Scan Tailor User Guide

Contents
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1 About 2 Installation and first start 3 Create Project 4 The concept of processing scans in Scan Tailor Progra! !enu " Processing stages # See also

About
Scan Tailor is an interacti$e tool for post%processing of scanned pages& It gi$es the abilit' to cut or crop pages( co!pensate for s)e* angle( and add + delete content fields and !argins( a!ong others& ,ou begin *ith ra* scans( and end up *ith tiff-s that are read' for printing or asse!bl' in P./ or .j0u file& Scanning( 1C2( and the building of single%file !ulti%page docu!ents are not included in the project objecti$es& The progra! is de$eloped for 3indo*s( 456 + 7inu8( and other 6ni8%li)e s'ste!s such as 9ac 1S :&

Installation and first start

For Windows 0ersions for 3indo*s co!e in the for! of an installer& Install the progra! and run through the self%e8planator' !enu& For GNU / Linux and Mac OS If 'our distribution does not ha$e Scan Tailor in its repositories ;and the onl' distribution I )no* of is Alt 7inu8<( then 'ou ha$e to build it fro! source& After asse!bl'( 'ou can run Scan Tailor $ia Alt = /2( using the co!!and >scantailor> ;*ithout the ?uotes<( or if 'ou

don-t ha$e a 4no!e en$iron!ent 'ou can t'pe the sa!e co!!and on the co!!and line& 1n 9ac 1S :( it currentl' !ust be run fro! the ter!inal after building and installation& 1nce launched( the !ain progra! *indo* loo)s li)e this@

In the central panel *e see the ite!s >5e* project &&&>( > 1pen Project &&& > and a list of recent projects( if an'&

Create !ro"ect
So( let-s create our first project& /irst( *e need the ra* !aterial % Scan Tailor re?uires the presence of at least one i!age file in the project& This source !aterial can be scanned or photographed pages of a boo) or a !agaAine& /ollo* these tips for scanning to get the best results& Clic) on >5e* Project &&&> % 1pens dialog >Project /iles>&

>Input .irector'> % the folder *here the original scans are located& >1utput .irector'> % the folder *here processed scans are stored& >/iles 5ot In Project> % files in a folder specified in the Input .irector'( but not 'et added to the project or files that *ere added and ha$e been re!o$ed fro! the project& >/iles In Project>% files added to the project( although not necessaril' fro! the director' entr'& The project can ta)e files fro! different directories to contribute to the project& ,ou !a' select files fro! one director'( then change it( select files fro! there( and so on& The buttons >BB> and >CC> bet*een >/iles 5ot In Project> and >/iles In Project> !o$e files fro! one list to another& This *ill onl' !o$e highlighted files& It is possible to highlight all the files $ia >Select All>( or indi$iduall' % $ia Ctrl = Clic)( or a range % through Shift = Clic) as per standard selection procedures& 1nce 'ou-$e selected the files to use in the project ;supported files t'pes are D&tif( D&tiff( D&png( D&jpg( D&jpeg<( clic) 1E& 6suall' at this stage the process of creating the project ends( but if project files *ith an unspecified or clearl' incorrect .PI ha$e been selected then a >/i8 .PI> dialogue *indo* *ill open&

To e8plain a little about .PIF .PI stands for >dots per inch> ;dots per inch< *hich defines the correspondence bet*een the ph'sical di!ensions ;inches( centi!eters<( and pi8el siAe& Pi8els are the points *hich !a)e up digital i!ages& /or e8a!ple in the screenshot abo$e( *e see t*o scans *ith the siAe of 2G1" 8 2112 pi8els& If *e )ne* the .PI of the scan( *e could calculate their ph'sical siAe& If for e8a!ple( assu!e that their .PI *as 3HH83HH ;3HH horiAontal b' 3HH $ertical<( then the ph'sical di!ensions are@ ;2G1" + 3HH< 8 ;in 2112 + 3HH< I J(4 8 # inches I 23(G 8 1#(G c! In this case .PI is deter!ined b' the scan settings( and usuall' scanning soft*are produces files of the correct .PI& Ko*e$er during further !anipulation of the i!age this can easil'

