the filtered data to check which pix-
els were changed. If the comparison reveals that
black pixels, which were changed, have neighbour-
ing black pixels, they are changed back to black
thus rebuilding, e.g. edges of screen dots, text out-
lines etc. This procedure is repeated the number of
times indicated by the Restore dotshape setting.

Paths support : When checked, the Dust filter uses

previously defined paths (see page 3-21). By de-
fault, only Text areas are filtered, whereas Solid ar-
eas are filled and Blank areas are cleared.

The filter behaviour for areas of different path types 3.0

can be changed by pressing the Configure button.

Page 4-11
Dust Filter PERfection User Guide

Table 1: Scan Resolution 400 lin/cm ~ 1016 lin/inch

Screen ruling
Lines/cm 33 40 48 53 60 70
Lines/inch 84 102 122 135 152 178
Dot Size % Pixels per dot
1 1.5 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.3
2 2.9 2.0 1.4 1.1 0.9 0.7
3 4.4 3.0 2.1 1.7 1.3 1.0
A checked box indicates that a path of that specific
4 5.9 4.0 2.8 2.3 1.8 1.3
type is processed by the filter.
5 7.3 5.0 3.5 2.8 2.2 1.6
Load/Save Defaults : Clicking the Save button 6 8.8 6.0 4.2 3.4 2.7 2.0
saves the current settings to a new default setting
7 10.3 7.0 4.9 4.0 3.1 2.3
which in turn can be reloaded by clicking the Load
button. 8 11.8 8.0 5.6 4.6 3.6 2.6
9 13.2 9.0 6.3 5.1 4.0 2.9
As the dust filter operates on pixel level, it is obvi-
10 14.7 10.0 6.9 5.7 4.4 3.3
ous that filter settings depend on the scan resolu-
tion and screen ruling. The tables below show the
relation between scan resolution, screen ruling, dot
size and pixels per dot. Table 2: Scan Resolution 472 lin/cm ~ 1200 lin/inch
Screen ruling
Lines/cm 33 40 48 53 60 70
Lines/inch 84 102 122 135 152 178
Dot Size % Pixels per dot
1 2.0 1.4 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.5
2 4.1 2.8 1.9 1.6 1.2 0.9
3 6.1 4.2 2.9 2.4 1.9 1.4
4 8.2 5.6 3.9 3.2 2.5 1.8
5 10.2 7.0 4.8 4.0 3.1 2.3
6 12.3 8.4 5.8 4.8 3.7 2.7
7 14.3 9.8 6.8 5.6 4.3 3.2
8 16.4 11.2 7.8 6.4 5.0 3.6
9 18.4 12.6 8.7 7.2 5.6 4.1
10 20.5 14.0 9.7 7.9 6.2 4.6

Page 4-12
PERfection User Guide Dust Filter

Table 3: Scan Resolution 500 lin/cm ~ 1270 lin/inch Table 5: Scan Resolution 800 lin/cm ~ 2032 lin/inch
Screen ruling Screen ruling
Lines/cm 33 40 48 53 60 70 Lines/cm 33 40 48 53 60 70
Lines/inch 84 102 122 135 152 178 Lines/inch 84 102 122 135 152 178
Dot Size % Pixels per dot Dot Size % Pixels per dot
1 2.3 1.6 1.1 0.9 0.7 0.5 1 5.9 4.0 2.8 2.3 1.8 1.3
2 4.6 3.1 2.2 1.8 1.4 1.0 2 11.8 8.0 5.6 4.6 3.6 2.6
3 6.9 4.7 3.3 2.7 2.1 1.5 3 17.6 12.0 8.3 6.8 5.3 3.9
4 9.2 6.3 4.3 3.6 2.8 2.0 4 23.5 16.0 11.1 9.1 7.1 5.2
5 11.5 7.8 5.4 4.4 3.5 2.6 5 29.4 20.0 13.9 11.4 8.9 6.5
6 13.8 9.4 6.5 5.3 4.2 3.1 6 35.3 24.0 16.7 13.7 10.7 7.8
7 16.1 10.9 7.6 6.2 4.9 3.6 7 41.1 28.0 19.4 15.9 12.4 9.1
8 18.4 12.5 8.7 7.1 5.6 4.1 8 47.0 32.0 22.2 18.2 14.2 10.4
9 20.7 14.1 9.8 8.0 6.3 4.6 9 52.9 36.0 25.0 20.5 16.0 11.8
10 23.0 15.6 10.9 8.9 6.9 5.1 10 58.8 40.0 27.8 22.8 17.8 13.1

Table 4: Scan Resolution 709 lin/cm ~ 1800 lin/inch Table 6: Scan Resolution 1000 lin/cm ~ 2540 lin/inch
Screen ruling Screen ruling
Lines/cm 33 40 48 53 60 70 Lines/cm 33 40 48 53 60 70
Lines/inch 84 102 122 135 152 178 Lines/inch 84 102 122 135 152 178
Dot Size % Pixels per dot Dot Size % Pixels per dot
1 4.6 3.1 2.2 1.8 1.4 1.0 1 9.2 6.3 4.3 3.6 2.8 2.0
2 9.2 6.3 4.4 3.6 2.8 2.0 2 18.4 12.5 8.7 7.1 5.6 4.1
3 13.8 9.4 6.5 5.4 4.2 3.1 3 27.5 18.8 13.0 10.7 8.3 6.1
4 18.4 12.6 8.7 7.2 5.6 4.1 4 36.7 25.0 17.4 14.2 11.1 8.2
5 23.1 15.7 10.9 8.9 7.0 5.1 5 45.9 31.3 21.7 17.8 13.9 10.2
6 27.7 18.8 13.1 10.7 8.4 6.1 6 55.1 37.5 26.0 21.4 16.7 12.2
7 32.3 22.0 15.3 12.5 9.8 7.2 7 64.3 43.8 30.4 24.9 19.4 14.3
8 36.9 25.1 17.4 14.3 11.2 8.2 8 73.5 50.0 34.7 28.5 22.2 16.3
9 41.5 28.2 19.6 16.1 12.6 9.2 9 82.6 56.3 39.1 32.0 25.0 18.4
10 46.1 31.4 21.8 17.9 14.0 10.2 10 91.8 62.5 43.4 35.6 27.8 20.4

