i1 Profiler Scanner profiling

X-Rite has recently released version 1.4 of i1 Profiler.

As well as some general improvements to the code, it marks the return of scanner profiling, a feature left out when Profiler first appeared.

I've carried out some quick tests of this new functionality with the Digital ColorChecker SG card I originally looked at with i1 Match software several years ago. As yet, there is no equivalent camera profiling available.

I'm testing the software with a fairly basic desktop scanner, although the software is aimed at very high quality scanners, including those for film negatives and positives,

Other i1 Profiler functionality is listed at our i1 Profiler main page, where we'll include links to other reviews and any useful resources we come across.

• Note that you need a licensed version of i1Profiler that supports printer profiling for this functionality. It does not work if you have the version that just does monitor calibration.

The examples that will be shown are using Apple Macs, but the software generally works in the same way on Windows machines (Win8 is supported).

... or try at Adorama

i1 profiler for scanner profiling

Scanner profiling involves scanning a known colour target and comparing what should be seen by the scanner, with what it actually produces in the scan file. These differences are used by the software to build an ICC colour profile for your scanner.

When I last looked at scanner profiling with the i1, there was a custom target supplied (eye one scan target 1.4) which you scanned and fed into the program to generate a profile.

This target (printed sheet of coloured patches) is not supported in the current software, but it does allow for using both the standard ColorChecker card and the more complex SG version. A number of third party scanner targets are also supported.

X-Rite ColorChecker 24
X-Rite ColorChecker SG (see notes in conclusions)
LaserSoft Reflective IT 8.7/2
LaserSoft Transmissive 4x5 and 35mm IT 8.7/1
Wolf Faust Reflective IT 8.7/2
Wolf Faust Transmissive 4x5 and 35mm IT 8.7/1 

Scanner profiling adds another workflow option to i1Profiler

It's pretty easy to use - you scan a target, and drop the image onto the window.

Quite a few specialist targets are directly supported.

The input screen initially offers advice on scan requirements.

The procedures for creating profiles are very dependent on your scanner software, so I've gone for the very basic 'Image capture' application, that's included as standard on any Mac.

The main requirements are to be able to scan without the software attempting any image correction - you can see that I've turned off all the various options.

Scanning the SG target gives me a TIFF file - but it doesn't work.

OK, I'm just going to cheat, by opening the file in Photoshop and resaving in uncompressed format - if the compression is lossless in the scanned TIFF file then it won't make much difference (I'd also like to have scanned at 16 bit, but this is just a quick test)

The new file is accepted, and the software attempts to match up the patches with what it expects...

Rotating the image matches up the green squares with actual coloured patches.

The software doesn't flag an error, but after I spotted that the scan above was upside down, I rotated it 180 degrees before moving to the profile making.

The only thing I really need to do next is give the profile a name when it's created.

All is not well though. The profile is created, but with warnings.

I decided to have another go at scanning, with the standard ColorChecker card.

It's detected by the software, from another scan with 'Image capture' (also converted to an uncompressed TIFF)

This time, the software is happy with the data quality.

I now have two profiles for the scanner, one made with each target (I have the third profile made with the SG card with the faulty patch)

Using the scanner profiles

Your scanner software may be able to directly make use of the created profile, but with the very simple software, I have to assign a profile in Photoshop, to any image file I want to work with.

If you assign a profile, it doesn't change the actual numerical values of each pixel (it changes their meaning according to the profile)

However, it's much better to work in a consistent colour space for your editing. I might use sRGB for web use, or Adobe98 when I'm printing.

Do note that your scanner may exceed the gamut of the space you are using. Move your mouse over the image below to see a warning (in red) of areas that are outside of the sRGB gamut.

I've opened a scan file and assigned the scanner profile. The warning comes from changing my proof setup in Photoshop to another space, and selecting the gamut warning option. The red bits are areas of the scan that are outside of the gamut of my selection (sRGB in this case). It's worth noting that using Adobe 98 gave no warnings.

Remember too that I deactivated all the various scanner software adjustments, so the scan has not had its levels optimised.

Move your mouse over the image below to see the results of a simple levels adjustment.

This review is not intended to be a rigorous test of the accuracy of the profiling, since I'd have wanted to use a better scanner and more capable software.

Even this fairly quick test shows benefits with my office scanner.

