Home

PKS - Pixel Genius

1. PHOTOKIT SHARPENER 2 0 A COMPLETE SHARPENING WORKFLOW for Adobe Photoshop Sharpening has long been one of the most essential but least understood aspects of digital imaging PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 0 PKS 2 provides not just a set of sharpening tools but a complete sharpening workflow from capture to output that is designed to produce optimum sharpness on any image from any source reproduced on any output device while still leaving enough control to address both the differing requirements of individual images and the differing tastes of individual users If you simply want to start using PKS 2 right away you can skip ahead to the New Features on page 4 but the following discussion may be useful to help you understand why we created the sharpening workflow and how it works Why sharpen Sharpening is necessary for several reasons each of which imposes its own demands and sometimes those demands contradict each other Whenever we turn photons into pixels we lose some sharpness because no matter how high the resolution of our capture devices they sample a fixed grid of pixels turning the continuous gradations of tone and color that exist in the real world into discrete pixels Some lenses render the scene more sharply than others but even the finest lenses still introduce some softness Sometimes we want to make the image sharper than it really was to tell a story m
2. Fairs mimi a Mocha dal aed Lied Te Metal set Gk Hee n bie e G i tarum liper khe pme Efem Medin igr Leer As digs tags EEE f Piei ii Run the first effect then Run the second effect then LAYERS hide the result Through HH Opacity i Lack Gj a ee ea compare the results by turning each layer set on and off Y LOD HRDCM Sharp ER oe Light Contour Se Dark Contour Es Background 5 Background a o PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 will use all visible layers when applying the ef fects If you don t wish for a layer to be included in the processed result simply un check that layer or layer group 20 If on the other hand you want to look at the cumulative result of running two effects you can use PKS 2 s Batch Mode Batch Mode allows the user to add multiple effects and apply them all with one click The resulting effect will be cumulative A possibly non obvious consequence of this behavior is that when you want to add layer based edits for example a Curves or Hue Saturation Adjustment Layer to an image that already contains one or more PhotoKit effects you should add the new adjustments at the top of the layer stack above the PhotoKit effects rather than underneath them in the Layer stack Stacking effects foe Behe om i eS E i w Bioda a a int ij ka O Biia in uaa eT wa hed Cage tg ees Harper Be a ETmi keim L
3. This image and graph depict an edge transition from 40 to After sharpening the transition is accentuated It s darker on 60 percent Each tick mark across the bottom of the graph the dark side and lighter on light side creating a halo around represents a column of pixels the edge Controlling Dark and Light Contours On this image the default sharpener settings darken the image slightly Adjusting the opacities of the light and dark contours independently to 70 for the light contour and 45 for the dark contour produces a result that s sharp but is closer to the original tonal values sd p p7 J Se rd A F S at a Original eS a C s zs itt eter a er r The Layers panel showing the sharpened image above The default opacity is 66 but you can adjust it to modify the sharpen ing halos In the example above the Light Contour has been adjusted to 70 PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 0 Menus As we explained earlier good sharpening has to take into account the characteristics of the capture medium the content of the image and the properties of the output device Addressing all these issues in a single round of sharpening is we believe impossible so PKS 2 divides sharpening into three phases Capture Sharpen Creative Sharpen and Output Sharpen The three sharpening phases appear as separate commands on Photoshops Automate submenu PhotoKit Capture Sharpener PhotoKit Creative Sharpener and Ph