Page 4-13
Dust Filter PERfection User Guide

The tables below demonstrate how many neigh- Table 10

bouring pixels are required for one pixel (N) to sur- Filter radius: 3 Weight per pixel: 2.0%
vive the filtering process at various radius and
O O O O O O O
lower threshold settings.
O O O O O O O
Table 7 O O O O O O O
Filter radius 1 2 3 4 5 6 O O O X O O O
Lower O O O O O O O
Pixels to survive
threshold %
O O O O O O O
20 2 6 10 17 25 34
O O O O O O O
25 3 7 13 21 31 43
30 3 8 15 25 37 51
35 4 9 18 29 43 60
40 4 11 20 33 49 68
45 5 12 23 37 55 77
50 5 13 25 41 61 85

Table 8
Filter radius: 1 Weight per pixel: 11%
O O O
O X O
O O O

Table 9
Filter radius: 2 Weight per pixel: 4.0%
O O O O O
O O O O O
O O X O O
O O O O O
O O O O O

Page 4-14
PERfection User Guide Registration Filter

Table 11 4.6 Registration Filter

Filter radius: 4 Weight per pixel: 1.2 % The Registration filter has been introduced for
O O O O O O O O O those who have no other means of registering sepa-
O O O O O O O O O ration sets. If you use an EskoScan, accurate regis-
tration is performed by the scanner software.
O O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O O Unlike the Alignment tool described in subsct.
O O O O X O O O O 3.3.12, the Registration filter rotates separations in-
dividually to obtain the best possible alignment of
O O O O O O O O O
the separations.
O O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O O To use the registration filter, first select a number of
areas centrered around register or crop marks or im-
O O O O O O O O O
age details present in the same location in more
channels. The size of these selections have no effect
The use of the tables is illustrated by the following on the registration, only the position of the centre.
example.
If no selections are made, the registration filter will
1. Determine the actual scan resolution and inspect the image in the four corners and at the
screen ruling, e.g. 1800 dpi and 53 lines/cm. midpoint of the four image sides. Note, that not all
images will register correctly with this default op-
2. Decide what the minimum surviving dot size eration.
should be, e.g. 3% (97% in the shadow area).

Table 4 shows that at 1800 dpi and 53 lines/cm a

4% dot has an average of 7.2 pixels. This means
that most of them consist of 7 or 8 pixels, but there
will be some which contain 6 or 9 pixels.

3. In order to have 6 or more pixels survive the

filtering you may choose a filter radius of 2 and
a lower threshold setting of 20% (and 80% for
a symmetric result), see Table 7.
Use moiré suppression : Check to apply Moiré sup-
The table shows that the same effect could be pression to the registration process.
achieved by applying a radius of 1 and a lower
threshold of 45%. Filter selected area only : Check to apply registra-
tion to the selected area only. This setting is in-
tended as a way to quickly preview the quality of
the registration obtained with the selected registra-
tion areas. If this step is successful, the filtering is

Page 4-15
Rotation Filter PERfection User Guide

normally undone, the registration filter setup dialog Filter selected area only : Check to apply rotation to
reopened and the filtering repeated with the Filter the selected area only. The alternative is to rotate
selected area only deselected. the full image area of all active channels.

Estimate text skew angle : When checked, PERfec- 3.0

tion will automatically estimate and correct for any
found text skew.

Rotation angle : Enter the desired rotation angle in

degrees.

Verify parameters before filtering : When checked

the filter displays information about the calculated
translation and rotation of the individual separa-
tions in relation to the reference channel. You may
use this information to establish whether the pro-
posed rotation angle and translation differences are
reasonable and abort, if this is not the case. In the
latter situation, you should consider adding or
changing registration areas to guide the filter fur-
ther. CW/CCW : Click either radio button to choose
clock or counter-clock rotation.
Reference channel : Open the drop down box to
Rotate around : Click either radio button to choose
select a channel as reference channel.
the whole image (Image center) or the selected area
as the centre of rotation.
To use the Registration filter with Batch Processing
or Filter Shortcuts, see page 5-5. If an image contains a horizontal (or vertical) de- 3.0
tail, e.g. a box or a line that you wish to make pre-
4.7 Rotation Filter cisely horizontal or vertical, use the Ruler tool (see
The Rotation filter provides a feature for rotation page 3-16) to help establish the rotation angle re-
of the full image or a selected area/selected active quired.
channel(s).
4.8 Resample Filter
Use moiré suppression : Check to apply Moiré sup- The Resample filter allows the resolution and size of
pression to the rotation. an image to be changed independently. However,

Page 4-16
PERfection User Guide Resample Filter

resampling a CopyDot scan should be considered a

last option only, as it typically produces a result infe-
rior to that obtained by rescanning the image at the
correct resolution and size, because the scanner has
continuous tone data available for the resampling
process, whereas PERfection has much less infor-
mation available in the binary image.

When a change of resolution or size is required,

PERfection will, however, produce a much better
result than would be obtained by simply letting the
RIP do the resampling as part of the output proce- Both Size and Resolution in the two directions (X
dure, because PERfection uses a much more ad- and Y) will be linked, if Keep Proportions is check-
vanced resampling technique which attempts to ed, i.e. whenever this box is on, the ratio between
minimize degradation of image details, while try- both X and Y resolutions and X and Y sizes will be
ing to avoid Moiré and other disturbing artifacts. the same as in the current rows above. To make
changes to X and Y-direction separately, simply
To access the Resample filter : uncheck the Keep Proportions.
1. Open the Filters menu and click on Resample.

The setup dialog presents three columns with im-

age Resolution, Magnification, image Size, and im-
age size in Pixels.

Current X and Y : The two upper rows contain the

current values of the active image in the horizontal
(X) and vertical (Y) directions, respectively.

New X and Y : The two lower columns show the

same values after the desired change. Only the Res- 2. Once the editing of image size and resolution
olution and Size fields (X and Y) can be changed. values are completed, click Ok to apply the
The Pixels column is added for information only. change to the image or Cancel to skip the
change.

Page 4-17
Resample Filter PERfection User Guide

If you click Ok, a progress bar displays the pro-

cessing. Clicking on Cancel interrupts the process-
ing at any point.

Therefore, you should make sure that all valuable

edits are saved prior to using the Resample filter.

To use the Resample filter with Batch Processing,

Actions, or Filter Shortcuts, see page 5-6.