Take for example, this scan of the front/back of my business card (it's a 6 'page' fold out one that works exceedingly well for the sorts of work I do, where I want people to know that unlike lots of pro photographers, I don't do weddings!)

The blue tinge of the scan is very noticeable.

The scan files do have what is called a 'scanner profile' attached to them.

The screen shots below show the file with no colour management, the default profile, and lastly with the one I'd created using the ColorChecker card and assigned to the file opened with no colour management.

Roll your mouse over the image below, to see the effect of applying the profile (created with the new SG card) to the scanned image of the card.

Conclusions

The profile gave a vast improvement to the output from a basic desktop scanner, although I did need to be careful to scan without colour correction, and needed to cheat a bit with the TIFF files.

I'm assuming that for more accurate work you'd be using much better kit all round, but you still have to take care with your workflow and ensure that you are actually profiling just the scanner and not the scanner + various processing enhancements from the software.

Setting profiles for subsequent scanning

This will vary considerably with your software, but with the very basic 'Image capture' software on my Mac, I can go to 'ColorSync Utility' and set the default (current) profile for the scanner (which is reflective only)

The difference is immediately visible when I scan my business card again.

The simple ColorChecker card initially produced a more consistent result than the more complex SG card.

It turns out that the SG card I'd been using (albeit nowhere near as often as the various ColorChecker cards I have) had a faulty patch.

If you move your mouse over the image below you will see a considerable change to patch [3,F] (plum colour) as the profile tries to 'correct' it.

Comparing my original SG card to the one shown on X-rite's web site, the SG card is shown (below) with a blue patch at 3F

So, the software was expecting blue... this explains the warnings during the initial profile construction.

Both cards produced good profiles, however, with the scanner and software setup I'm testing I'd not expect the greatest of precision.

The software is easy to use and effective and even identified problems with my SG card.

I don't do much scanning or camera profiling, which might explain why I've only just noticed the difference in my SG card ;-) Where I'm creating profiles for photography I generally have my ColorChecker Passport with me for creating DNG profiles.

The bottom line is that I was definitely impressed by how much even the basic ColorChecker could improve my old scanner.

Article History - first published January 2013. Updated with new SG card testing, Jan 2013

Requirements - V1.4.2 release notes

The following features and improvements have been added for this release:

Scanner Profiling  - Added support for the following scanner targets:

X-Rite ColorChecker 24
X-Rite ColorChecker SG
LaserSoft Reflective IT 8.7/2
LaserSoft Transmissive 4x5 and 35mm IT 8.7/1
Wolf Faust Reflective IT 8.7/2
Wolf Faust Transmissive 4x5 and 35mm IT 8.7/1 

CGATS Functionality - Improved the support for "SampleID", "SAMPLE_NAME", and "Sample_Loc" column types.

Made enhancements for custom output column selections. Made location information content optional in "SAMPLE_NAME" column.

Added support for P2P and other popular single-page colour control wedges.

Dropped support for MacOS 10.5.x (Leopard.)

Installation and Registration

Administrative rights are required to install and uninstall the software.

Do not connect measurement devices until the software installation is complete and the system has restarted.

The i1Display or the i1Pro 2 must be connected in order to register your i1Profiler solution.

Minimum suggested hardware requirements:

Macintosh:

MacOS X 10.6.x, 10.7.x and 10.8.x
All Operating Systems should have the latest updates installed
2GB RAM
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
2GB of available disk space
Powered USB Port
Monitor resolution of 1024x768 pixels or higher
Dual display support requires either 2 video cards or a dual head video card that supports dual video LUTs being loaded
Latest drivers for video card installed
DVD drive or high-speed Internet connection required for software install, download and automatic software update
User must have Administrator rights to install and uninstall the application 

Windows:

Microsoft Windows XP 32 bit
Microsoft Windows Vista 32 or 64 bit
Microsoft Windows 7 32 or 64 bit
Microsoft Windows 8
All Operating Systems should have the latest updates and Service Packs installed
2GB RAM
Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2 or better CPU
2GB of available disk space
Powered USB Port
Monitor resolution of 1024x768 pixels or higher
Dual display support requires either 2 video cards or a dual head video card that supports dual video LUTs being loaded
Latest drivers for video card installed
Network adaptor installed and driver loaded
DVD drive or high-speed Internet connection required for software install, download and automatic software update
User must have Administrator rights to install and uninstall the application

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