This tab lets you specify what types of files are written when scanning, and the file names and options for these files.
The various measures of the image files produced will be displayed in the status area at the bottom right of the VueScan window.
File naming and saving
The "Output" tab has several options to specify the name of the files VueScan produces. You may either type the filename in directly, or click the "@" button to open a visual file and folder navigation window.
You may specify a default folder for all file operations, but filenames may also specify the path to a sub-folder of the default (a relative path), or even a completely different location (an absolute path).
You may have VueScan save multiple files at once. For example, you may want to save a high-resolution TIFF for archiving purposes or later editing, and lower quality (and size) JPEG files for other purposes.
Auto-numbering
VueScan provides an auto-numbering feature that allows you to create unique filenames automatically. You can have VueScan use the next number in a series, or use the current frame number (as indicated in "Input|Frame number") when creating a new filename. Which you choose will depend on the task you are doing.
This option is available and works the same for "crop" files (scans that have been cropped and processed) in either TIFF or JPEG formats or "scan" files that contain the raw, minimally processed output from the scanner.
The convention used by VueScan is to name files in this pattern: ["crop"|"scan"]nnnn.xxx. For example, "crop0012.jpg" may be the 12th cropped and processed file saved in JPEG format. Any other naming convention you prefer may be substituted.
In cases where you are scanning film, you may find that it makes sense to have the numbered part of the filename match the frame number of the exposure being scanned (i.e. the frame number printed on the film edge). This approach can simplify archiving your film and scans.
Serial numbering with +
Insert a plus sign (+) anywhere in the filename in order to cause VueScan to add a number in that place if needed to create a new unique filename in the folder. If you put one or more digits before the plus sign, VueScan will start counting from that number.
VueScan finds the next available number by looking for files matching the pattern specified; one by one it adds one to the digit(s) in the name until it finds an unused filename. So if the pattern is "crop0001+.tif" and the folder is empty, the first file will be "crop0001.tif", the second "crop0002.tif" and so on. You can start at any number (e.g. "crop1001+.tif").
Note that if you delete a file from an existing numbered series, the next file saved will fill the open position. This can be useful if you want to match file numbers with exposure frame numbers or other numerical indexes.
Add leading digits to the starting number in order to "reserve" have filenames of the same length.
If more than one plus sign (or equals sign) is specified, VueScan will ignore all but the last.
Frame numbering with =
Insert an equals sign (=) anywhere in the filename in order to cause VueScan to insert the current value of "Input|Frame number" when creating the file. If you save the same frame more than once VueScan will overwrite the previous file (see "Prefs|Warn on overwrite").
If you specify a starting number, VueScan will add one less than the current frame number to the starting value. For example, if you specify "crop0007=.tif" and the current frame number is 2, the file written will be "crop0008.tif" (7+2-1).
This feature allows you to match the exposure number printed on the film edge to the file number of the scan. Keep in mind that "Input|Frame number" will be relative to what the scanner thinks a frame is, so if you have a film holder frame number might range from 1 to 6. So for each new strip of 6 exposures you scan, you can set the starting number in filename.
Use this option to choose the units to use when displaying the printed width and height. You can choose mm, cm or inch units.
This also affects the units displayed in the status area at the bottom of the VueScan window.
Use this option to select the target size of the saved images. This is used to compute the resolution of the saved TIFF and JPEG files. The dpi of the saved files will depend on the dpi produced by the scanner and the image size.
Note that "Printed size" does not affect the number of pixels in the image, so this setting does not affect the file size. "Image size" controls logically how far apart the pixels should be displayed in order to fit in the bounds specified. This also means that "Printed size" does not cause VueScan to resample the image.
Keep in mind that the effects of resolution may not be visible or may be misrepresented as a result of the resolution of your monitor or printer. A very high-resolution file cannot be displayed at a resolution higher then the monitor, so just because you see jagged lines does not mean the image will print poorly.
If a specific "Printed size" is specified, "Output|Lock aspect ratio" will be available.
If the "Printed size" is "Scan size", you can increase the printed size of the output file with this option.
This option divides the scanned dpi of the image by this value, resulting in an increase in the printed size of the output file.
If "Printed size" is "Fixed dpi", you can specify the dpi of the output file with this option. The printed size will be as large as needed to match the specified resolution and will retain the aspect ratio of the cropped scan.
This sets the target width of the saved images when the "Printed size" option is set to "Manual". If set, the height will be calculated to retain the aspect ratio of the cropped scan.