Page 4-18
PERfection User Guide General

5. Batch Processing
5.1 General • at least one folder for PERfection to look in for
input files to process, and
For purposes of streamlining production, PERfec-
tion can be set up to do various filtering operations, • at least one for the processed output files.
image geometry changes, channel edits, and format
Several hot-folders may be set up. Filtering and
conversion automatically.
image operations are associated with each defined
The seven filter functions included with PERfec- hot-folder.
tion can all be used for batch processing : To define a hot-folder :
• AutoClean (see pages 4-1, 5-4) 1. Open the File menu and click on Batch Pro-
cessing.
• DotClean (see pages 4-2, 5-5)
• Dot Correction (see pages 4-10, 5-5) 2. Open the File menu and click on Batch Pro-
• DustFilter (see page 4-11) cessing.

• Registration (see pages 4-15, 5-5)

• Rotation (see pages 4-16, 5-5)
• Resample (see pages 4-16, 5-6)

The below five image commands can also be used

individually, or as part of action lists :

• Auto Crop (see page 3-5)

• Canvas Size* (see pages 3-5, 5-6)
• Edit Channels* (see page 5-6)
• Invert Image (see page 3-4)
• Orientation* (see pages 3-5, 5-8)
• Resolution* (see pages 3-4, 5-8)

The image commands with an asterisk require pa-

rameter entries to work correctly when automated,
and are described in the following.

5.2 Hot-Folders
The Batch Processing feature works with hot-fold-
ers, i.e.:

Page 5-1
Hot-Folders PERfection User Guide

3. Click the New button to open the Batch Settings

setup window.

2. Click the All Files button, if you want PERfec-

tion to process supported file types with the
most commonly used extensions, or specify the
extension(s) of the files to process.

When you wish to process multi-file separation

sets, specify only the extension of the controlling
file, e.g. the DCS master file, and ensure that is
placed in the source folder after the separations
files. This is necessary to avoid error conditions
caused by inaccessible files.

Extensions in the Select field must be separated by

semicolon. You may enter *. to specify any file
which has no extension.

3. Click the Watch sub-folders check box to have

PERfection look for files in folders below the
specified path.

4. Click and select one or more filters or image

Note that the setup window has a Source, Action, operations and click the Add button to add
and Destination section. them to the Active Actions list.
Source/Action You may fine tune the filter settings or image
1. Click the Choose button to open the folder operations by selecting it in the Active Actions
browser and select a folder in which PERfec- list and clicking the Edit button.
tion is to look for files to process.
Click the Remove button to remove a selected
filter from the Active Actions list.

It is also possible to change the order in which

two or more selected filters are applied to the
image. To do this, select a filter or image opera-

Page 5-2
 PERfection User Guide Hot-Folders

tions name and click the Up button to apply the If you decide to convert the file format, you
filter earlier and Down to apply it later. may click the Options button to verify the set-
tings of the selected output driver.
For format conversion only, the action list may
be left empty. 4. Click the Create sub-folders check box to have
PERfection copy the source sub-folder struc-
3.0 5. Click the Save or Load buttons to save or re- ture to the output path. Works only when the
store action sequences including all configured Watch sub-folders check box (above) is
parameters. checked.

Saved action lists are also available in the Actions 5. In the Originals drop down box you may
window (see page 3-38). choose what should be done with the original
scan file.
Destination
1. Either click the Monitor radio button, if you
prefer to have the image brought up on the
screen after completed filtering instead of be-
ing output to a file, or click the File radio but-
ton and click the Choose button to open the
folder browser and specify a destination path
3.0 for filtered image files - or click on Both to Save on error : Saves the original scan file in
save the file to a chosen path and open it to the the folder specified in the step below, only if the
monitor. specified processing is not completed success-
fully.
3.0 2. Post-fix string : If specified, the Post-fix string
is added to the output file name before the ex- Save never : The setting is equivalent to delet-
tension. ing the original scan file no matter the outcome
of the specified processing.
3. Open the Format drop down box and click on a
different file format, if you like PERfection to Save always : Saves the original scan file in the
convert the file format when saving it to the folder specified in the step below.
output path, or leave the format setting on Keep
Current to leave the file format unchanged. 6. Click on Choose to specify a folder in which to
save the original scan file.

7. When all settings have been made, click the

OK button to close the window.

Page 5-3
 Hot-Folders PERfection User Guide

Log Window
The Log window displays information about prog-
ress (% done) on file open, filtering (each filtering
operation separately, and save operations.
The Sources window now displays the hot-folder
setup just completed. Monitoring of the folder is The Log window uses automatic folding of com-
already enabled at 20-second intervals which can pleted items for improved overview. To expand
be changed by entering another value. folded lines or fold expanded lines manually, dou-
ble click the appropriate lines with the left mouse
button.

3.0 You can make PERfection temporarily discontinue

batch processing when a certain number of files are A colour code is used for fast interpretation of the
open in the application. The preferred maximum log items. Currently active operations are coloured
number of open files (limits only batch open oper- green, successfully completed operations are col-
ations) is entered in the dialog above. oured blue, while red is used for failed operations.

Monitoring of a single selected or all defined Clicking the Clear button empties the Log window
hot-folders can be stopped by clicking the Stop and and pressing the Save button allows saving the cur-
Stop All buttons, respectively. You may edit and rent contents of the Log window to a text file at a
delete hot-folder setups by clicking the Edit and selected location.
Delete buttons. New hot-folders are added by click-
ing the New button and repeating the steps above. Clicking the OK button closes the Batch Processing
dialog - it does not stop monitoring of hot-folders
If you do have several hot-folders, monitoring is nor file processing. Batch processing is performed
done in the sequence displayed in the Sources win- at a lower processing priority level to allow the
dow. If you prefer another, click and select a user to continue using the normal interactive fea-
hot-folder and click the Up or Down buttons to tures of the application with little or no disturbance
change its priority. from ongoing background tasks.

Page 5-4
PERfection User Guide Filter Actions

5.3 Filter Actions other than those explicitly defined or process col-
our channels covered by a Process channel setting.
5.3.1 AutoClean
Use of the AutoClean filter is described on page 4-1. 5.3.4 Dust Filter
Use of the Dust filter is described on page 4-10.
5.3.2 DotClean
Use of the DotClean filter is described on page 4-2. 5.3.5 Registration Filter
Use of the Registration filter is described on page
5.3.3 Dot Correction 4-15.
Use of the Dot Correction filter is described on
To use the Registration filter with Batch Process-
page 4-10.
ing, Actions, or Filter Shortcuts :
To use Dot Correction filter with Batch Processing,
Actions, or Filter Shortcuts :
When you use the DotCorrection filter with batch
processing or in the Filter Shortcut setup dialog,
the Dot Correction filter setup dialog changes.

