Model FB750 ImageReader PowerScan User’s Guide Version 980605 Info Peripherals 1998 1
Trademarks Microsoft is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Windows and MS-DOS are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM, PC, AT, XT are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. Other brands and product names herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Copyright All rights reserved.
Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Welcome .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 The User’s Guide .................................................................................................................................................
Descreen ...................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Color Wizard ............................................................................................................................................................... 28 Tool Bar ...................................................................................................................................................
Introduction Welcome Thank you for purchasing an Info ImageReader scanner. This product is the result of Info’s efforts to develop high technology computer peripherals that are easy to use, affordably priced, and will enhance your computing experience. The ImageReader PwerScan (FB750) is designed as a CCD scanner with an exact A4 scanning bed.
Bold/Italics Special notes. This icon is for tips or helpful information. This icon is for important information you should not miss. This icon is for warnings. Note: Other icons represent the icons you will see on your own computer. The Table of Contents is linked to the rest of the document. You can click on an item in the table of contents and be instantly taken to that section of the User’s Guide.
Assistance If you experience difficulties with the installation or operation of your scanner, there are many solutions in the Troubleshooting section of this User’s Guide, including how to get in touch with our Technical Support staff when all other attempts to solve your problem fail. What is TWAIN? TWAIN is the interface that links the scanner with scanning software applications. It is an industry standard that enables you to use the ImageReader PowerScan with any TWAIN-compliant software application.
Graphics: If your desired use is to edit or digitize (convert into a computer file) a photo or other picture or 3-dimensional object, you will want to use a graphics application (i.e. PictureFun!, Microsoft Photo Editor, Adobe Photoshop, etc). These types of applications provide image-editing tools for performing modifications to art, photographs, or other continuous tone images. Graphics applications will see any text as part of the image and will not recognize individual letters or characters.
Scanner Setup System Requirements R R R R R R R R R Minimum and recommended system requirements are: IBM compatible PC with a 486 or Pentium Processor Microsoft Windows 3.1 or 3.
Package Contents Scanner 12-Volt Power Adapter D25P Parallel Cable Quick Start Guide CD-ROM disc with Scanner Driver, Application Software, User’s Guide and Software Manuals InfoCenter 32/ImageDock Quick Reference Guide InfoCenter Lite Quick Reference Guide Technical Support Card Unlocking the Scanner The scanner is locked at the factory. This is done to prevent the scan head from moving a possibly damaging the scanner. Before you connect the scanner to power, you will need to unlock the scanner.
1. Scanner 2. Power Supply 3. D25P Cable 4. PC Parallel Port 5. Printer Cable Connecting the Power Adapter to a Power Supply The Power Adapter should be plugged into an AC power supply that is 110 Volts and 60 Hertz. It is highly recommended that you use a surge-protected power strip or power center for your computer and all computer peripherals such as the scanner. The round connector plugs into the back of the scanner (refer to the diagram above).
Scanner Driver and Application Software Installation Starting the Installation Program Most Windows 95/98 and Windows NT computers have Autorun enabled. With a computer with Autorun enabled, as soon as you insert the ImageReader PowerScan Installation CD-ROM disc in the computer, the installation program will start. If you have Autorun enabled (if the Installation screen opened on its own), start at Installation Program, below. If you have Windows 3.1 or 3.
Note: If your scanner came as part of a scanner and camera package, some of the following information will be repeated in your Camera User’s Guide. If you have already installed the software applications (InfoCenter 32, PictureFun, and Adobe Acrobat Reader), you do not need to do so again as part of your scanner installation. You will only need to pay attention to the Scanner Driver section, below. The order you install the following items is not important.
Installing files The scanner driver will take a few moments to write the appropriate files to your hard drive. PC Compatibility Information When the driver is installed you will be shown a reminder about the parallel port settings required for optimal performance of your scanner. Restart Windows When the driver installation is complete, you will be prompted to restart Windows. It is necessary to restart Windows for the driver to be fully installed and initialized.
If you want to change the information that was pre-entered by your computer, you will have to clear the line (click your mouse on the line and either delete or backspace or highlight the existing text and overwrite). If you have no company name or the Camera and software is for your personal use, type – none- in the company field. You will need to type in the software serial number on the appropriate line. The serial number for InfoCenter 32 is on the on the envelope for the CD-ROM disc.
your installation called Headliner. Headliner is a news and information retrieval service that is designed to display the news and information in an easy to read and access format. If you do not have an Internet connection or you do not want to install Headliner, click No. This will end the installation without installing Headliner. Headliner is not necessary to the camera (or scanner, if part of a scanner and camera package) operation.