4. Merge to HDR Pro Photomerge AOO PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules OK j Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel Module V PhotoKit Color 2 Help PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 q r Set PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 n PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 _ Preview Effect PhotoKit 2 Message _ Merge Results _ Show Batch Options _ Create Layer Mask Hide Effect The basic PixelGenius dialog with the Module menu shown expanded down showing PhotoKit Color 2 the three PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 modules and PhotoKit 2 due the first quarter of 2011 Note it doesn t matter which Module you select in the Automate menu all installed Modules are still available in the drop down menu 10 Capture Sharpeners Capture Sharpeners are designed to apply gentle sharpening early in the workflow The sharpening is concentrated in the midtones applying relatively little sharpening to shadows and highlights no sharpening is applied to pixels lighter than level 250 or darker than level 10 That way there is sufficient headroom to apply sharpening tailored for different output processes while allowing you to work on a reasonably sharp image The Capture Sharpeners may be gentler than the sharpening techniques youre used to but when theyre combined with Output and optionally Creative Sharpeners they produce very sharp results Selecting a Capture Sharpener Set The Capture Sharpener sets are named for the image source The f
5. ar 7 Load 4 PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 3 Digital High Res Sharp Save Digital High Res Sharp Save b Auto Edge Sharpen PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 Special Effects Midtone Contrast Low PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 Inkjet Output Sharpeners Glossy res 240 0 You can continue adding additional Effects by selecting an ad ditional Module Set and Effect Note that you ll want to start with capture sharpening and will usually finish with output sharpening The Batch Option checkbox is sticky and once checked it will remain checked until unchecked To return the single effect functionality simply uncheck the Show Batch Options checkbox 32 Batch a Add Delete AO Save Batch Set eee Load PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 FF i o oS Digital High Res Sharp Smooth _ Save k a E E High Res Batch _ Save Auto Edge Sharpen ee PhotoKit Creative Sh 3 Save Batch set Existing Sets s otot it _reative arpener ces el Cancel j Special Effects Midtone Contrast Low PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 Inkjet Output Sharpeners Glossy Once you have added the various Effects to the Batch list The Save Batch Set dialog allows you to name the Batch you can save the Batch list for future use Click on the Save list for future use Note if you don t save the Batch button and you will be presented with the Save Batch Set list the next time you launch PKS 2 the effects will no dialo
6. s excellent output sharpening Why do we say Lightroom s output sharpening is excellent Because PixelGenius worked with Adobe and the Lightroom team to bring PhotoKit Sharpener s output sharpening routines to Lightroom From our point of view youll get optimal output sharpening whether you do it in PKS 2 or Lightroom it s kind of like having the best of both worlds To print from Lightroom you ll need to check the option for Print Sharpening As shown below you ll need to set the amount Low Standard or High Then set the Media Type to either Matte or Glossy The same rules for PKS 2 output sharpening apply to the media settings In general if you ve done a good job of capture sharpening in Lightroom then we suggest Standard but test all three amounts on your own images You could also choose to do output sharpening in PKS 2 but you would need to turn off output sharpening in Lightroom as shown on page 36 Prarut ti Fri Dratt Mode Printing Dran Mode Printing Print Resolution Print Resolution O low o v Print Sharpening standard p W Print Sharpening mme o cov G MediaType OSB Ag v 16 Bit Output 16 Bit Output Setting the Print Sharpening Setting the Media Type to Glossy amount to Standard 38 About PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 To see your serial number for PKS 2 or to deactivate your install of PKS 2 you can access the About PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 splash screen from within Photoshop On Mac you ll find it un
7. The effect layer defaults to 20 opacity The effect generally works best between 20 40 opacity so if you decide to use a higher setting be sure to check the results for unwanted halos Negative Midtone Contrast effects flatten the midtones and reduce the contrast of the midtone values The same setting considerations outlined above for the Midtone Contrast Effects apply here Fog effects apply a lightening blur effect similar to shooting with a fog filter over the lens so highlights attain a soft glow Diffusion effects apply a darkening blur similar to applying diffusion over an enlarger lens when making B amp W prints so the shadows expand and you see a dark glow around shadows HazeCutter effects add a warming color correction to sharpening that can particularly help images where aerial haze causes both softening and cooling color balance in distant scenes This group includes an Auto function which generally produces the best results Depth of Field effects have the ability to add additional edge sharpening above and beyond traditional sharpening While it s impossible to make an out of focus object appear to be in focus the DOF Effects add as much edge contrast as possible and can indeed considerably improve soft areas of an image This group also includes an Auto function that generally produces the best results Dimensional Noise effect adds noise to an image filtered through an inverted luminosity mask Th
