Pixel!SCAN® for UNIX®

Your Documents Can Move Mountains with the Power of Images

Images capture a reader's attention by bringing documents to life. If you'd like to add this power to your documents, all you need is a scanner and Pixel!SCAN. Pixel!SCAN allows you to get the most power and functionality from your scanner by capitalizing on its features and capabilities.

THE Scanning Solution for UNIX

Pixel!SCAN serves as an easy-to-use and powerful interface between most UNIX-based operating systems and a wide variety of today's popular scanners. It provides an icon-based Motif 1.2 interface for advanced scanning capabilities with simple point-and-click operation. But don't let its ease-of-use fool you: Pixel!SCAN provides unparalleled scanning functionality for use in desktop publishing, document imaging, GIS, manufacturing, and scientific applications, or any application where images can add value. Its wide use and acceptance in commercial; education; and federal, state, and local governments applications, makes Pixel!SCAN the ideal front-end to any UNIX application. It also serves as the front-end to all of Mentalix's imaging applications, including Pixel!FX, Pixel!EDIT, Pixel!VIEW, Pixel!DB, Pixel!OCR and Pixel!PRINT.

Effortless Color Control

Pixel!SCAN goes beyond typical scanning solutions by offering features that will help you produce quality scans with little effort: scan color calibration and extensive automatic and interactive color adjustment controls. With the new one-step scan color calibration process, you can generate a correction for your scanner with the supplied Mentalix calibration target. The one-time color calibration process generates a scanner-specific color adjustment profile that is saved to disk and reused with each subsequent scan.

Extensive Scanning Control

Pixel!SCAN supports the full optical resolution range of scanners. From low-end desktop black-and-white models to true-color pre-press resolution (4000 dpi) drum scanners, Pixel!SCAN supports a scanner that will fit your needs. We let you set independent x/y resolutions if this feature is supported by your scanner. Size and output control features allow interactive adjustments to resolution, size and output parameters. Any changes you make will automatically be reflected in the scan dialog report window, which will display the projected scanned image size.

Pixel!SCAN gives you complete control over the scanner, the image, and the final result. The prescan function allows you to select the image type -- line art, grayscale, or 24-bit color -- and then perform a low-resolution preview scan that displays the image. From here you can select the desired area for your final scan by interactively dragging a selection tool around the image area desired or by entering precise position and sizing information using inches, centimeters, pica, or point measures. For fine adjustment you can use the zoom in/zoom out and scrolling features on the prescan window.

Better Than Original Scans

After a scan area is chosen, you can select the automatic adjustment option and let Pixel!SCAN perform appropriate Look-Up Table (LUT) adjustments to ensure accurate or improved image quality. Furthermore, you can determine your own scan settings using our extensive set of color/gray level controls. A histogram display shows the distribution of scan intensities over the selected prescan area, allowing intelligent adjustment of white point, mid point and black point values. Intuitive controls allow easy adjustment of image intensity, contrast or gamma correction.

Pixel!SCAN uses these selections to perform a final scan that is, in many cases, better than the original image. Pixel!SCAN also supports advanced color adjustment using custom LUTs that you provide. All color adjustments or custom LUTs take full advantage of state-of-the-art 30 bit and 36 bit scanners. In addition, you can save and reload most scan settings for repetitive tasks as well as customize preferred scan settings for each user.

Scanning Productivity

Pixel!SCAN features scan-to-file capability, which enables you to scan images directly to a TIFF file--even images larger than available swap space. This feature is the quickest and most efficient way to scan for those users not needing to view each image separately.

If you work with multiple photographs or images on your scanner simultaneously, you'll appreciate Pixel!SCAN's Gang Scanning capability. You can select any number of images to scan, each with their own custom scan settings; then, a simple mouse click will execute a batch scan and load each image into its own image window. Gang scanning also works with the Scan-to-File feature so you can store all images directly to TIFF files.

You can scan directly into a Pixel!DB database, making it easy for you to keep your images in a central location for searches, retrievals and manipulation. Gang scanning and automatic compression can be used while scan output goes directly to a database file. Pixel!SCAN also integrates with most third party fax applications, allowing you to send faxes directly from Pixel!SCAN.

Pixel!SCAN also includes a script-based programming interface, so you can easily perform scanning from the UNIX command line or from within other applications. This powerful feature makes repetitive scan tasks a breeze!

Pipelined Scan Filters

Apply convolution filters to enhance or modify your image as it is scanned. The included Unsharp Mask filter can be applied to correct for blurring introduced by the high resolution scanning process. Descreen filters are provided to help you eliminate Moire patterns introduced in scanning magazines and other half-tone printed materials. Additional Special Effects Filters include Diagonal, Prewitt, Translate, Ringing, Emboss, Blur and Sharpen. You can even define your own convolution filter for custom special effects.

Broad Scanner and Platform Support

Pixel!SCAN supports many different scanner models, including HP, Howtek, Sharp, Agfa, Fujitsu, Microtek, UMAX and others. All scanners interface through SCSI, and most installations require only a scanner, cable and Pixel!SCAN. Pixel!SCAN includes the scanner driver software and complete platform-specific hardware and software installation instructions. Support for most models is available on all supported UNIX Operating System versions, including Sun OS, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, IBM AIX, SGI IRIX and Digital UNIX (formerly DEC OSF1). If the scanner you need is not on our list, please call us to get the most up-to-date information. Mentalix also sells most scanners and scanner cables, making us your single source for complete scanning solutions. And Pixel!SCAN supports Automatic Document Feeders on many of these scanners, making it even easier to work with your multi-page images.

Pixel!SCAN Elite Option

For the highest quality professional scan results, the Pixel!SCAN Elite option provides support for the Agfa Horizon Plus flatbed scanner; and the Howtek Scanmaster D4000 and Howtek Scanmaster 4500 drum scanners. Pixel!SCAN Elite supports all the sophisticated functionality of the Howtek scanner models, including complete support for the optional CosMYK board. With the CosMYK board and Pixel!SCAN Elite, you can scan images directly to TIFF files in CMYK format. Of course, the comprehensive scan area selection, color adjustments, gang scanning, and command-line scanning features found in Pixel!SCAN are also available in Pixel!SCAN Elite.

Pixel!SCAN Plug-In for Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop for UNIX is optimized for image editing, but includes no scanning functionality for directly inputting images. Mentalix has worked with Adobe to produce a version of Pixel!SCAN that operates as an Adobe Photoshop Plug-In. This separately purchasable product, Pixel!SCAN plug-in module, is launched from within Photoshop by simply selecting "acquire" from the Photoshop File pull-down menu. Up pops the Pixel!SCAN window, and you are ready to scan in new images or documents. After completing the scan, your image appears in a Photoshop window ready for editing and/or output. This level of integration makes it easy for Photoshop users to seamlessly input scanned images into their work by taking advantage of all of the power and flexibility of Pixel!SCAN, the best UNIX scanning solution.