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GrannyGrump · 11-15-2013, 02:06 AM

My image-cleaning routine (if anyone cares)

I'm using Paint Shop Pro v9, using its native format for processing, I think it is similar to Photoshop's PSD files. PSP can also work with PSD files (and though I don't often use them, it can use many Photoshop plugins and filters).

I set up scripts for some steps, so --click-- it's done (instead of using the settings dialog for that particular tool every time). Many of my scripts are assigned to special toolbar buttons, rather than using the lengthy dropdown list.

1--Save the source file as psp file. These are usually jpg or jp2/jpeg2000, and usually in the neigborhood of 2500 x 4000 px.

2--CROP
Crop the image to leave a uniform white border. Done by manually drawing a rectangular frame just at the edge of the image, then Magic Wand with match-mode set to "opacity" to select the transparent interior of the frame. Then run my "one-click-script" to expand the selection by 10 pixels and automatically "crop to selection."

3--INITIAL REPAIRS
Manually fix blatant dirt and damage with Clone and Smudge brushes. This is often easier before changing everything to shades of grey.

4--RECOLOR
Use "Manual Color Correction" tool to change the age-darkened background (usually dark sepia tone, sometimes grey or yellow) to as close to white as possible -- it "colorizes" the image, keeping all the tones and values synced.

5--DESATURATE 100%
Use "Hue-Saturation-Lightness" tool, but I don't change lightness because I don't want to wash out the black. I don't greyscale yet, because some PSP tools don't work well --or at all-- with only 256 shades. (One-click script)

6--IMPROVE BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST
Use "Highlight-Midtone-Shadow" adjustment tool to lighten the white areas, and maybe adjust midtones and/or shadows. This tool lets you adjust the light/darkness of the three levels independently. Sometimes needs instead to be run twice with gentler settings. I prefer using this tool to using Brightess & Contrast adjustment -- more discrete control.

7--SWAT SPECKS

----New addition to speck-killing routine----
Add Jellby's suggested Burn overlay to display unwanted specks, spots, and smudges. (One-click script for this.)

----If lots of specks exist (and they always do), use the "Manual Color Replacement" tool to replace all pixels in a certain color range with a desired color. I use very gentle settings: for example, replace RGB 253-253-253 with pure white, using a 3% tolerance. This replaces all pixels 250-250-250 and up with pure white, and gets rid of the majority of specks. (One-click script.)

----If a lot of specks still remain, run the HMS tool with very low settings. (One-click script.)

----Manually paint out remaining stray specks with paintbrush and/or Dodge brush.

----Delete the Burn overlay layer.

8--MORE REPAIRS

----I use Dodge brush on small areas to lighten shadows and bring out details, Burn brush on small areas to darken details or darken shadows, Clone brush to cover over damaged areas, Smudge brush to blend.

----I also have a set of scripts for various Curve settings to lighten or darken or improve contrast. One that I'm fond of darkens only the dark areas -- helpful when I want more contrast without brightening the lighter areas.

----I find that these 19th century woodcut/engraving illustrations are by nature rather monotone. Often when you downsize a black-and-white image, it appears darker, and with these the sky is the same tone as the landscape. Also, it appears that those artists were obsessed with filling every inch of space with cross-hatching and curlicues, so the background sometimes seems very dark. So I sometimes make a cutout "puzzle-piece" of the offending area as a separate layer, and lighten that some more so it doesn't obscure the foreground figures or look as though a storm is constantly brewing.

9--SAVE my rehabilitated full-size source file.

10--DOWNSIZE to desired dimensions, using Weighted Average algorithm. Bicubic, Bilinear, and Pixel Resize often appear more jagged/pixilated/grainy. Though everything looks a bit grainy when you are dropping down to 20~30% of original size. I save this resized file in a separate folder.

11--CONVERT TO FINAL FORMAT FOR USE

----Greyscale [at last!]. Shaves a bit of file-size for jpegs.

----Use Save-A-Copy-As routine to convert a copy of the resized image to jpg or png at desired compression and/or color depth, and save to a third folder. I'm doing this now with batch-processing, but sometimes certain images want manual processing for different compression or color settings.

----------

I'm probably spending about 15 minutes per image, but some might take an hour -- or several -- if they are extremely dark or badly damaged or the source file is particularly fuzzy and awful. Trying to repair banding caused by scanning is particularly time-consuming.

The decision-making process eats some time -- Use Curves or use HMS? -- Use paintbrush or dodgebrush? -- is that funny squiggle a scanner artifact? a drop of spilled soup? a printing goof? hung-over engraver's shaky hand? part of the artists's vision?

But in the end, it's the manual stuff that takes the time. I keep hoping to learn more efficient ways to do all this.

So if anybody has comments or suggestions, I am all ears. Well, all eyes -- I would have to read, not listen to, your ideas.

Thanks for any advice or feedback.