8. We miss both as does the entire industry We also want to thank both John and Thomas Knoll for creating Photoshop in the first place otherwise we couldn t have developed plug ins Thanks guys Additional Info and Resources In addition to this manual be sure to check out the PKS 2 product page for additional information www pixelgenius com sharpener2 For product updates and downloads www pixelgenius com downloads html For Tech Support please use the web form found at www pixelgenius com support html For information about your order from eSellerate our on line fulfillment provider please visit http store esellerate net store support Credits for PKS 2 Product Design Martin Evening Bruce Fraser Mac Holbert Seth Resnick Andrew Rodney Jeff Schewe amp Mike Skurski Product Manager Mac Holbert Specification Manager Jeff Schewe Software Architecture Mike Skurski Software Engineering Michael Keppel PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 is a trademark of Pixel Genius LLC 2010 All rights reserved www pixelgenius com 39
9. _ Merge Results _ Show Batch Options __ Create Layer Mask Hide Effect Preview is only accurate at 100 The Inkjet Output Sharpeners are totally automatic requiring the user to select either Glossy or Matte in the Effect dropdown menu The matte effect applies slightly stronger sharpening than the glossy effects Our experience suggests that luster and semigloss papers behave more like glossy than matte but it s a good idea to run some tests on any specific paper you use a lot As with the other Output Sharpeners the Inkjet Output Sharpeners allow for considerable post effect tweaking to optimize for a specific paper stock One of the new features of PKS 2 is the ability to resize your image without resampling directly in the Contone Inkjet and Halftone Sharpeners This allows more control over the final printed dimensions of your image while still automatically getting the optimal output sharpening Changing the size will change the Resolution but this isnt a problem The actual resolution of the image in pixels unit doesn t matter for printing processes as long as its within a certain range It s far better to specify the dimensions and let the ppi fall where it may Generally we suggest keeping the native resolution of your file and simply change the dimensions of the image to get the image dimensions you need As long as the final image res olution is between 180 480 ppi or above you should get good results in your final print
10. Capture Sharpening and Creative Sharpening applied then when you want to produce a printed or web version of the image you can simply resize to the required dimensions apply the appropriate Output Sharpener and output the file This provides three key benefits e Ease of use At each stage of the sharpening workflow you can make relatively simple decisions rather than try to address all the sharpening issues with a single edit You can even automate large parts of the sharpening workflow by writing Photoshop Actions to call the individual Sharpeners e Optimal sharpening Addressing each sharpening issue separately means that you can produce much better results than would be possible using a single round of sharpening so your output is tack sharp without obvious and offensive sharpening haloes e Repurposability Uncoupling output sharpening from the rest of the sharpening process means that you can keep a single version of the image and simply produce different versions optimally sharpened for output when you need them AOL PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules OK re Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel Module PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 S ep jJ AOO OPENS TO y Ponss r Info Set Digital High Res Sharp Smooth re l _ Preview Effect Auto Edge Sharpen 2 Message __ Merge Results __ Show Batch Options __ Create Layer Mask Hide Effect Preview is only accurate at 100 The PhotoKit SH