When you use the Registration filter with Batch

processing or in the Filter Shortcut setup dialog,
the Registration filter setup dialog changes so that
only the first channel can be used as reference for
the registration.

In batch processing mode, the Registration filter

will be operated as described above when no selec-
tions are made. The registration filter will inspect
By default, only the channel selection All is de-
the image in the four corners and at the midpoint of
fined, but an Add New button becomes available to
the four image sides. Note, that because of this de-
define channel colour names for channels which
fault selection scheme, not all images will register
require an individual dot correction setup. It is pos-
correctly in batch mode.
sible to make a curve setup which applies to all
process colour separation without an individual
5.3.6 Rotation Filter
setting by using the generic channel named Pro-
cess. A special channel name Default is reserved Use of the Rotation filter is described on page
for easy definition of a setup to use for channels 4-16.

Page 5-5
 Image Commands PERfection User Guide

5.3.7 Resample Filter Units : For convenience a drop-down box has been
added providing for choice of units.
Use of the Registration filter is described on page
4-16.

To use the Resample filter with Batch Processing,

Actions, or Filter Shortcuts :

Add to existing image size : When checked, the val-

ues refer to new space surrounding the original im-
When you use the Resample filter with Batch pro- age size - otherwise the values refer to the new ac-
cessing, Actions, or in the Filter Shortcut setup dia- tual image size.
log, the Resample filter setup dialog changes so
that only the new resolution and magnification can Fail if image is cropped : The check box is pro-
be specified. vided for and only relevant in cases when an
auto-crop action fails.
To avoid specifying the resolution, check the Keep
Resolution check box. 5.4.2 Edit Channels

3.0 5.4 Clicking on Edit Channels in the list of available

Image Commands actions opens the below dialog :
In order to extend functionality and provide auto-
mation of repetitious tasks, certain image com-
mands can now be built into action lists and com-
bined with filters.

5.4.1 Canvas Size

The image canvas can be re-sized as part of an ac-
tion list.

When you click on Canvas Size in the list of avail-

able actions, you are presented with a dialog which
is slightly different from the original one (see page
3-5).

Page 5-6
PERfection User Guide Image Commands

This dialog presents a list (initially empty) of chan-

nel edit operations which are performed on the
processed images in the order they appear in the
list (from top to bottom) :

To add ta new channel edit operation to the list :

1. Click the New button.

Modify : Click to modify a channel. Modifying a

channel could include changing colour characteris-
tics, or colour name as shown above. Channel #1
has the colour name to be changed, and Channel #2
the name of the changed colour.

Merge : This operation can be used, e.g. for merg-

ing channels colours with the same CMYK-equiv-
2. Click one of the radio buttons to specify the alents into one (double-burning).
type of operation to be performed.
• Channel #2 is the channel to be merged into
Add : Click to add a new channel. Enter the name Channel #1.
of the channel and click the OK button to add the
• Enter * (asterisk) as Channel #2 name to merge
action.
all channels with the same process equivalents
Delete : Click to delete a channel. Enter the name as Channel #1, into Channel #1.
of the channel to be deleted and click the OK but- • Enter * (asterisk) as Channel #1 name to do the
ton to add the action. same for all channels in the image with the same
process equivalents.

Duplicate : Click to duplicate a channel. This re-

quires you to enter the name of the channel to be
duplicated and the name of the new duplicated
channel.

3. When the required information has been en-

tered, click the OK button to add the channel
edit operation to the list.

Page 5-7
 Image Commands PERfection User Guide

Use Edit to modify already added channel edit

operations, Delete to erase them, and Up and
Down to change the order.

5.4.3 Orientation
When you click on Orientation in the list of avail-
able actions, you are presented with the below op-
tions dialog:

Click the radio button corresponding to the pre-

3.0 ferred orientation and click the OK button to close
the dialog and insert the action into the list.

5.4.4 Resolution
3.0
The Image Resolution dialog is similar to the one
described on page 3-4, and is displayed when you
click to insert Resolution in an action list.

Page 5-8
PERfection User Guide General

6. File Formats
6.1 General 4. Click the Options-button to open format spe-
cific settings for modification (subscts. 6.2 to
Whenever you are editing an image file, you al-
6.9).
ways have the options of saving the image under a
new name and/or using a different format specifi- 5. When you have made the required settings,
cation. Currently, you may use EPS/DCS, click on Save which saves the file and closes
PSImage, New Linework, HandShake LW, PDF, the window.
PCC, EskoDDS, and TIFF-formats which are de-
scribed below (see also page 4.3). 6.2 EPS Format
To use Save as... : The EPS-format set-up contains the following op-
1. Open the File menu and click on Save as... tions:

This opens the Save as dialog.

Format Section
Format list box : The format fields controls the pri-
mary format options of the DCS format. The for-
mat fields allows for selection of the EPS format to
be used for the output file.
2. Locate the folder in which you wish to store
the image and write the new file name. DCS is short for Desktop Colour Separation and is a
standard format for pre-separated images. The DCS
3. If you wish to change the image, click on the format is defined by Quark Inc. for use with desktop
arrow to open the file type list box and choose page layout applications like Adobe Pagemaker and
the desired file type. Quark XPress. The DCS format consists of one high
resolution data part for each separation and a master
At this point you may modify the file type specifi- file part with a screen preview (FPO), references to
cations, if required. the location of the individual high resolution separa-

Page 6-1
EPS Format PERfection User Guide

tion data and possibly a printable low resolution printed. DCS cannot be used in a composite work-
PostScript version of the file. flow, where data has to be kept composite (not sepa-
rated), until it reaches the RIP. Printing DCS as com-
The advantage of DCS in a pre-separated workflow posite will cause the PostScript content of the master
is that the application, when printing, can limit the file (if any) to be printed instead of the high resolu-
PostScript generation to only those parts belonging tion data. This can be used for proofing purposes as
to a given separation. Using composite EPS files in it is done with the Esko-Graphics CopyDot proofing
a pre-separated workflow means downloading all application EskoProof.
EPS data to the RIP once for each separation

Format : Restrictions : Generates :

No DCS Any combination of process and spot colour 1 EPS file for each separation in the image
separations. Preview can only be generated
for images with a single separation

DCS 1 Only for images with the four process colour 1 master file which may include a preview in
separations Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and PC TIFF or EPSI format (can be converted to
Black PICT using the Macintosh tool EskoFile)
1 EPS file for each of four CMYK colours

