Updates

Kigamo Software 4.0 is available:

Windows

Macintosh OS9

download the new tutorial: Tutorial 4.0

download the new manual: Manual 4.0

Tips and Tricks

We have gathered some tips and tricks here to give you some ideas, solve problems, etc. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

Tips

Solving Problems

Lines in the Image

Speeding things up

  • The Prescan is 12-bit and you do not always need to take another prescan. Try adjusting the curve if the image is a bit under- or over- exposed.
  • The Curve Window will indicate how under/over exposed you are in f-stops. The scale on the bottom of the histogram is in f-stop equivalents. For example the distance between 0 and -1 is equal to 1 f-stop.
  • When scanning something long and thin like a pen, make sure the object is placed parallel to the CCD and use the crop tool. (see definitions)
  • Lighting Table: The higher the values, the more sensitive the camera will be.

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Cleaning the CCD

At some time, probably sooner than later, you will experience dust on the CCD. This causes multicolored stripes in scan direction (if you are shooting a vertical image this means from top to bottom).

The menu item: Scanback > Clean CCD will drive the CCD to the middle of the opening, allowing you to clean.

Important: the CCD is very fragile and you should avoid touching it with your fingers or anything hard.

Use lens tissue and cleaning fluid. Never apply the lens cleaning fluid directly to the CCD. Always apply the lens cleaning fluid to the lens tissue first, then clean the CCD with the moistened lens tissue. Wipe the tissue along the length of the CCD in smooth movements. Do not press hard on the CCD or rub repeatedly on one spot.

We recommend using the Kigamo Cleaning fluid for this purpose. We have found that many cleaning fluids cause streaks and smears on the glass. Contact your dealer for more information.

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Software cannot find Scanback

Always connect the SCSI cable before the power cable!

Please make sure the Kigamo Camera has power and that the SCSI cable is connected carefully and that no other device on the SCSI chain is number 6.

Make sure your hard disk has enough free space and that you use a defragmenting software such as Norton Utilitiers Speed Disk once in a while.

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Warning "not enough RAM“

The Kigamo Scanback shoots directly to the RAM of your computer. You will need about 10MB for the Software plus the size of the image you want to scan or you can click the "quickscan" function in the general preferences

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Definitions

In order to accurately discuss support issues, we need to define the direction that the CCD is moving. The Red arrow in the drawing below defines "Scan Direction“. The Blue arrow defines "parallel to the CCD".
Red arrow: "Scan Direction“.

Blue arrow: "parallel to the CCD"

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Lines in scan direction (Dust)

Dust on the CCD usually causes multicolored stripes that are pointed at the top and bottom and fatter in the middle. Please refer to the section on cleaning the CCD.

Example #1

Problem: The image has lines in scan direction (image was scanned from right to left). The lines change color as they progress.

Source: dust on the CCD.

Solution: clean the ccd. (Please refer to the section on cleaning the CCD.)

 

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Horizontal lines in your image

Horizontal banding is caused by an inconsistent light source. If the power lines vary a large amount, the lights will become darker and brighter during a Scan or preview.

Example #1

Problem: The following Image has lines parallel to the CCD (image was scanned from right to left). The interesting observation in this situation was that the lines occured in regular intervals regardless of the line time used.

Source: a photocopy machine with a defective fan pulled so much power, it was causing the lights to dim in regular intervals, causing the stripes.

Solution: was to turn off the copy machine.

 

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