This sets the target height of the saved images when the "Printed size" option is set to "Manual". If set, the width will be calculated to retain the aspect ratio of the cropped scan.
This enables writing the cropped and processed images to a TIFF file when scanning.
This specifies the name of the TIFF file to hold the cropped and processed images.
In addition to having VueScan write a specific file name, you can also have it automatically number your files in two ways by placing special characters in the filename. See the beginning of this section for information on how to use this auto-numbering feature.
The default setting of this option is "crop0001+.tif".
You can use this option to write files with a reduced number of pixels. For instance, if size reduction is set to 3, then every 3x3 block of pixels in the image will be written as a single pixel, which is the average of these 9 pixels.
This option will reduce the resolution and size of the file produced. These values will be displayed in the status area at the bottom of the VueScan window.
However, this option produces better results than reducing the resolution of the scan, as the averaging of multiple pixels results in a similar noise reduction benefit as multi-sampling. See "Input|Number of samples" and "Input|Number of passes".
If set, this option will cause VueScan to create multi-page TIFF files. Each scan will be added as a new page.
Make sure "Output|TIFF file name" does not include the plus sign (+) or else VueScan will create a new file for each new scan.
This option is useful when you are scanning documents and want all pages stored in a single file.
This option describes the resolution of the cropped TIFF file, in bits per pixel. It should normally be set to 24-bits per pixel, since many image editing programs are unable to read TIFF files with higher bit depth than this.
If you select 8 bits or 16 bits, the file will be saved in black/white format.
This specifies whether to use compression when writing the TIFF file.
TIFF compression will not cause any loss of image data. It will take a little longer to read and write (especially write) as the algorithm is computationally intensive, but can reduce total file size by as much as 40%.
This specifies whether to embed an ICC color profile into the TIFF file. This is primarily useful if you're using Photoshop(TM). You can specify the profile to use by setting "Color|Output color space".
This enables writing the cropped and processed images to a JPEG file when scanning.
This specifies the name of the JPEG file to hold the cropped and processed images.
In addition to having VueScan write a specific file name, you can also have it automatically number your files in two ways by placing special characters in the filename. See the beginning of this section for information on how to use this auto-numbering feature.
The default setting of this option is "crop0001+.jpg".
You can use this option to write files with a reduced number of pixels. For instance, if size reduction is set to 3, then every 3x3 block of pixels in the image will be written as a single pixel, which is the average of these 9 pixels.
This option will reduce the resolution and size of the file produced. These values will be displayed in the status area at the bottom of the VueScan window.
However, this option produces better results than reducing the resolution of the scan, as the averaging of multiple pixels results in a similar noise reduction benefit as multi-sampling. See "Input|Number of samples" and "Input|Number of passes".
This option controls the quality of the JPEG file. Using 100 produces images with few visible JPEG artifacts, and 50 results in images with noticeable artifacts, but with much smaller sizes. The default value of 90 produces fairly small images with little visible degradation in image quality.
Even at the highest quality, JPEG files are smaller than compressed TIFF files (as much as 60% smaller). This smaller size comes at the cost of loss of image information. If you expect to be editing the scans produced by VueScan (e.g. in Photoshop(TM)), or are digitally archiving your scans, JPEG is not a good choice. However for web, small size or inkjet printing, or email, JPEG is by far more efficient and at higher quality settings virtually indistinguishable.
This enables writing the cropped and processed images to a monochrome JPEG file. If you're working with black/white film, this will produce files that are smaller than color files.
This specifies whether to embed an ICC color profile into the JPEG file. This is primarily useful if you're using Photoshop(TM). You can specify the profile to use by setting "Color|Output color space".
This enables writing the cropped and processed images to an index file when scanning.
An index file contains thumbnail size copies of a set of images, for example a roll of film. Each cropped image is added to the index print from left to right, top to bottom.
After saving an image to the index file, the file is closed and opened again if another image will be added.
This specifies the name of the file to hold the index images. Index files are always saved as windows bitmap (BMP) files.
This option controls the placement of images in the index. If zero, the images are added from left to right, top to bottom; this is the default setting.
If a number greater than 0, the images are added at that frame position counting left to right, top to bottom. For example, if Index frame is set to 8 and Index across is set to 5, the image would be placed at the second row, third column.
If Index frame is set to a number greater than 0, it will be increased by 1 after an image is saved to the index.