DCS 2 Mul- Any combination of process and spot colour 1 master file which may include a preview in
tiple File separations PC TIFF or EPSI format (can be converted to
PICT using the Macintosh tool EskoFile)
1 EPS file for each separation in the image
The practical limit as to the number of separations
which can be included in the DCS 2 format is 16

DCS 2 Any combination of process and spot colour sepa- Same as above but all contained in one file
Single File rations

Composite Any combination of process and spot colour 1 composite EPS file with planar encoding of each
Spot separations separation in the image. The file may also include a
preview in PC TIFF or EPSI format (can be con-
verted to PICT using the Macintosh tool EskoFile)

Composite To be used only with standard CMYK sepa- 1 CMYK colour EPS file with or without
CMYK ration sets preview

Page 6-2
PERfection User Guide EPS Format

The DCS format is only relevant for scanning The EPS Composite Spotcolor format will often
CMYK (DCS 1 or 2), or multicolour (DCS 2) look strange on a colour output device if the sepa-
separations as linework (CopyDot), see table rations have mixing colours, as the colours are dis-
below. played as being opaque.

Composite CMYK : The EPS Composite CMYK is

The format options are :
a line-interleaved CMYK EPS format, i.e. a com-
posite (single file) EPS format which saves a
No DCS : generates 1 EPS file with or without
CMYK linework (CopyDot) scan into a CMYK
preview.
colour EPS file with or without preview.
DCS 1 : generates 1 master file which may include a
The format is similar to Adobe Photoshop’s EPS
preview in PC TIFF or EPSI format (can be convert-
CMYK, only using 1-bit pixels instead of 8-bit,
ed to PICT using the Macintosh tool EskoFile), and 1
and supports compression, e.g. PackBits, CCITT
EPS file for each of four CMYK colours.
Gr. 3 and 4). This format can only be used with
standard CMYK separation sets.
DCS 2 Multiple File : generates 1 master file which
may include a preview in PC TIFF or EPSI format
(can be converted to PICT using the Macintosh
tool EskoFile), and 1 EPS file for each colour as
defined in the Separations setup.

There is no practical limit as to the number of sep-

arations which can be included in a separations
scanning when DCS 2 is selected.

DCS 2 Single File : Same as above but contained in

one file.

Composite Spot : The EPS Composite Spotcolor EPS Encoding : Click on the arrow to open the list
format is a planar EPS format, which supports all box and choose between ASCII, ASCII85 or Bi-
process- and spot colours in a single EPS-file with nary.
or without preview. The use of this format is re-
stricted to RIPs supporting overprint, i.e. overprint- Normally, you would choose Binary which is fast
ing colours will not knock out previously printed and compact, but which may be rejected by some
colours. The format supports compression, e.g. servers. ASCII85 is a more efficient way to pack
PackBits, CCITT Gr. 3 and 4). 7-bit data for a Level 2 RIP. ASCII always uses 8
bytes to pack 4 bytes of data, whereas ASCII85 only
Composite Spotcolor images will separate cor- uses a maximum of 5 bytes to pack 4 bytes of data.
rectly only when output by applications like Quark
XPress and Pagemaker which support Adobe’s Compression : It is always recommended to use a
Colour Separation Convention. compression scheme which gives maximum com-

Page 6-3
EPS Format PERfection User Guide

pression and can be read by the application to be Level 1 only : PackBits is allowed through PS sim-
used. This may often be subject to experiments. ulation.

Compression of EPS Files

The available compression methods for EPS files Level 1, 2 & 3 : PackBits, CCITT Group 3 1D,
are listed in the table below. CCITT Group 3 2D, and CCITT Group 4.

PostScript language (RIPs) The files contain Level 1 PostScript code for the de-
Please note the following concerning the RIP to be coding of PackBits only. If decompression of CCITT
used for output. coded files are not available, an error message will ap-
pear on the RIP console and the job will abort.
• If you have a Level 1 RIP, select Level 1.
• If you have a Level 2 or 3 RIP, select Level 1, 2
& 3. Files generated for Level 2 & 3 are slightly Level 2 & 3 : PackBits, CCITT Group 3 1D,
smaller but will not reproduce on a Level 1 RIP. CCITT Group 3 2D, and CCITT Group 4. The
files do not contain any Level 1 PostScript code for
• If it is uncertain, whether the document will be simulation of missing decompression capabilities.
output via Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 RIPs, se-
lect 1, 2 & 3. In this case the generated files will
contain PostScript coding which allows a Level 1 Transparent White: This box must be checked, if
RIP to simulate the missing functions of Level 2 the background (non-black) is to be transparent. A
PostScript. CCITT compression is only available similar selection must be made in the layout pro-
with PostScript Level 2 and 3 RIPs. gram, e.g. Quark XPress.

Compression Algorithm :

PackBits Simple, one-dimensional run-length coding on byte-level. This means that it only becomes
active when at least two successive bytes are identical.
For drawings it can result in compression ratios as high as 10:1, in text 3:1 to 5:1, whereas
it is useless for pre-screened originals. PackBits requires very little computing power.
PackBits should only be used for drawings and text - not for prescreened originals.

CCITT Group 3 1D One-dimensional compression on one-bit level.

CCITT Group 3 2D Two-dimensional compression on bit-level. Much more efficient in compressing fine de-
tails such as fine text and pre-screened originals when compared to the above algorithms.
Compression results are similar to CCITT Group 4, but some programs may prefer CCITT
Group 3 2D.

CCITT Group 4 Two-dimensional compression on bit-level. The preferred choice if the application pro-
gram can accept it and the prime objective is a small compressed file.

Page 6-4
PERfection User Guide EPS Format

Preview Section Image tiling

To overcome image size limitation in all Adobe
based RIPs, all types of EPS files can be tiled by
the PERfection EPS-driver. Tiling will sub-divide
the image into smaller images printed next to each
other. Some workflow systems may also work
more efficient (faster) with tiled files.

Tiling is initiated and controlled by settings in the

Preview : Choose the desired preview between Line- EPS.INI file present in the PERfection application
work, Grey scale, RGB colour, and CMYK colour. folder. The EPS.INI file can be edited in any text
editor, e.g. Notepad. Insert the following two lines
(example) in the [Format] section.