11. Photoshop for capture creative and output sharpening would be the same once you opened the image into Photoshop You would start in Lightroom in the Develop module and turn the Amount slider in the Detail panel to zero The figures below show the same image inside of Lightroom s Develop module The lower right figure shows a close up of the Detail panel We used the same settings as we did for Camera Raw zero in the Amount slider and 10 in the Noise Reduction The image in the Lightroom Develop module Close up of the Detail panel 36 ie Settings Tools View Window Help Add to Quick Collection B Show in Finder R Go to Folder in Library Edit in Adobe Photoshop CSS Create Virtual Copy g Edit in Other Application HE 0 Smart Object in Photoshop Rotate Left CCW ai Open as Smart Object in Photoshop Rotate Right CW it Flip Horizontal Flip Vertical noo Set Flag P Set Rating gt Set Color Label F Save Metadata to File w5 Read Metadata from File Update DNG Preview amp Metadata Delete Photo lt Remove Photo from Catalog Y Delete Rejected Photos 1e 2 Opening the image from Lightroom to Photoshop i r raoa ta Browse in Bridge Photosho Edit Image Layer Select Filter Analysis i New H Open 0 XRO r nh GF Erowse in Mini Bridge 3 Open As Smart Object Open Recent Share My Screen Create New Review Device Central Clase Ww Cl
12. are designed to emphasize wide edges while minimizing grain 35 Slow Negative Film for scans from 35mm negative film at speeds of up to 400 ISO 35 Fast Negative Film for scans from 35mm negative film at speeds faster than 400 ISO 6x6 Positive Film for scans from medium format positive film 6x6 6x7 6x9 6x6 Negative Film for scans from medium format negative film 6x6 6x7 6x9 4x5 Positive Film for scans from large format positive film 4x5 4x5 Negative Film for scans from large format negative film 4x5 If the image you have loaded into PKS 2 has metadata indicating the image is from a digital camera you won t see the film based capture sharpeners PKS 2 pre filters the list for you The film based sharpeners are only for scans from film If you have an image without camera metadata you will see the entire list of the Set including sharpen ers for film and digital capture 11 Sharpening and Smoothing Shown below are details from versions of the image at right shot at 100 400 and 800 ISO unsharpened sharpened and sharpened and smoothed The 100 ISO image definitely does not benefit from smoothing the 800 ISO image definitely does while the 400 ISO image is a judgement call Unsharpened Sharpened 100 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 12 ie mit f NY 1 i i i Original Image Sharpened and smoothed Digital Low Res Sharpen for digital captures of up to approximately 4 megapixe
13. eda These detail images show Narrow Edge Sharpen near right 16 Todlboe Mocubes Please select a Module Set and Effect Module PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 Set Digital High Res Sharp Effect Auto Edge Sharpen Superfine Edge Sharpen Narrow Edge Sharpen Message MEET Wide Edge Sharpen Selecting Medium Edge Sharpen from the Effect menu 17 Medium Edge Sharpen is designed for normal images like the examples shown here Pass Through gt Opacity 100 wl Lock D yt H il v C HROCM sharp a Light Contour n Dark Contour The layer group name reflects the Set HRDC Sharp and the Effect M Wide Edge Sharpen is designed for close subjects with relatively soft detail where the goal is to emphasize edges without applying significant sharpening to textured areas like skin as in the examples shown below Toolbox Modules Please select a Module Set and Effect Module l PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 Set Digital High Res Sharp 1 ee as a a T Pp ae ee ight Contour Oe A Ce oni a ae Se a Effect Auto Edge Sharpen SuperFine Edge Sharpen Narrow Edge Sharpen Medium Edge Sharpen Wide Edge Sharpen Message Selecting Wide Edge Sharpen from The layer group name reflects the Set HRDC the Effect menu Sharp and the Effect W 18 Auto SuperFine Narrow Medium an
14. processing stage You always want to do major tone amp color correction before sharpening and you ll want to do most if not all of your noise reduction as well You should also take advantage of ACR Lightrooms lens corrections prior to capture sharpening oAwvw Zebra xso o 4Ae Zero n Cores fw id Conon iiri bie Mare a Che taal Z a Lens Corrections ida Sharpening Profile Manual Amount fil keo we Enable Lens Profile Corrections Radius 1 0 Setup Custom p Detail 25 ay a a A g Masking o Lens Profile ai as SSS SS ee 3 Make Canon ef iy a Noise Reduction Model Canon EF 100mm fi USM e l Luminance id i TSA Fl a Profle Adobe Canon FF 100mm jail a Luminance Detail 50 J Luminant Contrast i Correction Amount Distortion 100 Color 25 a Color Detail 50 i Chromatic Aberration i y eS aes Vignetting 100 The Camera Raw main dialog The Camera Raw Detail panel The Camera Raw Lens Correc showing the Amount set to zero tion panel with the Enable Lens Correction option checked with the correct lens selected Using PKS 2 amp Camera Raw After adjusting the tone and color correction the first step is to turn the Amount of the sharpening in the ACR Detail panel to zero Regardless of the other sharpening controls it is the Amount setting that applies the actual sharpening In the figures above we ve set the Amount to zero You will see that
