With VueScan, Ed Hamrick has written a lean but nonetheless powerful scanning tool for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux operating systems. Neither SilverFast nor Nikon Scan support Linux, so VueScan is the only option for this operating system. Unlike its two competitors, VueScan is purely a scanning program with only some rudimentary editing functions. This is not a disadvantage if you use a good image editor for postprocessing. The program offers powerful features with full and impressive RAW support. Also, unlike Nikon Scan and SilverFast, extra, expensive programs are not needed for editing RAW data.
Contents
| Purchase and Installation |
| Look and Feel |
| RAW Data |
| Documentation |
| Conclusion |
VueScan is available in Standard and Professional editions, which cost $39.95 and $79.95 respectively. The software is available only through download from Ed Hamrick’s website, www.hamrick.com. It is advisable to back up the installation files of the version for the purchased serial number, because the website has only the newest versions available for download (which may require a different serial number). The purchase price of the Professional Edition includes updates; otherwise, for updates, you have to request a new serial number. VueScan only comes with an English user interface.
Note
The evolution of a scan software package VueScan’s author, Ed Hamrick, is constantly developing the program’s capabilities and user interface. This chapter describes version 8.4.62, which was the latest at the time of writing. If you are using a newer version, it is possible that the user interface will be slightly different from the one illustrated here.
Unlike the professional Edition, the standard Edition can neither generate RAW data nor does it support ICC profiles and IT8 calibration. Therefore, for archiving film material, the Professional Edition is the better choice. VueScan currently supports 750 different scanners. The license covers any number of scanners you own. (SilverFast is less generous: you need a separate license for each scanner, because there is a program version for each scanner type.)
With a size of less than 3 MB, VueScan installs in a snap. The installer creates the directory VueScan on the local hard drive and a shortcut on the desktop for convenient launching, but does not generate any entries in the start menu. To uninstall, simply delete the folder and the shortcut. VueScan is a stand-alone program, but it can automatically open the scan file in an image editor for further processing.
Unlike the common plug-in solutions through the TWAIN interface,VueScan does not tie up the photo editor during scanning. You can scan and edit in parallel, which is ideal for batch scanning. The software itself is lean, but the way it works as a RAW editor requires a large amount of memory.
One Scan Is Enough: New Variations Without Rescan
VueScan is designed to scan an image only once. The RAW data of a scan remain in memory until the scan for the next image has begun. It is possible to save the raw data and to make the scan permanently available. Any image manipulation that is possible before the scan can still be performed later on the RAW files – even hardware-based scratch removal. This is because VueScan saves the infrared channel separately and does not apply it to the image. Neither Nikon nor SilverFast can do that.