MaxImageWidth=25000
BlockSize=1000000

Preview format : Choose between PC TIFF or EPSI. The MaxImageWidth value indicates the maximum
number of pixels (in the width) allowed in one tile,
PC TIFF is the most commonly used format. It is a
whereas the BlockSize value is the maximum num-
pure binary encoding of the preview data.
ber of bytes in a row of tiles, thus controlling the
height of the tiles. The shown settings will work
EPSI stands for encapsulated PostScript inter-
with all known PostScript level 2 or 3 RIPs, but dif-
change format. It is a portable format that is easy to
ferent settings may prove more efficient for some
read. It consists of ASCII characters arranged as
workflow systems. None of the two values should
PostScript comments.
be set too low, as this will lead to large overhead on
The Macintosh application EskoFile will read the EPSI both file sizes and RIP processing times.
preview and generate a Macintosh style PICT preview.
As an alternative way of specifying the maximum
tile height in pixels, use the parameter,
MaxImageHeight also in the EPS.INI [Format]
section. If this parameter is specified with a value
greater than 0, the BlockSize parameter is ignored,
e.g.

MaxImageWidth = 2048
MaxImageHeight = 2048.
Resolution : The selected value determines the res-
olution of the preview. Choose between 18, 36, 72, The tiled EPS format is not supported by current
or 144 dpi - 72 dpi is recommended. EskoEPS (Esko-Graphics Photoshop plug-in) ver-

Page 6-5
TIFF Format PERfection User Guide

sions nor EskoProof (Esko-Graphics bitmap proof- CCITT Group 3 1D : One-dimensional compres-
ing software) versions prior to EskoProof 2.0. sion on one-bit level. Efficiency is similar to
CCITT Group 3 RLE.

CCITT Group 3 2D : Two-dimensional compres-

6.3 TIFF Format sion on bit-level. Much more efficient in compress-
ing fine details such as fine text and pre-screened
Format Section originals. Compression results are similar to
Strips : Recommended. Refers to the organisation CCITT Group 4, but some programs may prefer
of the data within the TIFF file. CCITT Group 3 2D.

CCITT Group 4 : Two-dimensional compression

on bit-level. The preferred choice if the application
program can accept it and the prime objective is a
small compressed file.

Typical CCITT Gr. 4 compression ratios are:

Motorola : If unchecked, the data transfer is done
in Intel format. Normally, choosing one or the • line drawings 50:1
other format makes no noticeable difference, but • large text 25:1
certain older systems may require one or the other • screened originals from 3:1 to 5:1
setting.
• typical newspaper page 15:1.
Compression : The available compression schemes
are listed below. All compression algorithms can be used without
degrading image quality.

Separation Preview
Mode : Open the list box to select a preview mode.

CCITT Group 3 RLE : One-dimensional compres-

sion on bit-level. More efficient for fine details, Resolution : Open the list box to choose between
such as pre-screened originals, than PackBits. 36, 72, and 144 dpi for the selected preview.

Page 6-6
PERfection User Guide PCC Format

Encoding (see subsct. 6.2)

• Binary
• ASCII
• ASCII85

Compression (see subsct. 6.2)

• PackBits
• Group 3 1D
• Group 3 2D
6.4 PCC Format
• Group 4
The PCC-driver is similar to the EPS-driver in
terms of functionality. However, the individual PS language (see subsct. 6.2)
separation files are saved in TIFF-format.
• Level 1 only
No composite (single file) format options are avail- • Level 2 only
able with the PCC-driver.
• Level 1& 2

Preview (see subsct. 6.2)

• PC TIFF
• EPSI

Preview Resolution
The preview resolution may be set at 36, 72 and
144 dpi, respectively.

6.5 EskoDDS Format

EskoDDS is Esko-Graphics’ stand-alone
descreening application which converts bitmap
scans into continuous tone files for scaling and ed-
The PCC-driver supports the following : iting.

Sub-formats (see subsct. 6.2) The EskoDDS output driver settings apply to the
• No DCS final output, i.e. after the descreening process. The
input file format for the EskoDDS software is al-
• DCS 1 ways a proprietary extension of the TIFF format
• DCS 2 multiple (Linework).

Page 6-7
EskoDDS Format PERfection User Guide

The EskoDDS application accepts only the The algorithms are listed in the order of complex-
EskoDDS format and generates one of the follow- ity and resource demands of these algorithms. The
ing formats for the processed continuous tone files: four descreening quality selections are:

• a single CT Mono file (EPS or TIFF)

• a single CT CMYK file (EPS or TIFF)
• five files in DCS 1 format, or
• DCS 2 multi-file format for non-CMYK separa-
tion sets.

File type
• TIFF
• EPS

Selecting the TIFF-format only enables the

Descreening options, whereas the EPS-format en- Auto : The Auto selection lets the software deter-
ables all options in the setup window. mine which algorithm to use based on the ratio be-
tween the desired output resolution and the screen
Encoding (see subsct. 6.2) ruling found in the original scan.
• Binary
Good : Select Good when the output screen ruling
• ASCII (multiplied by the image magnification) is below
75% of the input screen ruling.
DCS format (see subsct. 6.2)
• No DCS Better : Select Better when the output screen ruling
(multiplied by the image magnification) is between
• DCS 1 75 and 125% of the input screen ruling. A good de-
• DCS 2 fault setting for the majority of descreening jobs.

Descreening Best : Select Best when the output screen ruling

Resolution : Enter the desired resolution of the con-
(multiplied by the image magnification) is above
tinuous tone file to be generated by the EskoDDS 125% of the input screen ruling.
descreening software.
The above selections are, however, only to be
taken as guidelines.
Quality : The descreening quality combo box has
four selections. The names do not refer to the ac- Preview Mode (see subsct. 6.2)
tual quality of the descreened images, however, but
refer to the processing complexity of the 3 different • None
algorithms. • Line

Page 6-8
PERfection User Guide HandShake Format

• CT Mono To select the PSImage Driver :

• CT RGB 1. In the Save as-dialog, open the Save as type-box
and click on PSImage Files.
• CT CMYK
The setup window of the PSImage driver consists of
Preview format (see subsct. 6.2) four fields Format, Preview, Proof, and buttons for clos-
• PC TIFF ing the window - with or without saving the selections.
• EPSI
Format field
Preview Resolution
The preview resolution may be set at 18, 36, and
72 dpi, respectively.

6.6 HandShake Format

The HandShake driver will save the scanned im-
age(s) in HandShake format for compatibility with
the Scitex HandShake LW-format.
Master File : Checking this box creates a master
To select the HandShake driver : file (or FPO) for easy importing/positioning in lay-
1. In the Save as-dialog, open the Save as type-box out applications.
and click on HandShake Files.