Installing files Once you have completed filling in the required information, PictureFun will proceed to install on your computer. During the installation you will be asked if you want to install high-resolution templates for Paper. If you want to use the more advanced features of Paper (adding your images to cards, magazine covers, and invitations), you may want to install these high-resolution templates now. If you do not install these now, you will be given the option to do so later when you use Paper.
As you go through the installation, there are some points where you will be asked to fill in information. Each section here is a separate installation screen. Many of the screen-shots below only show a portion of the screen (the portion that changes or has important information). To go from one screen during the installation to another click Next, Back, or as applicable. User Information The installation may get some of this information from your Windows configuration.
The default directory for InfoCenter Lite is C:\InfoLite. There are two methods to change the destination directory if you want to install to a different location. For either method, first click Browse. Type in the complete new path instead of the default (either block and overwrite or clear the default directory with backspace or delete and then type in the new directory). The destination directory name cannot be longer than 8 characters.
InfoCenter Lite Installation Complete When the InfoCenter Lite installation is finished copying files onto your hard drive and setting up the applications you chose, it will create two program groups, open them and put in the new icons which are links to launch the applications. Adobe Acrobat Reader Adobe Acrobat Reader is the application necessary to read PDF files. Most of the application software manuals and the Camera User’s Guide are in PDF format.
InfoCenter 32 D:\Setup32\Set32.exe PictureFun! D:\Setup32\ColorDesk\Setup.exe Adobe Acrobat Reader D:\Adobe\Acroread.exe Scanner Driver (Windows 95/98/NT) D:\Driver\32\Setup.exe Scanner Driver (Windows 3.1 or 3.11) D:\Driver\16\Setup.exe Uninstalling If you just delete the directory where the application or driver resides, you will leave configuration information and shared files that can cause problems with your computer later.
Scanner Operation The following directions specify using your scanner with InfoCenter 32 or InfoCenter Lite. However, most TWAIN compliant applications have similar controls and menu choices with regard to TWAIN. For any application other than InfoCenter 32 or InfoCenter Lite, consult the software manual for specific information.
If there is nothing listed in the source selection window, the scanner driver is not installed. See the Troubleshooting section for information on what may have interfered with the driver installation. Document Placement Your original should be placed into the scanner face down against the glass. The top left edge of the document should be aligned with the arrow on the outside edge of the scanning bed (the glass).
The PowerScan TWAIN interface is divided into two windows: the Control Window and the Preview Window. The Control Window is further divided into sections to help guide you through all the scanning settings. The main part of the Control Window has the controls you are most likely to modify for your image and has drop down menus in three sections to configure your scan. The tool and menu bars at the top of the Control Window give you further controls for the scanning process.
B/W Line Art Line Art captures the image in black and white only (single-bit) with no intermediate shades of gray. Because there is very little image information that has to be stored, a LineArt scanned item takes up very storage space. Many OCR programs require an image be scanned in Line Art. This mode is also useful for scanning documents. B/W Halftone Halftone is single-bit (only black and white). Halftone uses variations in dot size to simulate grayscale imaging.
The ImageReader PowerScan is capable of a maximum resolution of 9600dpi (600x600 Optical). However, if you try to scan at 9600 dpi, be very aware the resulting file size will be astronomically Huge. You should match your scanning resolution to the purpose of your image or scanning task. Some software has specific requirements for resolution for specific scanning tasks (refer to your software manual for this information or below for some general guidelines).
Scale You can resize your image before you scan it by setting the scale. If you set the scale to 25%, your image will be reduced to one quarter of its original size. If you set the scale to 200%, your image will be doubled. The maximum scale is 1600% You can adjust the scale by selecting one of the predefined scales (25%, 50%, 100%, 200%, 300%, etc, to 1600%). Custom Scale After you select custom, a window will appear with 2 slide bars. You can adjust the resolution by moving the slide bars.
Color Wizard Color Enhance will automatically make adjustments to the scanned output to achieve a closer match to the colors of your original in the scanned image. Tool Bar There are six buttons on the button bar at the top of the TWAIN interface window. Only five of the buttons are implemented in the current scanner driver. Invert Reverse the brightness and color in the image. For color images, each pixel will be changed to its complementary color.