get lost so it !ust be restored to nor!al for operation *ith Scan Tailor& The !ost co!!on .PI-s are 3HH and "HH& KoriAontal and $ertical co!ponents of the .PI are usuall' the sa!e& /or digital ca!era i!ages 'ou !a' need to !easure the ph'sical di!ensions of the area of *hich the picture *as ta)en then di$ide the nu!ber of pi8els along that di!ension of the i!age b' the length in inches to obtain the .PI ;dots or pi8els per inch<& Eeep this in !ind before 'ou get rid of a boo)( though 'ou can often loo) up a boo)-s ph'sical di!ensions online& .PI nu!bers belo* 1 H *ill generall' not lead to satisfactor' results& Consider again the dialogue *indo* >/i8 .PI>& The tab >5eed /i8ing> lists onl' those files in *hich the .PI is not specified or is clearl' *rong& In the tab >All Pages> ;5ot to be confused *ith the sa!e drop%do*n list< lists all the files at all& The' also can change the .PI& If *e )no* that all the files in the project are 3HH 8 3HH .PI( then one can go to set the .PI for all files& To do this( highlight the ro* that sa's >All pages> *ith the triangle+arro* ne8t to it ;not the tab that sa's All pages<( select the correct .PI( and clic) appl'& ,ou can also specif' the .PI for groups of files *ith the sa!e pi8el siAe( and also for indi$idual files& /iles that ha$e been fi8ed disappear fro! the tab >5eed /i8ing>& 3hen the tab is co!pletel' e!pt'( clic) 1E& 6pon clic)ing 1E( the process of creating the project *ill be co!pleted& The .PI settings *hich 'ou specif' are not *ritten to the files % the' are onl' stored in the Scan Tailor project file& At the stages of processing >Correction orientation> and >Cutting pages> 'ou ha$e the abilit' to add + re!o$e files fro! the project *ith the help of a pop%up !enu( selected $ia a right clic) of the !ouse in the pre$ie* *indo* ;the s!all thu!bnails<@

3hen 'ou tr' to add a file *ith in$alid .PI Scan Tailor *ill as) 'ou to fi8 it@

Eeep in !ind that there is currentl' no *a' to change the .PI for a file in the alread' created project( or an' *a' to add a group of files to an e8isting project& This feature is e8pected in future $ersions&

T#e conce$t of $rocessin% scans in Scan Tailor

/irst( 'ou need to understand the general concept of the progra!& Processing of the scanned pages in Scan Tailor is li)e a factor' con$e'or& There are stages( each of *hich deals *ith so!e specific !anipulation of the i!age to produce the final product& 7et-s loo) at the !ain progra! *indo*@

Top left *e ha$e a list of stages ;1<( and a pre$ie* *indo* ;4< it can thus be considered a pipeline& It is i!portant to understand that as per a regular asse!bl' line if the product reached a certain stage( then all the pre$ious stages !ust ha$e been co!pleted in strict se?uence& At an' ti!e 'ou can return to one of the pre$ious stages to see( and if necessar' to correct( the operation that *as done to the i!age at this point& The round button >Pla'> to the right of the na!e of each stage runs the batch processing( li)e starting the abo$e described con$e'or& Pressing the >Pla'> button causes pages( one b' one( to pass through all stages of processing( including the current stage& >Pass through all stages of processing> % does not necessaril' !ean >processed>& /or e8a!ple if the scan had alread' been cut( then *hen it gets to the stage of cutting again it *ill not be cut( unless 'ou had changed so!ething i!portant such as its orientation& ,ou !a' stop batch processing at an' stage b' using the large round >stop> button during the processing of the !ain *or) area ;3<&

5one of the stages( e8cept the last stage( na!ed >1utput> actuall' record the resulting i!age to the dis)& All stages e8cept the last are purel' anal'tical& The rest of the !ain *indo*@ ;2< 1ptions for the current processing stage& ;3< 9ain *or)ing area that displa's the current i!age( as *ell as tools for !anipulating it( ; < Tool tips % here 'ou can see pro!pts for ho* to use the tool or ite! under the !ouse pointer& ;"< a button to >Eeep the acti$e page in the field of $ie*&> In the depressed condition this causes the progra! to !aintain the acti$e page in the pre$ie* *indo* ;4<&

!ro%ra& &enu
File &enu 5e* Project &&& 1pen Project &&& Sa$e Project Sa$e Project As &&& Close Project Luit Ctrl=5 Ctrl=1 Ctrl=S Ctrl=3 Ctrl=L

These are !ostl' self%e8planator'( e8cept for the ite! >Close Project>& This co!!and closes the project( but not the *hole progra!& The !ain *indo* returns to the *a' it *as i!!ediatel' after starting the progra!& The shortcut )e's are listed to the right of the ite! in the file !enu& /or e8a!ple pressing and holding the control )e' and then s *ill sa$e the project& Tools Menu' .ebug !ode is intended onl' for de$elopers& After processing a single page( in the central area of the tabs *ill appear the inter!ediate results of processing&

!rocessin% sta%es
/i8 1rientation Split Pages .es)e* ;correcting tilted pages< Select Content Page 7a'out 1utput