The HandShake setup contains no setup options.

6.7 PSImage Format

The PSImage driver generates files conforming to
the PostScript, DSC, EPS and PSImage specifica-
tions. The file format is used with a Scitex work-
flow (e.g. when trapping is required in a mixed
Compression : Select the desired compression algo-
page containing composite and pre-separated data).
rithm (see subsct. 6.2).
The following options are relevant in connection
with the various types of originals:

• PSImage : one high-res file and one master file

with or without a low-res FPO image.
• PSImage : 4 high-res linework files and one mas-
ter file with or without a low-res FPO image. EPS Encoding : ASCII or Binary (see subsct. 6.2).

Page 6-9
NLW - New Linework PERfection User Guide

Normally, you would select binary encoding which

is faster and more compact, but cannot be accepted
by some workflows.

Proof field : Options are None or As Preview. Select

As Preview to add the preview data to the PSImage
FPO (master) file in a format which is accepted by
PostScript proofing devices/printers.

6.8 NLW - New Linework

Preview field : Select representation of the preview
file - None, Linework, Grayscale, RGB colour, or The New Linework format provides the following
CMYK colour. features in a Scitex workflow :

• supports spot colours

• may contain up to 65.536 colours
• requires no RIP prior to plot or exposure.

Preview format : Choose between PC TIFF or

EPSI. PC TIFF which is a pure binary encoding of
the preview data, is the most commonly used for-
mat. EPSI stands for Encapsulated PostScript In-
terchange format. It consists of ASCII characters
arranged as PostScript comments. The Scitex APR
workflow (Automatic Picture Replacement) can To select the NLW Driver :
handle both kinds of preview, but most other appli-
cations can only handle the PC TIFF preview. 1. In the Save as-dialog, open the Save as type-box
and click on NLW Files.

The NLW setup contains one option only:

Master File : When checked (default) the driver

generates a master file which holds information
Resolution : Three options are available: 18, 36 or about the individual separation files for use with
72 dpi. Normally, you would select 72 dpi. the Scitex Brisque workstation. The NLW master
file does not contain a preview and cannot be
placed directly in a page layout.

Page 6-10
PERfection User Guide PDF Format

6.9 PDF Format separation combinations are stored in a planar for-

mat similar to the Composite Spot format used by
The PDF-driver saves the image to a PDF-file the EPS driver.
which subsequently can be opened by any PDF-
reader used un a PDF workflow. Existing Acrobat versions cannot render the planar
format correctly as later separations will fully over-
To select the PDF driver : print previously defined separations instead of
1. In the Save as-dialog, open the Save as type-box blending with them. This is a limitation in the cur-
and click on PDF. rent Acrobat implementations - not an error in the
PERfection PDF driver. The planar format is still
useful as most PDF aware workflow systems will
separate the PDF-file correctly for output.

Normally, Flate is the preferable compression

scheme for the pixel interleaved CMYK format.
However, if one or more spot colors are present in
2. Click the arrow button to open a list of com- the separation set, the planar format is used and
pression options : CCITT Grp. 4 compression (in most cases) is the
best choice no matter the number of separations.

Image Tiling
By default, the PDF driver tiles all images larger than
30000 pixels in either direction, as this is the limita-
tion of the current Acrobat and PostScript level 3 im-
plementations. By using the settings described under
EPS driver (see page 6-5) in the PDF.INI file, tiling
• None can be set up to use smaller tile sizes.
• PackBits : See page 6-4. Updating Multi-Page Documents
• CCITT Group 3 & 4 : See page 6-4. The PDF driver can update a single page in a multi-
page document. To use this feature, specify the image
• Flate : Flate is based on the public-domain
name (in the Save as-dialog) using the syntax:
zlib/deflate compression method. Usually,
flate-encoded output is substantially more <filename>:<page number>
compact than LZW-encoded output for the
same input. <filename> : is the name of the (multi-page) PDF
document WITHOUT extension and
By default, the PDF filter generates two different
types of composite formats for images with more <page number> : is the number of the page to be
than one separation defined. A pixel interleaved replaced completely by the current image. Use
CMYK format is used for all sets containing 2 or <page number> equal to 0 (zero) to append the im-
more process colors and no spot colors. All other age as a new page at the end of the document.

Page 6-11
PERfection User Guide Index

Alphabetical Index

A Colour Picker
Actions Window. . . . . . . . . 3-37 See Tools
Auto Element Selection Colours
See Tools, Selection edit . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14, 3-36
Auto Magic Selection Colours Window . . . . . . . . . 3-35
See Tools, Selection Compression
Auto Marquee Selection CCITT Group 3 1D . . . . . . . . . 6-6
See Tools, Selection CCITT Group 3 2D . . . . . . . 6-4, 6-6
Auto Polygon Selection CCITT Group 3 RLE . . . . . . . . 6-6
See Tools, Selection CCITT Group 4 . . . . . . . . 6-4, 6-6
AutoClean Flate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
See Filters PackBits . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Automation Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
See Batch Processing
D
B Dockable windows . . . . . . . . 2-2
Batch Log . . . . . . . . . . 3-35 Dot Correction
Batch Processing . . . . . . . 3-3, 5-1 Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Post-fix string . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 DotClean
Save/load action sequences . . . . . . 5-3 See Filters
Bleed/Shrink Selection . . . . . . . 3-5
F
C File Format . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
CCITT Conversion . . . . . . . . . . 5-3, 6-1
See Compression EPS format. . . . . . . . . . 6-1 - 6-5
Channels . . . . . . . . . . 3-30 EskoDDS format . . . . . . . . 6-7 - 6-8
Active . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30 HandShake format . . . . . . . . . 6-9
adding . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 NLW format . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 PCC format . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
duplicating . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 PDF Format. . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7 PSImage format . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
merging . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 TIFF format
renaming . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 Motorola . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Visible . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33 Strips . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Channels Window . . . . . . . . 3-33 Filters . . . . . . . . . 3-9, 4-2, 5-5
Colour Auto Clean . . . . . . . . 3-9, 4-1, 5-5
Background . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30 Parameter settings . . . . . . . . 4-2
Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14 Radius. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Foreground . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30 Threshold. . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
sampling. . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15 Dot Correction . . . . . . . . 4-10, 5-5

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DotClean . . . . . . . 3-9, 4-2 - 4-9, 5-5 selecting . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

