

If you just want to get a quick scan of your photo, whatever software came with your device will probably work just fine for your needs. No question about it, SilverFast SE is not for everyone. Check the vendor’s feature comparison chart to see which one best suits your needs. SE Plus costs about $89, and the two AI products range in price from $99 to $499, depending on the scanner and whether or not you purchase a calibration target. The latter two are the professional versions with some of the most powerful pre-scan edit tools around, plus optional calibration targets for assuring that the colors your scanner produces are accurate. SilverFast SE is the junior sibling of several other scanning and digital camera products, which provide even more tools for control over your scanning, including SilverFast SE Plus, SilverFast AI and SilverFast AI Studio. System requirements and operating system compatibility issues are generally a factor of the scanner itself, rather than of SilverFast. The size of the download will also vary depending on the scanner. SilverFast engineers its software to specific scanners, so to download, you need to state the exact scanner model you are using. So, just try them out, you may be hooked by their versatility and the power they give you for superior image quality. Once you start using SilverFast SE, the immediate feedback from your visual results will help you understand better than any tutorial.
#Silverfast scanner movie
The QuickTime movie tutorials, which are accessible from within dialogs, are a big help.
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On the other hand, making edit decisions about the photo before it is defined – before the pixels are created–means that the pixels’ data remain intact.ĭon’t know what all those terms mean or how to use the complicated-looking tools? Don’t worry. In simple terms, when you edit your photo (in a program such as Photoshop or Corel PhotoPaint) after it has been defined (by the scanner, by your camera or by your RAW conversion software, such as Phase One’s Capture One), you are literally destroying image-defining pixels. The power of SilverFast SE rests in its advanced edit capabilities.Ī basic fact of digital photography–whether the capture device is a scanner or a camera–is that pre-capture edits produce a better-quality picture than post-capture edits.

So, why should you consider spending more money to purchase SilverFast SE ($49, free demo that adds watermarks) to replace your scanner’s own software? Because it may possibly make the difference between okay scans and great ones. That software allows the scanner to communicate with your computer, so you can scan your photos and documents, save them on your hard drive, e-mail or print them, and otherwise use them in your normal digital workflow.