15. sharpening workflow the Output Sharpeners which will handle destination specific sharpening requirements The Smoothing Effects The Smoothing Effects apply a gentle low level blur or contrast reduction that can be very useful for smoothing skin or other areas of unwanted texture We ve also included four special smoothing effects for solving specific image problems The Edge Pro tected Smoothing and the Edge Protected Smooth Noise only apply their effects to non edge areas of the image so you can apply the smoothing to large open areas without the need for special layer masks to protect the edges The Detail Subtractor reduces local contrast to smooth out detail and texture The Edge Protected Smooth Noise has the added benefit of adding back in a low level of soft noise or grain that can help when working on images with higher ISOs The JPEG Smooth effects help mitigate the noisy magenta and green shadow artifacts found with some cameras Toone Mos am When using Layer Masks if you Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel select and activate a different layer Module PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 HH _Helip_ and then return to the pixel layer Set Smoothing Effects He Info with the layer mask be sure to click Effect v Smoothing 1 Ea Uo Preview on the actual layer mask to target osc the mask and not the pixel layer Surface Noise Smoothing Light Otherwise the painting will be ap Surface Noise Smoo
16. the appropriate Edge sharpening for the masked out area This effect should then be restricted to the area in question through the use of a mask The Auto Edge Sharpening group should then be turned back on In this example we have an image that contains both a Narrow Edge Sharpen pine needles and fine branches as well as a Wide Edge Sharpen for the subject The Auto Sharpen Edges deter mined the optimal sharpening based on the average frequency and provided sufficient Capture Sharpening for both the Narrow Edge and the Wide Edge components 14 SuperFine Edge Sharpen is designed for busy images with tiny details right at the limit of the capture mediums ability to resolve as shown below This effect is rarely needed but we added it to PhotoKit SHARPENER 1 2 after receiving a small but significant number of images from users who found that the Narrow Edge Sharpen effect was still too coarse and obscured useful detail Toolbox Modules Pass Through HH Opacity 100 Je Please select a Module Set and Effect Lock Jo H a be v OI HRDC SF Sharp Module Photokit Capture Sharpener set Digital High Res Sharp Effect Auto Edge Sharpen SuperFine Edge Sharpen Narrow Edge Sharpen ee Medium Edge Sharpen Wide Edge Sharpen Selecting SuperFine Edge Sharpen from The layer group name reflects the Set HRDC the Effect menu Sharp and the Effect SF These detail images show SuperFin
17. the glass the negative on top acts as an out of focus or unsharp mask that increases the contrast along the edges in the image Digital sharpeners simulate this effect by looking at each pixel deciding whether or not it represents part of an edge and then increasing the contrast around it The typical result is a sharpening halo along edges Edges in images consist of lighter pixels contrasting with darker ones so when that contrast gets exaggerated to increase the apparent sharpness of the edge the resulting halo has darker pixels that we refer to as the Dark Contour and lighter pixels that we refer to as the Light Contour In an ideal scenario the dark pixels are darkened to exactly the same visual extent as the light pixels are lightened However this ideal is rarely met in practice so often we see some tonal shifting between the sharpened and unsharpened versions of the image In many cases this tonal shift is unobjectionable or even desirable but we recognize that such judgements are highly subjective so in PKS 2 we provide the ability to adjust the strength of the light and dark contours independently This is a capability that weve long wished for in Photoshop As it turns out the capability was there all along but finding it and rendering it usable required considerable ingenuity Now that we have it we wonder how we managed to do without it for all these years Unsharpened Sharpened
18. we have applied a small amount of Noise Reduction even though this is a well exposed low ISO image We ve found that nearly all images can benefit from at least a tiny amount of noise reduction and we feel that ACR Lightroom s noise reduction is very good You ll also see that we ve enabled the Lens Profile Correction for the lens we used to shoot the original capture Once these settings have been applied the next step is to open the image into Photoshop for additional processing using PKS 2 prior to printing Our next step will be to apply some capture sharpening PixebGenius Toolbox Tomas Modeles CC o Please select a Module Set and Diest Cancel Module Photokit Capture Sharpener 2 44 Help Ser D giral Hegh fes Sharp E ot Prewlew Effect Auto Edge Sharpen Meso se _ Merge Results Show Banch Options Creace Layer Mask Hide Liles J Preview if only accurate at DOA The layers masks and layer Selecting the PKS 2 Capture Sharpening groups created by PKS 2 Capture Sharpening Since we turned off capture sharpening inside of Camera Raw we need to apply the PKS 2 Capture Sharpening We ve selected the Digital High Res Sharp Set and the Auto Edge Sharpen effect The resulting layers and group are shown above right If needed we could modify either the layer masks or the overall layer opacity The next step is to add some creative sharpening Pon Tedibea Miockelet
