Help Me Select A Color Balance Setting (HP Scanjet 4570c)

[bushw1ck]

Having trouble arriving at a robust color setting for my HP 4570c and hoping for some calibration help. To make matters even more confusing I'm running a G4 PPC running Mac OSX 10.4.11 that was formatted for Region 2 DVD and the system displays PAL color by default.

The scanner has ALWAYS produced results that skew the colors into the red and always look oversaturated when compared to similar images produced on different systems even before I reformatted to Region 2 about a year ago. So traditionally when scanning for myself I usually knock the saturation level down to 90% and then bump the color balance into the yellow then green a notch. Here is an example of the results using those settings using the sweet & pretty Jonelle from H*stl*r May 1986 as a subject:



and then the same page scanned using the default auto color balance:



I actually prefer the more muted colors in the first example but am not sure if what I am seeing on my screen is the way the picture actually looks & would like to find a color balance setting that everyone can enjoy. Thanks!

[cooljcb]

Originally Posted by bushw1ck

I actually prefer the more muted colors in the first example but am not sure if what I am seeing on my screen is the way the picture actually looks & would like to find a color balance setting that everyone can enjoy. Thanks!

I prefer the second scan. The first seems very flat and has a slight misty look to it. The second has more depth.

[tuffy]

Originally Posted by cooljcb

I prefer the second scan. The first seems very flat and has a slight misty look to it. The second has more depth.

My message is off-topic.

Do you have a 3D-screen ? (I'm only joking)

Some days ago I watched a Panasonic 3D-tv with 3D-glasses. It was the biggest event in my life watching a television.
I saw pictures from Grand Canyon and from Rome, they were unforgettable. I saw the depth 2 meter from the screen forward and then 10 to 600m in depth from the screen backward, I can never forget what I saw!

It's amazing that you saw depth on the second picture. (which is more correct than the first one)

I tested some HDMI cables the last week, and I sade exactly the same about an Audioquest HDMI-3 cable, it has correct and vivid colors, high contrast and I saw some depth in studio pictures.

Tuffy

[tuffy]

Originally Posted by bushw1ck

Having trouble arriving at a robust color setting for my HP 4570c and hoping for some calibration help. To make matters even more confusing I'm running a G4 PPC running Mac OSX 10.4.11 that was formatted for Region 2 DVD and the system displays PAL color by default.

The scanner has ALWAYS produced results that skew the colors into the red and always look oversaturated when compared to similar images produced on different systems even before I reformatted to Region 2 about a year ago. So traditionally when scanning for myself I usually knock the saturation level down to 90% and then bump the color balance into the yellow then green a notch. Here is an example of the results using those settings using the sweet & pretty Jonelle from H*stl*r May 1986 as a subject:

and then the same page scanned using the default auto color balance:

I actually prefer the more muted colors in the first example but am not sure if what I am seeing on my screen is the way the picture actually looks & would like to find a color balance setting that everyone can enjoy. Thanks!

I have an old HP 5370c scanner and I use HP PrecisionScan Pro 2.51 software with it.

First I do an Auto Exposure Adjustment which I correct manually. (I use Highlight Alarm and Shadow Alarm to manage the clipping)

Second I use the Auto Color Adjustment manually. Then I repeat them.

Because I'm using a PC, I'm using Midtones 2.2 (Gamma = 2.2)

Please observe that the HP scanners are adjusted for the correct skin tones, which give a little red color cast.

Color correction can everybody do in Photoshop, but you must be an expert to get good result.

After 15 years with Photoshop I let the scanner to do this job for me to spare time.

Your scans are flat, they have low contrast as the magazine has, but the the first picture has a strong yellow color cast.

I prefer the second picture.

Tuffy

[Dekoda]

Hi bushw1ck! First, let me say that I never make adjustments in the scanning software. The reason is because once you do that, the scan you end up with has been adjusted and it's difficult to make any other adjustments. If the scanning software made incorrect adjustments, you can't undo them.

Also, I am not a fan of anything that Apple makes....especially their computers, but that's just me. If you are happy with your computer, then that's all that matters.

If you just use the default settings on your scanner, you end up with a scan that hasn't been tampered with by the scanning software. If you are using Photoshop, you can adjust the scan to look it's best. I have found that that is the way to get the best results.

[Xxphd]

Originally Posted by Dekoda

Also, I am not a fan of anything that Apple makes....especially their computers, but that's just me. If you are happy with your computer, then that's all that matters.

The Mac he is using is about 10 years old.. just try that with any out of the box PC from that era..

[Dekoda]

Originally Posted by Xxphd

The Mac he is using is about 10 years old.. just try that with any out of the box PC from that era..

I did back then....I still preferred the PC over the Mac.

[tmee2000]

I prefer the second picture, it has a deeper look to it. I would always retain the original scan though, then you can experiment with the contrast and colour depth.