See also
0ideo tutorial

Fix Orientation
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1 Stage "Fix orientation" o 1.1 Rotate

o o

1.2 Apply to 1.3 Links to all other stages:

Sta%e (Fix orientation(

At this stage it is possible to turn scans b' !ultiples of JH degrees& i&e&( to correct side*a's or upside%do*n scans& This is a !anual stage because the progra! does not )no* ho* to deter!ine the correct orientation of scans % the user !ust do this& This also !eans that using batch processing at this stage is useless& 1b$iousl' it beho$es the user to !a)e sure all initial scans are of the sa!e orientation( if possibleF !i8ing orientation *ill !a)e this stage less auto!atic and !ore ti!e%consu!ing& Panel settings for this stage appears as follo*s@

Rotate
Muttons *ith 'ello* arro*s rotate scans JH degrees in one direction or the other& A green pointer sho*s *hich direction the scan is oriented at the gi$en !o!ent& The button >reset> returns the scan to the initial position % the green pointer *ill indicate up*ard&

Apply to
This !a)es it possible to turn not onl' this page ;*hich is done auto!aticall'<( but also others& This dialogue is opened b' clic)ing on the >Appl' to &&&> button and it appears as follo*s@

The first t*o options in the list do not re?uire e8planation& NThis page and the follo*ing onesO *ill appl' the sa!e operation that has been applied to the current page to each page after the current one& NP$er' other pageO *ill appl' rotation to either each e$en or to each odd page in accordance *ith *hether the current page is e$en or odd& The last t*o options are acti$ated onl' if t*o or !ore pages are selected fro! the pre$ie* pane& To use NP$er' other selected pageO the selected pages !ust be continuous& To select continuous pages it-s often !ore con$enient to use Shift = clic)&

S$lit !a%es Sta%e (S$lit !a%es(

This stage deter!ines *hether 'ou *ant to di$ide the page;s<& Control para!eters at this stage loo)s li)e this@

T'pe of di$ision fro! left to right@ 1& 1ne co!plete scan( *ithout an' parts of the ne8t page& These scans are usuall' obtained fro! specialiAed boo) scanners or photographs& 2& 1ne scan( *hich hits part of the ne8t page& 3& T*in scan& The t'pe of di$ision is deter!ined auto!aticall'( but can be set !anuall'& 6se the >Change &&&>( to !anuall' set& The t'pe of di$ision can be applied to all pages at once or indi$idual pages& The sa!e button can be used to auto!aticall' select the t'pe of di$ision& The di$iding line can also be deter!ined+!o$ed auto!aticall' or specified !anuall'( but it cannot be applied to other pages& It is useful to ?uic)l' chec) out the pre$ie* pane of each page to ensure the page splits ha$e been correctl' applied % so!eti!es i!ages in pages can affect the split operation& To increase the chances of correct auto!atic deter!ination of the t'pe of incision and separation line( tr' to follo* these rules *hen scanning@

If 'ou !a)e a one%scan( do it in portrait rather than landscape orientation& 3hen scanning( choose the !ost ra* !ode( ie one in *hich the !achine *ill not tr' to i!pro$e or co!press an'thing&

P8a!ples of good scans@

P8a!ple of bad scan ;pretreated scanner soft*are<@

)es*ew Sta%e ()es*ew(

At this stage one !a' deter!ine the angle *hich the page needs to be turned for the te8t to be properl' horiAontal& Since co!pensation is a si!ple rotation such distortions as )e'stone or curling cannot be corrected at this stage& The rotation angle is deter!ined auto!aticall'( but 'ou can also set it !anuall'& Kere is the *or)ing area in this !ode@

I!ages can be rotated b' dragging the round handles at the edges& Kere-s *hat a panel of options loo)s li)e@

,ou can also e8plicitl' specif' the rotation angle in degrees& Positi$e angles *ill rotate the i!age cloc)*ise( negati$e counter%cloc)*ise& /or fine adjust!ent of the angle it !a' be con$enient to clic) the !ouse on the te8t portion of the input field corner( then !o$e the !ouse *heel to fi8 it&

Select Content Sta%e (Select Content(

This stage deter!ines the rectangular region *ith >useful> or useable content ;shaded in color<& 3h' do *e need to define this areaQ /irstl' in order to deter!ine the page siAe to the output& The content *ill be added to the total !argin area( and the outer li!it of these !argins affects the siAe of the output file& Secondl'( so that the final i!ages don-t sho* the line of fold or other debris fro! the edges& Strictl' spea)ing *hether the debris falls in the !argin in the output stage depends on the !ode& In !ost !odes the !argin is filled in *hite& If areas are identified incorrectl'( 'ou can t*ea) indi$idual pages !anuall' b' setting the !ouse pointer o$er the edge( clic)ing R dragging as needed& 1ccasionall' Scan Tailor !a' find non%e8istent content or con$ersel' not select content *here it should& In this case( 'ou can !anuall' create + delete a region b' right%clic)ing on the i!age( and select the appropriate !enu ite!&