Parameter settings . . . . . . . . . 4-4 See Tools
Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4 Paths Window . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Filter size . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4 Post-fix string
High precision filter . . . . . . . . 4-4 See Batch processing
Limit to selection . . . . . . . . . 4-4 PostScript . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Restore dotshape . . . . . . . . . 4-4 CCITT . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
DustFilter . . . . . . . . 4-11 - 4-14, 5-5 Level 1 only . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
DustFilter Parameter Settings . . . . . 4-11 Level 1, 2 & 3 . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Filter Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 Level 2 & 3 . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Registration . . . . . . . . . 4-15, 5-5 PackBits . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Resample filter . . . . . . . . . 4-16 Preferences . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Rotation filter . . . . . . . . 4-16, 5-5
R
G Registration
Guides, alignment . . . . . . . . 3-10 Filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
adding . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Resizable windows . . . . . . . . 2-2
clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Batch Processing . . . . .
. . . . 2-2
Colour . . . . . . . .
. . . . 2-2
H Path . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 2-2
Hand . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16 Rotation. . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
I Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Image tiling . . . . . . . . 6-5, 6-11
Information Window . . . . . . . 3-34 S
Shortcuts
M Channels
Ctrl-~ (Tilde): Make all channels active and visi-
Magnifier Window . . .
. . . . . 3-35
ble . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Menu . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 - 3-11
Ctrl-1, Ctrl-2, .., Ctrl-9 : Make channel 1, 2 .., 9
Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
active and visible and deselect all others . . 3-33
File . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Del : Erase selected area in active channels . 3-30
Filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Ins : Fill selected area in active channels 3-3, 3-30
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Cut & Paste
Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Ctrl-C : Copy selected area . . . . . . 3-30
View . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Ctrl-Ins : Copy, save selected area . . . . 3-30
Window. . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Ctrl-V : Paste selection . . . . . . . 3-30
Ctrl-X : Cut selection. . . . . . . . 3-30
N Shift-Delete : Cut selection . . . . . . 3-30
Navigator Window . . . . . . . . 3-31 Shift-Insert : Paste selection. . . . . . 3-30
Display
P Ctrl-B : Toggle batch setup window on/off. . 3-3
Paste special . . . . . . . . . . 3-3 Ctrl-H : Toggle display of ruler on/off. . . 3-30
Path Ctrl-PgDn : Switch to previous open image . 3-11
labelling . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21 Ctrl-PgUp : Switch to next open image . . 3-11

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Ctrl-R : Toggle ruler display on/off . . . 3-10 Zoom

F1 : Open online help . . . . . . . . 3-11 Ctrl-’-’ : Zoom out, decrease current
File magnification by a factor 2 . . . . . 3-32
Ctrl-N : New file . . . . . . . . 3-1 Ctrl-’+’ : Zoom in, increase current
Ctrl-O : Open file . . . . . . . . 3-2 magnification by a factor 2 . . . . . 3-32
Ctrl-S : Save current file . . . . . . 3-2 Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Filters
1,..,9,0 : Re-apply filter 1,..,9,10 with the current T
settings (numbered as listed in the Filter tiling
menu) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 See Image tiling
Ctrl-F or F2 : Re-apply last used filter with Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
current setting . . . . . . . . . 4-1 Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
Shift-1,.., Shift-9, Shift-0 : Open filters 1,..,9, Clone. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
10 to edit settings before applying the filter. 4-1 Colour Picker . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Paths Colour Selector. . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Ctrl-Shift-A: Create path of type Undefined Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
with the shape of current selection . 3-6, 3-23 Eraser . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Ctrl-Shift-B : Create path of type Blank Fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
with the shape of current selection . 3-6, 3-23 Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Ctrl-Shift-G : Create path of type Graphics Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
with the shape of current selection . 3-6, 3-23 Pen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Ctrl-Shift-O : Create path of type Solid with Ruler . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
the shape of current selection . . . 3-6, 3-23 Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Ctrl-Shift-S : Create path of type Screen with Auto Element Selection . . . . . . 3-29
the shape of current selection . . . 3-6, 3-23 Auto Magic Selection . . . . . . . 3-29
Ctrl-Shift-T : Create path of type Text with Auto Marquee tool . . . . . . . 3-27
the shape of current selection . . . 3-6, 3-23 Auto Polygon . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Scroll Auto Polygon Selection . . . . . . 3-29
D or K or Shift-Down arrow : Scroll down Bleed/Shrink Selection . . . . . . 3-28
3/4 of a display . . . . . . . . . 3-32 Brush tool . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
E or I or Shift-Up arrow : Scroll up 3/4 of a Magic tool . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
display . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32 Marquee tool . . . . . . . . . 3-25
F or L or Shift-Right arrow : Scroll right ¾ Polygon tool . . . . . . . . . 3-26
of a display . . . . . . . . . . 3-32 Smooth Selection . . . . . . . . 3-28
Q or O : Previous display, step backward ¾ Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
of a screen according to current direction . 3-32 Zoom. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
W or P : Next display, step forward 3/4 of Tools Window . . . . . . . 3-15 - 3-30
a screen according to current direction . . 3-32
Selection V
Ctrl-A : Selects the entire image . . . . 3-5 Version 3 features
Ctrl-D : Clears all current selections . 3-5, 3-30 Auto Crop . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Tools Auto Element Selection . . . . . . . 3-5
- (minus) : Decrease tool size . 3-17, 3-18, 3-19 Auto Magic Selection . . . . . . . . 3-5
* (asterisk) : Change tool shape 3-17, 3-18, 3-19 Auto Marquee Selection . . . . . . . 3-5
+ (plus) : Increase tool size. . 3-17, 3-18, 3-19 Auto Polygon Selection . . . . . . . 3-6

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Bleed/Shrink Selection . . . . . . . 3-5

Colour palette . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Colour Picker Tool . . . . . . . . 3-15
Distance and Angle readout . . . . . . 3-34
Duplicating channels . . . . . . . . 3-8
Edit colors . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Edit plates . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Fill-command . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Post-fix string, Batch processing. . . . . 5-3
Resizable Path and Colour windows . . . 2-2
Rotation in steps . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Ruler tool . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Save/load batch sequences . . . . . . 5-3
Screen ruling and angle . . . . . . . 3-4
Text skew angle . . . . . . . . 3-4, 4-16
Zoom on area . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

Z
Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
zoom on area . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Zoom presets . . . . . . . . . . 3-10

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