11-15-2013, 02:06 AM	#26
GrannyGrump Obsessively Dedicated... Posts: 3,200 Karma: 34977896 Join Date: May 2011 Location: JAPAN (US expatriate) Device: Sony PRS-T2, ADE on PC	My image-cleaning routine (if anyone cares) I'm using Paint Shop Pro v9, using its native format for processing, I think it is similar to Photoshop's PSD files. PSP can also work with PSD files (and though I don't often use them, it can use many Photoshop plugins and filters). I set up scripts for some steps, so --click-- it's done (instead of using the settings dialog for that particular tool every time). Many of my scripts are assigned to special toolbar buttons, rather than using the lengthy dropdown list. 1--Save the source file as psp file. These are usually jpg or jp2/jpeg2000, and usually in the neigborhood of 2500 x 4000 px. 2--CROP Crop the image to leave a uniform white border. Done by manually drawing a rectangular frame just at the edge of the image, then Magic Wand with match-mode set to "opacity" to select the transparent interior of the frame. Then run my "one-click-script" to expand the selection by 10 pixels and automatically "crop to selection." 3--INITIAL REPAIRS Manually fix blatant dirt and damage with Clone and Smudge brushes. This is often easier before changing everything to shades of grey. 4--RECOLOR Use "Manual Color Correction" tool to change the age-darkened background (usually dark sepia tone, sometimes grey or yellow) to as close to white as possible -- it "colorizes" the image, keeping all the tones and values synced. 5--DESATURATE 100% Use "Hue-Saturation-Lightness" tool, but I don't change lightness because I don't want to wash out the black. I don't greyscale yet, because some PSP tools don't work well --or at all-- with only 256 shades. (One-click script) 6--IMPROVE BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST Use "Highlight-Midtone-Shadow" adjustment tool to lighten the white areas, and maybe adjust midtones and/or shadows. This tool lets you adjust the light/darkness of the three levels independently. Sometimes needs instead to be run twice with gentler settings. I prefer using this tool to using Brightess & Contrast adjustment -- more discrete control. 7--SWAT SPECKS ----New addition to speck-killing routine---- Add Jellby's suggested Burn overlay to display unwanted specks, spots, and smudges. (One-click script for this.) ----If lots of specks exist (and they always do), use the "Manual Color Replacement" tool to replace all pixels in a certain color range with a desired color. I use very gentle settings: for example, replace RGB 253-253-253 with pure white, using a 3% tolerance. This replaces all pixels 250-250-250 and up with pure white, and gets rid of the majority of specks. (One-click script.) ----If a lot of specks still remain, run the HMS tool with very low settings. (One-click script.) ----Manually paint out remaining stray specks with paintbrush and/or Dodge brush. ----Delete the Burn overlay layer. 8--MORE REPAIRS ----I use Dodge brush on small areas to lighten shadows and bring out details, Burn brush on small areas to darken details or darken shadows, Clone brush to cover over damaged areas, Smudge brush to blend. ----I also have a set of scripts for various Curve settings to lighten or darken or improve contrast. One that I'm fond of darkens only the dark areas -- helpful when I want more contrast without brightening the lighter areas. ----I find that these 19th century woodcut/engraving illustrations are by nature rather monotone. Often when you downsize a black-and-white image, it appears darker, and with these the sky is the same tone as the landscape. Also, it appears that those artists were obsessed with filling every inch of space with cross-hatching and curlicues, so the background sometimes seems very dark. So I sometimes make a cutout "puzzle-piece" of the offending area as a separate layer, and lighten that some more so it doesn't obscure the foreground figures or look as though a storm is constantly brewing. 9--SAVE my rehabilitated full-size source file. 10--DOWNSIZE to desired dimensions, using Weighted Average algorithm. Bicubic, Bilinear, and Pixel Resize often appear more jagged/pixilated/grainy. Though everything looks a bit grainy when you are dropping down to 20~30% of original size. I save this resized file in a separate folder. 11--CONVERT TO FINAL FORMAT FOR USE ----Greyscale [at last!]. Shaves a bit of file-size for jpegs. ----Use Save-A-Copy-As routine to convert a copy of the resized image to jpg or png at desired compression and/or color depth, and save to a third folder. I'm doing this now with batch-processing, but sometimes certain images want manual processing for different compression or color settings. ---------- I'm probably spending about 15 minutes per image, but some might take an hour -- or several -- if they are extremely dark or badly damaged or the source file is particularly fuzzy and awful. Trying to repair banding caused by scanning is particularly time-consuming. The decision-making process eats some time -- Use Curves or use HMS? -- Use paintbrush or dodgebrush? -- is that funny squiggle a scanner artifact? a drop of spilled soup? a printing goof? hung-over engraver's shaky hand? part of the artists's vision? But in the end, it's the manual stuff that takes the time. I keep hoping to learn more efficient ways to do all this. So if anybody has comments or suggestions, I am all ears. Well, all eyes -- I would have to read, not listen to, your ideas. Thanks for any advice or feedback.