Device tab

This tab lets you select the scanner, the device-specific options for this scanner, the size and position of the preview, the rotation of the previews and scans, the frame numbers that you want to preview or scan, and the media type.

Scan from

You can have more than one scanner on your system, and this lets you specify which scanner you want to use.

If you set this option to "Disk", then you'll be able to enter a file name in the "Disk file name" option.

Disk file name

This file is read when you set the "Scan from" option to "Disk". The "Frame numbers" option is sets which file name in a series that is used. For instance, if the "Disk file name" option is set to "xyz0005.tif", then setting "Frame numbers" to "3,5,7" will cause "xyz0008.tif", "xyz0010.tif", and "xyz0012.tif" to be scanned.

Disk files can be scanned just like a normal scanner. The "Options|Resolution" option works just as you'd expect, the preview works as you'd expect, and all the X/Y offset/size options work as you'd expect.

Mode

Use this option to specify the type of scan you want to make. On many scanners, this is automatically sensed.

Auto scan

If this option is set to "Preview device" or "Scan device" and if the scanner can sense when an image is inserted, the a "Preview|Device" or "Scan|Device" command will be executed when an image is inserted.

If this option is set to "Preview memory" or "Scan memory" something changes (usually an option) that affects the preview or scan, then a "Preview|Memory" or "Scan|Memory" command will be executed.

This option is reset to "None" if you use the "Device|Abort" command.

Auto eject

This option controls when the media is ejected (assuming the scanner is capable of ejecting media). It can be ejected after a preview, after a scan, or when VueScan exits.

Media type

Use this option to indicate whether you're using positive film (i.e. slides), color negative film, or black&white negative film. This option causes the default film type to be changed, but also sets up the scanner for scanning orange-colored media (i.e. negatives) by exposing the green and blue channels more than the red channel.

If you choose "Image", no film correction is used, and the cropped file will look as much like the original image as possible. If you choose "Negative film" or "Slide film", the cropped image will look as much like the original scene as possible and the Media tab lets you choose the film manufacturer, the film brand, and the film type. You can also choose "Faded image", "Faded negative", or "Faded slide", in which case an automatic correction for film bleaching and staining is applied.

VueScan contains sensitometric data for 200 types of negative film and 4 types of slide film. If you're scanning other types of slide film, choose Kodachrome for K14 process negatives, and Ektachrome for E6 process negatives.

If you're scanning slides and you'd prefer that the scan look more like the slide than the original scene, use "Image" for this option.

Bits per pixel

This option specifies how many bits per pixel are stored on the raw tif file on the hard drive. When it is set to 8 bits or 24 bits, the image is scanned at one byte per sample, otherwise it is scanned at two bytes per sample. The image is always scanned in color, regardless of the value of this option.

Note that the infrared channel and RGBI option only works on the Nikon LS-30, LS-2000, and Minolta Scan Elite scanners.

Region

The scan region is the subset of the total scan area that gets scanned to produce a preview. This option can be set up so the region can be specified manually, so it can be the maximum possible size or so it can be the default region size for the device.

X/Y offset/size (mm)

These options describe the size of the scan region. They are relative to the upper left-hand corner of the image, negative, or slide.

Note that you should be careful to not set the Scan y size to a value larger than 169 mm on the PhotoSmart scanners, since there have been reports of scratched film when scanning longer lengths than this.

Mirror

This options mirrors images left/right after rotating. This lets you insert film facing any direction you'd prefer.

Rotate

This option describes how to rotate images. If you don't have much memory on your system, set this option to "None" and rotate the image later with an image viewer - this will make the cropping go a lot faster. Using "Right" rotates 90 degrees clockwise, using "Flip" rotates 180 degrees, and using "Left" rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise.

Note that rotation happens after mirroring.

Frame numbers

On the HP PhotoSmart, Nikon LS-30 and LS-2000, this option lets you select the frame numbers to scan on a film strip.

On the Acer ScanWit, Polaroid SprintScan 4000, Microtek ArtixScan 4000 and Minolta Scan Multi, this option lets you select the frame number to scan in the film holder.

On Nikon, Minolta, Polaroid and Microtek scanners with APS adapters, this options lets you select which frame in the APS roll to scan.

You can specify multiple frames by specifying multiple frame numbers, or specifying a range of frames like "1-3", or some combination of both (i.e. "1,3,5-7" causes frames 1,3,5,6,7 to be scanned). You can also add an additional rotation to any frame or range of frames by putting a letter along with each frame number (i.e. "3r" says to scan frame 3 and rotate it 90 degrees to the right in addition to the default rotation, "2L" says to scan frame 2 and rotate it 90 degrees to the left, "1F,2L,4R" says to scan frame 1 flipped, frame 2 rotated to the left, and frame 4 rotated to the right.