Tag: scanning

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Silverfast 8 in Windows 7

I am noticing huge difference in image quality when using Silverfast under Windows 7 versus Mac. When viewed at 100% I no longer see  strange jaggies which I saw in Mac version, and the images look actually sharper.

The scan speed is also much faster. Here are some numbers I was able to come up with.

Windows 64bit Silverfast 8.0.1r18  (Plustek Opticfilm 8200i)

  • 7200dpi (with iSRD) 9min 23sec
  • 3600dpi (with iSRD) 3min 13sec

Those make huge difference to the scanning speed with current mac version. I would estimate that Windows version is at least twice as fast. Moreover, the mac version sometimes scans faster and sometimes slower, and iSRD doesn’t work or works on random basis.

I would classify the current mac version unusable. If you are on mac, I recommend using Windows 7 version of Silverfast via bootcamp or Parallels, etc.

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The Least Comfortable Solution

Since the current situation is that Silverfast 8 has issues with serious contrast shifts when scanning in higher resolutions in Mac, I resorted into the least comfortable solution; installing the software in Windows 7. Luckily I have Windows 7 installed on bootcamp partition.

According to Silverfast support, apparently the contrast does shift in Windows 7 version of the software as well but it is less dramatic.

They told me that the new version of the software (which should have the issue fixed) will be released in first days of 2013.

Now, looking forward how scanning in Windows 7 goes.