Histogram/Tone Map With the Histogram/Tone Map, you can make adjustments to color values: brightest, middle & darkest gray. Each item can be configured separately with its labeled slide bar. If you want to see how your changes will affect your image, click the Preview button. The previewed image will be temporarily altered. To make the changes permanent, you will need to click OK.
Halftone Patterns: Halftone mimics grayscale by varying the size of the dots. Use this screen to choose how the dots will be varied to achieve the effect you desire. Sharpness: Some images can be improved with adjustments to the Sharpness, which governs how the differences between color edges and shapes are handled. Monitor Gamma: Some monitors (computer screen) do not show color and grayscale correctly. To find the optimal settings for your monitor, you can use this screen.
Scan After you have made any necessary adjustments to the scanning control, this button will begin the actual scan. Note: The Scan button will remain grayed (unavailable) until you have marked a scanning area , see Preview above. Your scanning progress will be noted at the bottom of the Preview Window. Click Cancel if you need to halt the scanning process. Scanning requires HUGE amounts of system resources. While you are scanning, most other processes on your computer will likely slow down.
Included Applications and Reading the Software Manuals This section of the manual is intended as a quick reference to the applications that came with your scanner. It is not intended to replace or to expand on the software manuals. Adobe Acrobat Reader The Acrobat Reader is the application you can use to read the software manuals for the applications included with your scanner. It is also the application you are using to read this manual.
In InfoCenter 32 and InfoCenter Lite you can scan documents, images, and anything you want to scan. InfoCenter 32 and InfoCenter Lite will display your completed scans as thumbnails on its desktop. You can use the toolbar at the top of the desktop to do several different things to your image. Below are just a few of the InfoCenter 32 and InfoCenter Lite features. Save Text will start the OCR to convert the image into editable text and save it as a file you can open with your word-processor.
If you are scanning pictures or objects, you can scan directly into any of the PictureFun suite (except for the Setup and informational ones) or, in InfoCenter 32, you can drag your thumbnail onto the Application Bar icon for the application. See below for a description of what each of the PictureFun applications can do. You can also use PictureFun to save your image in one of several different graphics file formats.
PictureMall is not directly affiliated with Info. You will need to contact PictureMall for any questions about orders or pricing for items ordered through the PictureMall or PictureFun applications. InfoCenter Lite Applications (Windows 3.1 or 3.11) The InfoCenter Lite Applications are the ColorDesk pair of imaging applications which has been designed to work with Windows 3.1 or 3.11. Each application has special abilities.
Do you want to read the InfoCenter 32 or InfoCenter Lite manual? You will want to use the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Do you want to put your image onto a tee shirt or a mug or anything else? You will want to use PictureMall and choose from a wide variety of items on which to put your image. You can click on the Picture Mall icon from any of the PictureFun applications.
Maintenance Precautions Keep the scanner out of direct sunlight. Direct exposure to the sun or excessive heat may cause damage to the unit. Do not install the scanner in a humid or dusty place. Moisture or excessive dust can impair the scanning mechanism and may cause damage to the unit. Be sure to use the proper AC power source. A surge protector is highly recommended. Place the scanner securely on an even, flat surface. Tilted or uneven surfaces may cause technical problems.
Troubleshooting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Frequently Asked Questions are a collection of problem solving questions and solutions. If you are having problems, looking in the FAQ might help you solve it. The FAQ is created using both those questions we think you might ask and questions others have asked (with this or other scanners) and the best solutions from Technical Support.
through port was included as part of its design that will allow you to connect your printer to the scanner so they can share the same parallel port on your computer. In most cases, you will not need to install a second parallel port to have both the scanner and printer work on the same computer. See the last section of Scanner Setup for instructions on how to connect both your scanner and printer to the same port on your computer.
mode is usually done in the CMOS/BIOS setup (usually accessed while your computer is booting up). Consult the documentation that came with your computer for specific information on how to access your CMOS/BIOS and how to change the parallel port mode. The following directions may not apply directly to your CMOS/BIOS setup. Change ONLY the parallel port mode. Making other changes in your CMOS/BIOS could render your computer inoperable. a) Shut Down your computer and restart it.
Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11: 1. With your desktop clear, press the Ctrl and Esc keys at the same time. This will bring up a Task List window. Program Manager is the Windows 3.1 and Windows 3.11 desktop and cannot be closed. All other programs listed are running applications that can be closed one at a time. 2. Highlight a program then click on End Task to close it. This will only close these programs until the next time you boot your computer.
5. Click on Maximum. 6. Click on Ok. Why do my scanning results seem dark? Situation & solution: Every computer deals with images and graphics differently. You may need to make adjustments to better suit your computer. 1. Try using the Color Matching setting in the TWAIN user interface window. Note: The scan could take a bit longer than without the Color Matching setting. 2. Modify the Gamma setting to 1.8 for your monitor and, when printing, set the Gamma to 2.
Try reducing the resolution of your image, reduce the scanning area, change the mode, or free up hard drive space. Information on how to change the resolution, mode and scanning area is in the scanner User’s Guide. Freeing up hard drive space is a matter of deleting or otherwise removing unneeded files or programs. Information on how to do delete files is in Windows documentation. Which files you delete or remove is your decision (only you know what is important to you).
f) Click the Details tab g) Click Spooler Settings h) Select Print Directly to the Printer i) Click OK and OK again j) If prompted to reboot, do so. k) If the problem persists, you will need to disable the bi-directional properties of your printer (refer to your printer documentation or consult your printer manufacturer). Technical Support If you experience difficulties and cannot find solutions within this, we have a comprehensive Technical Support Department ready to assist you in several different ways.
NAME: PHONE NUMBER: FAX NUMBER: ADDRESS: E-MAIL ADDRESS: COMPUTER MANUFACTURER: (what company built your computer or if it is custom built) COMPUTER TYPE: (486 or Pentium and what speed) VERSION OF WINDOWS: (Windows 95 or Windows 3.1 or 3.
Specifications All specifications are subject to change without notice.
EC Declaration of Conformity According to EN45014 Manufacturer’s Name: Info Peripherals, Inc.
Appendix Here you will find information helpful for learning more about your scanner and digital imaging. The information provided in this appendix is for your information and does not imply any warranty or support for anything you do with this information. Tips & Hints for Using Your Scanner Scanning To get the best possible scans, there are several factors other than the scanner that will influence how you view the image. 1. Your graphics card will affect the way you see the image.
printers require margins & most will shrink the image to fit within those margins). 5. When scanning documents with the Copier function, it will be processed as an image not a text document. If there are margins on the document but you scan at the full 8 ½ x 11 inches, the printer will see that as an 8 ½ x 11 inch image and will shrink it to fit its margins. 6.
document with a background image (like a printed watermark). 6. Most error messages while doing OCR are the result of one of the above not being as it should be (ie. too high of a resolution or an incorrect scan mode). 7. Most OCR applications cannot retain your page layout, but will only convert the word present. Many OCR applications also do not handle fancy fonts or drastic font sizes accurately. If you have images on your page or special fonts circumstances, your OCR results may be diminished.
Glossary of Imaging Terms Some of the terms here are not used in the scanner or camera driver or application software included with your scanner or camera. The information here is for your information only and does not imply support for any imaging task or application. 3rd-Party Software Application software of many kinds is generally available from your computer store or other vendor. Any application that was not supplied with your scanner is considered 3rd party.
8-bit grayscale Grayscale, in contrast, is scanned in 8 or 10 bits (output of 8 bits), a single channel of color, providing for 256 shades of gray. 1-bit black and white Line-Art, Error Diffusion and Half-tone modes scan in single bit (either on or off) which is only black and white, no shades or gradations of color. Error Diffusion and Half-tone use spacing of pixels to mimic grayscale imaging. Aliasing & Anti-aliasing Jagged edges on objects or changes of colors within an image.
Bitmap The representation of a digital image in the computer’s memory. BPP Bi-directional Parallel Port mode. This less advanced port mode allows communication to pass in both directions between the computer and parallel port devices. Brightness The balances of dark and light shades determine the intensity of an image. Cast Too much of one color in an image, such as too much red giving an image an all-over red appearance.
Compression Compression means the reduction of data needed to save information, especially image and sound data. There are lossless methods, which only remove redundant data, and lossy methods, which achieve extremely high compression rates at acceptable loss of information (such as JPEG and MPEG). A lossy format can alter an image’s appearance. Continuous Tone This process uses dots of any color in a continuous range to represent the image.