19. white input slider in levels creates more white pixels and applies the effect to more of the image e Adjusting the gray input slider in Levels changes the slope between pixels that are affected and pixels that are protected Lea Luminosity Hq Opacity 66 H Lock pa Fill 100 e Selected Layer mask WL Digital High Res Sharpeg e eon Light Contour a Dark Contour 0UCUCCCOOOC Layer masks fe Smoothing Lai yey Background 2 a a Bx PP gt Va Dark contour edit before editing after editing 23 Flattening the Capture Sharpen Layer Set Once youre happy with the results of the Capture Sharpener you may wish to flatten the layer set to reduce the file size and the concomitant demands on memory scratch disk space and storage You can either flatten the image which burns all the changes into the Background layer or if you wish to keep your Background layer intact merge the effect into a new layer The trade off in doing so is that you make a smaller file but you lose the ability to edit since you no longer have separate sharpening layers We recommend that you always flatten images before a mode change from RGB to CMYK for example but you needn t do so for RGB to RGB conversions Flattening the image Choose Flatten Image from the Layer menu All layer based edits are burned into the
20. 0 or higher They will however pro duce excellent results in the final print Bear in mind that depending on the print process and the pixel density it may take up to four pixels to produce a single dot of ink so the Actual Pixels view can be very misleading You can get a better idea of the final appearance by viewing the image at 50 or even 25 view avoid the odd zoom percentages such as 66 7 and 33 3 because Photoshop applies heavy anti aliasing to those views but the only way to really see the result is by viewing the final print 30 ROL PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules ox Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel Module PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 B Help Set Web and Multimedia Sharpen info Effect y SuperFine Edge Sharpen 4 Preview Narrow Edge Sharpen Message Medium Edge Sharpen Wide Edge Sharpen NOTE The turagesnusmaes gt aU mna vutpur Current Size 14 41 in x 10 62 in 240 00 ppi Width 34 59 Height 2548 _ Merge Results _ Show Batch Options _ Create Layer Mask Hide Effect Preview is only accurate at 100 The Web and Multimedia Output Sharpeners are designed to apply a final sharpening to images des tined for on screen viewing on the Internet CD ROM multimedia kiosks or for any other situation where the display is the final output The Web and Multimedia Output Sharpeners resemble the Capture Sharpeners more than they do the oth
21. 40 ppi Width 14 4 120Ipi Uncoated 240 ppi 133lpi Coated 199 5 ppi 133lpi Uncoated 199 5 ppi fe 133lpi Coated 266 ppi Create Lay 133lpi Uncoated 266 ppi 150lpi Coated 225 ppi 150lpi Uncoated 225 ppi 150lpi Coated 300 ppi 150lpi Uncoated 300 ppi 175Ipi Coated 262 5 ppi 175lpi Uncoated 262 5 ppi 175lpi Coated 350 ppi 175Ipi Uncoated 350 ppi _ Merge Res ptions Preview is only accurate at 100 The Halftone Output Sharpeners are designed for final output sharpening of images destined for output processes that use a conventional halftone rosette such as the majority of printing presses as well as dot based digital proofing systems such as the Kodak Approval In addition some color laser printers and some inkjet printers driven by RIPs also use conventional halftone rosettes The relationship between pixel resolution and screen frequency the Quality Factor is crucial to optimal sharpening for halftone output The key parameters for halftone output sharpening are coated or uncoated paper stock the frequency of the line screen expressed in lines per inch lpi and the pixel resolution at final output size in pixels per inch ppi The Halftone Output Sharpeners are organized by screen frequency lpi coated or uncoated stock and the resolution of the image in ppi For each supported screen frequency we offer two sets of sharpening effects One series corresponds to a Quality Factor of 1 5 a resolution of 1 5 t
