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KaineZ's setup: how to "scan" with a digital camera
builderboy:
KaineZ,
One of the things that I have started doing to speed things up, something JVJ tipped me off to, was the following.
To use this technique, you have to make sure that all of your page image sizes are identical dimensionally. My first operation after scanning raw centerspreads is to crop the individual pages, making rotation adjustments if needed. I take the cover image first, and after using the rectangular selection marquee, then image/crop. I then pull up the image/size box, and note the resultant images pixel dimension. I then set the marquee tool to 'fixed size', and input the pixel dimension from the cover, and save it as a new tool. Then, I use that tool to crop every page, rotating as necessary to end up with separate, uniform page files.
I then take one image, and create all the adjustment layers I like to use ( I use layers for correction, overlay, level adjustment, and color balance), then save a copy of that file as a template. I keep the template file open, and open each of the other pages, one at a time, and drag all of those adjustment layers to the new file (holding the shift key, so that they register correctly), then save and close them.
Now, you have each file, ready to go with all adjustment layers in place. While this is pretty fast, I am confident that if I recorded the process once, an automated routine could be used to copy all the adjustment layers into the files of a directory, using the Photoshops batch processing.
About keeping file sizes small, I am not sure about that. My preference would be to work on the file without file size constraints, and use more compression in your routine to convert the files from photoshop to jpeg format. If you bring down the individual files to ~ 650 - 1000 Kb, the CBZ file is not too large for public consumption. I know there are limits to this compression, but I haven't hit them yet.
That's the essence of what I am doing, but I am continually looking for ways to improve productivity and image quality.
Yoc:
Interesting.
I open, crop, manually correct as needed with clone tool and apply an action that adjusts size, contrast, levels and saves as a jpg.
-Yoc
KaineZ:
--- Quote from: Yoc on May 04, 2014, 11:01:26 PM ---A huge scan like that is allowed but we would suggest it be shared in two parts if you do it ArKay.
Better yet a second 'normal' file size would be nice for those that prefer their scans not so huge.
Good luck on the Photoshop action creation!
-Yoc
--- End quote ---
That was me (KZ) who said that, not ArKay, but I was only joking about 100 -125 meg files though.
KaineZ:
--- Quote from: builderboy on May 05, 2014, 06:11:13 AM ---KaineZ,
One of the things that I have started doing to speed things up, something JVJ tipped me off to, was the following.
To use this technique, you have to make sure that all of your page image sizes are identical dimensionally. My first operation after scanning raw centerspreads is to crop the individual pages, making rotation adjustments if needed. I take the cover image first, and after using the rectangular selection marquee, then image/crop. I then pull up the image/size box, and note the resultant images pixel dimension. I then set the marquee tool to 'fixed size', and input the pixel dimension from the cover, and save it as a new tool. Then, I use that tool to crop every page, rotating as necessary to end up with separate, uniform page files.
I then take one image, and create all the adjustment layers I like to use ( I use layers for correction, overlay, level adjustment, and color balance), then save a copy of that file as a template. I keep the template file open, and open each of the other pages, one at a time, and drag all of those adjustment layers to the new file (holding the shift key, so that they register correctly), then save and close them.
Now, you have each file, ready to go with all adjustment layers in place. While this is pretty fast, I am confident that if I recorded the process once, an automated routine could be used to copy all the adjustment layers into the files of a directory, using the Photoshops batch processing.
About keeping file sizes small, I am not sure about that. My preference would be to work on the file without file size constraints, and use more compression in your routine to convert the files from photoshop to jpeg format. If you bring down the individual files to ~ 650 - 1000 Kb, the CBZ file is not too large for public consumption. I know there are limits to this compression, but I haven't hit them yet.
That's the essence of what I am doing, but I am continually looking for ways to improve productivity and image quality.
--- End quote ---
The cool thing about Photoshop is there are 10 ways to do just about everything.
I pretty much do my first step as you describe although with an Action. When I photograph I shoot 2 images of every "folio". Ie., with the cover open I'll make two shots of the double page of the inside front cover and first story page and so on so when I finish there are, in a 36 page book, a total of 36 images. This makes the photographing part really quick.
So, in PS my first step is to crop every image to individual pages (although I usually do 14 pages at a time since on one screen I can see 14 tabs (images) if I have the whole issue opened at once). Then I use the rectangular marquee and set my page size (I hate all the wasted white space from most borders so I crop that out when I make my selection). My Action does the following:
1) Crops page
2) Sets page width to 1800 pixels
3) Opens Curves dialogue
I don't like the foxing so I turn all but the worst of it white via curves. You have to be careful with it obviously or you'll get some washed out colors. :-[
I rarely mess with color balance or levels because for what I find attractive in a comic adjusting curves *normally* gives me all the level adjustments I desire. Once in a blue moon I might go for those options though. If it really came down to it I can still adjust RGB through curves anyway.
What I've been working on is trying to figure out a way to *quickly* eliminate even more foxing than I do now. I've had people suggest channels (don't have experience with that), adjustment layers (I played around with that for HOURS last week and couldn't figure out a solution), using a graduated curves filter mask (need to play around with that idea, but I like the sound of it) as well as a few other manual techniques that appear to be far too time consuming. There's only one publisher I'd use something that took me 2 hours to do one book, but they aren't in the PD :-\ :P
builderboy:
SO very interesting to hear of your techniques! Thanks for describing KaineZ & Yoc. Two color balancing moves that I find effective are setting the tone to 'highlights', and the first is moving the cyan/red slider toward cyan to reduce the reds, the other, 'highlights' again, but the yellow/blue slider toward blue to reduce the yellows. If you don't go too far, it renders tanned paper back to cream tone, like fresh newsprint.
Thanks for sharing, guys...keeps my appetite for continued Photoshop experimentation alive.
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