This option is useful when you want to replace one or more index images in an existing index file. For example if you want to change the rotation of an image, or if you re-scan one strip of film within a roll.
This is the width of an index frame, in pixels.
This is the height of an index frame, in pixels.
This is the margin around an index frame, in pixels.
This is the number of index frames across in an index file.
This enables writing raw data from the scanner to a TIFF file.
The raw files are the result of the first of two steps VueScan performs: "scanning". The second step is "processing". These steps are described in the topic "How VueScan Works" in this User's Guide. By providing a mechanism to cleanly separate these two steps, VueScan provides great flexibility and options not available in most scanner software.
You can perform the "processing" step later by setting "Input|Scan from" to "File". This lets you rescan images with different settings, without needing to physically rescan the media.
When the raw file is written depends on the setting of "Output|Output raw with".
Raw files are always stored as TIFF files and can therefore be examined in image viewing and editing programs. Note, however that the resolution of raw files (as specified in "Output|Raw file type") may be greater than some programs can read.
Little processing is done on raw files so they are a close representation of exactly what the scanner has produced. Raw files will not be filtered nor will color settings be applied. As a result, raw scans may look "wrong".
Raw files are good for archiving as they contain as much data as the scanner was able to produce without any operations that modify the scanner data.
The image gamma value is 1.0 when there are two bytes (16-bits) per sample, and 2.2 when there is one byte (8-bits) per sample. Raw files saved with gamma 1.0 will look dark, but this is normal.
The one exception to this is if "Output|Raw output with" is set to "Save" - in this case, the infrared cleaning and grain reduction is also done before saving the raw scan files.
This specifies the name of the TIFF file used to hold the raw data from the scanner.
In addition to having VueScan write a specific file name, you can also have it automatically number your files in two ways by placing special characters in the filename. See the beginning of this section for information on how to use this auto-numbering feature.
The default setting of this option is "scan0001+.tif".
You can use this option to write files with a reduced number of pixels. For instance, if size reduction is set to 3, then every 3x3 block of pixels in the image will be written as a single pixel, which is the average of these 9 pixels.
However, this option produces better results than reducing the resolution of the scan, as the averaging of multiple pixels results in a similar noise reduction benefit as multi-sampling. See "Input|Number of samples" and "Input|Number of passes".
This option may not be appropriate for use with raw files when your purpose is to archive the scanner's output. For most users leave the value set at the default of 1 (no reduction).
If, however, you always scan at a high resolution and then use size TIFF/JPEG reduction when saving the crop file, Raw size reduction may be appropriate because it results in significantly smaller files while still gaining the benefit of scanner noise reduction.
If you do use Raw size reduction, you probably will not want to use TIFF/JPEG size reduction later when scanning the raw file from disk.
This option describes the resolution of the raw file, in bits per pixel. It should normally be set to Auto, which defaults to bits per pixel of the scanner.
This specifies which operations in VueScan cause the raw scan data to be written to a file.
If set to "Scan" (or "Preview"), the raw file is written at the same time as the scan (or preview). In this case, the raw file has not had infrared cleaning or grain reduction applied.
Assuming that the preview is used primarily to prepare for the final scan, this option should normally be set to "Scan" so that the highest resolution raw image can be saved.
If set to "Save", it's written at the same time as other files are written (i.e. after a scan completes or when the "Save" button is pressed). In this case, the raw file has had infrared cleaning and grain reduction applied.
It's much faster to save the raw file at the same time as the scan, since writing the file is overlapped with scanning the data.
This specifies whether to use compression when writing the raw file.
Compression of the raw TIFF file will not cause any loss of image data. It will take a little longer to read and write (especially write) as the algorithm is computationally intensive, but can reduce total file size by as much as 40%.
This is the folder where files are read and written by default.
All other file names on the "Output" tab, as well as "Input|Disk file name" will use this folder, so full paths are not required in those fields.
This field will be written to JPEG and TIFF files in the file comment field. You can use it to indicate a one-line description of the image being scanned.
This field will be written to JPEG and TIFF files in the file comment field. It will be appended after the Description field. You should normally use "Copyright 200? Your Name".
If enabled, VueScan will log all data sent and received from the scanners to vuescan.log. This is primarily for debugging problems with scanners, and you should only use this feature if you want to send it with a bug report when a scanner isn't working right and you suspect a problem with the way VueScan is controlling the scanner.
Select this option to reveal the specialized options in this tab.
Note that some options are available only when your scanning hardware supports a specific function. Other options will display only when certain other related options are set.