Direct Color Generic term for TrueColor, RealColor and HiColor. In these modes, the color information saved in the display memory is not translated by a look-up table, but passed directly to the D/A converter. This means that the full color information has to be saved for each pixel. Display Adapter or Video Card A card installed inside the computer (or integrated into the motherboard) that generates video signal to create, with the monitor, a screen image.
EPP Enhanced Parallel Port mode. On some computers, you will have an EPP emulation, which is denoted by a version number in the BIOS (ie. EPP 1.7). This mode will allow the computer to send an advanced parallel port signal to installed parallel port device(s). The EPP mode also allows fast communications through the parallel port and is the preferred mode for most parallel port devices. Error Diffusion A single-bit scanning mode that uses the size of pixels to mimic grayscale imaging with good detail.
Hue Hue provides the contrast between colors, what distinguishes one color from another. HSV Hue Saturation Value. The characteristics of the image’s color based on the hue, saturation and brightness (value). Histogram This graph of how many numbers of each possible brightness levels occur in an image is created by looking at each pixel and computing its brightness and then counting the number of times each level occurs in the image.
multiplied (for example, a block of four equally colored pixels represents the original pixel), aliasing effects (“blocks” and “stairs”) will occur. This can be avoided by interpolation procedures (using average colors for inserted pixels). Horizontal interpolation (x filter) is relatively easy to perform, since the pixels are drawn to the screen in lines. Vertical interpolation (y filter) is more difficult and requires a complete pixel line to be buffered.
manager, Memmaker, which can be run from a DOS-prompt (but not within Windows). Running a memory manager can free up conventional (the first 640K) memory for use by programs. MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a standard format that allows the attachment of graphics and other non-text files, such as programs, to text-based e-mail messages. Moiré Moiré is caused by the printing process of images in printed materials such as books or magazines.
OpenGL 3-D software interface (3-D API). Implemented, for example, in Windows NT and later releases of Windows 95. Based on Iris GL from Silicon Graphics and licensed by Microsoft. Optical Resolution The true resolution of the scanner determined by its hardware optics. The scanner driver yielding an interpolated resolution often enhances optical resolution. PAL The standard video format of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
installing support for the device. Only devices or interface cards that Windows 95 has direct support for can be Plug and Play. Scanner, digital camera and other imaging device support is not built into Windows 95; therefore, no scanner, digital camera or other imaging device can be truly Plug and Play. As of this writing (May 98), support for imaging devices is reputed to be integrated in Windows 98, but since the full-release has not yet been revealed, there is no way to verify this.
ROM Read Only Memory. Chip memory that cannot be written to, such as the BIOS of a computer or the firmware of an expansion board. Rotate Change the perspective of an image with respect to the original. Rotate will turn the image to one direction or the other, ¼ turn or even completely upside down. Saturation The amount of color or intensity that is in a single hue. Scanner Scanners are computer peripherals designed for digitizing images, generally from items that are already printed in some form.
Serial Device A device that is designed to be connected to the serial port. Examples include external modems, digital cameras, mice, digital notepads, etc. Serial Port Also called a Comport. This connection is often 9-pin or 25-pin and generally a male connector. The signal from the computer is in a serial stream to the attached device. Generally only one serial device can be attached to a serial port.
YCbCr format: Y contains the luminance (brightness) signal, Cb and Cr contain the chrominance (color) information. See also YUV and RGB. YCbCr and YUV are linked via the following equations: Y = 0.3 R + 0.59 G + 0.11 B Cb = (U/2) + 0.5 Cr = (V/1.6) + 0.5 Zoom Changing the view of an image without changing its actual size. Zoom is also the magnification factor for the view. File Formats There are many different file formats both for graphics and for text.
folders in Windows and other operating systems. An icon file from one operating system may not work on another. JPG, JPEG This compressed format is commonly used to pass images from one person to another across the Internet. All of the imaging programs packaged with your scanner support this format. JPG is a lossy format, which means to provide its highest degrees of compression, it removes some of the picture elements. These lost elements are generally only apparent if the image is later magnified.
Info Limited Warranty Info warrants this scanner to be free of manufacturing defects, both materials and workmanship, for a period of one year from the date of original purchase. This warranty applies only to the original purchaser. In the event of a defect, Info will repair this product free of charge, including parts, labor, and return postage. This warranty does not cover damage, loss, abuse, misuse, unauthorized repair, shipping damage, natural phenomena, or effects of use other than intended.