!a%e La+out Sta%e (!a%e La+out(

At this stage 'ou !a' adjust the !argins added to the content bo8& There are t*o t'pes of !argins % hard and soft& Kard !argin % is that bet*een the solid lines& The' are set b' the user& ,ou can either !o$e o$er an' solid line( be it an inner or outer edge( or set the !argins through nu!erical $alues&

Soft !argin % is that bet*een the solid and the dotted line& These !argins are auto!aticall' added to bring the page siAe to the sa!e siAe of other pages& If 'ou see a dotted line % this !eans that so!e*here in the project there is a page *ith that *idth ;usable area of Kard = !argin<( and ;possibl' others< *ith that height& This is one big page causing the soft !argins in all the other pages( if onl' for not le$eling the! off&

1ptional align!ent is precisel' defined( add a soft !argin( and if 'ou add( then *ith an' of the parts&

Out$ut
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1 Stage >1utput> 2 .ispla' all files at once

o o

2&1 The for!at of output files 2&2 7in)s to all other stages@

Sta%e (Out$ut(
At this stage the output files are created fro! the i!ages and *ritten to the dis)& The resultant i!ages also appear in the central *indo* of the progra!&

6nli)e the other stages( the >1utput> stage beco!es a$ailable onl' after all page pass the stages of >Select Content> and >Page 7a'out>& This is because the siAe of pages in the output depend on each other& Sa' if it found a big page( then all the other fields are increasing ;!ore is described in the docu!entation on the Page 7a'out stage<& Therefore it is i!portant to )no* the final siAe of pages( and it can onl' be done through the stages of >Select Content> and >Page 7a'out>& 3h' stage is the >Select Content> stage necessar'Q Mecause all options under >Page 7a'out> are set !anuall'( or default $alues are ta)en& Configure the follo*ing@

Output Resolution (DPI) % 'ou can !anuall' specif' a resolution for the output files@

Please note that although as'!!etric .PI is currentl' supported ;horiAontal and $ertical .PI is not e?ual<( this !a' be *ithdra*n at so!e stage& The default is "HH .PI& In so!e cases it is 3HH& Mode % Selects the output !ode of the pages@

,lac* and W#ite !ode hardl' re?uires e8planation but clearl' there are no gre'tones a$ailable so this *ould not be suitable for an' i!ages and so!e dra*ings& There is an option to >despec)le>( and to increase or decrease the line thic)ness ;i&e& of the te8t<& In general it is best to not despec)le if the i!age is reasonabl' clean as despec)ling can result in the loss of so!e portions of te8t& This !a' be co!pensated for to a degree b' increasing the line thic)ness but it-s probabl' i!portant to e8peri!ent on a fe* pages before appl'ing to the entire project& The option Color / Gra+scale has additional settings that are a$ailable@

9argins can be filled *ith *hite or left as is& If the !argins are filled in *hite( then the option to e?ualise lighting also beco!es a$ailable& This option nor!aliAes the bac)ground color( bringing it to *hite( and nor!aliAes contrast( increasing it in the shaded areas& Mixed &ode is used for projects in *hich there are scans fro! half%tone i!ages ;gra'scale or color<& Pictures *ill be auto!aticall' detected and displa'ed as it is( just as in the >Colour + 4ra'> *ith the included e?ualised illu!ination& The rest of the page is displa'ed in blac) and *hite& Auto!atic i!age *or)s *ell enough( but if the picture !erges s!oothl' into the bac)ground the result !a' be unsatisfactor'& In this case( 'ou !ust create and configure the picture Aone i!ages& It is i!portant to note that the creation of Aones of i!ages is possible onl' in !i8ed !ode&

)is$la+ all files at once

To do this( run batch processing through the !enu& The files *ill be stored in the director' 'ou chose *hen 'ou created the project& 6nfortunatel'( unli)e other stages( alread' deri$ed pages *ill be displa'ed again( e$en if nothing in the! has changed& This feature *ill be re!o$ed in future $ersions& In the !eanti!e( if necessar'( t*ea) a fe* pages after the running of a batch( it is better not to run the entire batch processing again( rather adjust the fe* pages b' hand& The process of *ithdra*al of the current page begins i!!ediatel' at the transition to the stage of >*ithdra*al> or *hen !o$ing to another page at this point&

T#e for&at of out$ut files

1utput is in TI// for!at& Mlac) and 3hite !odes uses 44/a8 co!pressionF other !odes use 7S3 co!pression& 44/a8( and 7S3 co!press *ithout loss of ?ualit'&