22. ARPENER 2 0 Advantage Many other great sharpening tools are available to Photoshop users but PKS 2 is the only one designed from the ground up to provide a complete sharpening workflow And PKS 2 offers some other significant advantages Non Destructive Sharpening All sharpening effects are implemented as Layers or Layer Sets leaving the source image untouched whether it s a flat file or a complex layered construction Sharpening effects remain non destructive and adjustable until the user flattens the layered image or merges the sharpening effects into a normal pixel layer Automation PKS 2 s default settings are designed with automation in mind You can utilize its built in Batch Mode to apply multiple effects without worrying whether or not it will wreck your images Control Most sharpening tools offer a take it or leave it result PKS 2 produces layers at default opacities that allow you to increase or decrease the amount of sharpening after you ve run the effect For even more control the Capture and Output Sharpener effects return separate layers for the light and dark sharpening contours Additionally those Capture Sharpeners that apply Smoothing do so on a third separate layer Finally for even more control all PKS 2 modes are configured to be allowed to create a layer mask with each effect allowing further fine tuning by editing the layer mask PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 0 New Feature Highlights and User Interface PixelGenius has work
23. After running the output sharpener your image will have the size specified in the Message area of the output sharpener and the sharpening will be applied at the final pixel unit resolution Message NOTE The image must be at final output size LAYERS Current Size 9 61 in x 7 08 in 360 00 ppi l i Pass Through i Opacity 100 Width 14 4167 Height 10 6208 Resolution 240 Lock Ed y P 5 b J inkjet 480 Glossy The Width text field is highlighted with the current A w J dimension of 14 4167 showing cena B Background 5 Message NOTE The image must be at final output size Current Size 9 61 in x 7 08 in 360 00 ppi Width 7 Height 5 15694 Resolution 494 286 The final Inkjet Output Sharpener layer group shows the name and resolution in this case it s 480 The plus sign indicates the resolution is over 480 ppi The Width has been changed to 7 inches The Height automatically changes to maintain the same image proportion as the original and the Resolution is now 494 286 ppi 29 RO PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules o Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel Module PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 B Help Set Halftone Output Sharpeners C Info D Preview 85 pi Uncoated 127 5 ppi Message 85lpi Coated 170 ppi gt 2 0 85lpi Uncoated 170 ppi NOTE The 120Ipi Coated 180 ppi Current Sizi 120lpi Uncoated 180 ppi 120lpi Coated 2
24. Background layer and the individual adjustment layer and layers are deleted Merge to a new layer Choose Merge Visible from the Layer fly out menu while holding down the Option Mac or Alt Windows key or press Command Option Shift E Mac or Control Alt Shift E Windows The sharpened image is merged to a new layer Finally delete the sharpening Layer Set to reduce the file size Creative Sharpeners The Creative Sharpeners are designed to apply to images after running Capture Sharpeners and before Output Sharpeners By nature the primary use of Creative Sharpeners is for localized sharpening or smoothing of areas in an image While most images may fall into one of the primary categories we ve chosen such as Narrow Medium and Wide edges in general all images exhibit some cross category tendencies Additionally the content of an image may dictate that certain areas of an image need more sharpening or even more smoothing to optimize the composition The Creative Sharpening effects are divided into three sets Sharpening Effects Smoothing Effects and Special Effects Toolbox Modules As with all sharpening effects you Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel should understand that it is possible ee to oversharpen an image and there Module PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 4 Help fore ruin it We suggest the user take Set IE Sharpening Effects i Info a subtle approach when using the Smoothing
25. Effect Sharpening Effects However also Effect _ Preview remember that all PhotoKit 2 0 ef fects return fully editable layers that Message can always be lowered in opacity or turned off so we encourage you to experiment and see how far you can push the effect Special Effects _ Merge Results _ Show Batch Options Create Layer Mask Show Effect 24 Sharpening Effects Set The Sharpening Effects Set is a collection of heavy duty effects These effects can be previewed on screen by checking the Preview checkbox PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules oK Please select a Module Set and Effect P A Cancel _ J Module PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 B a Help Set Sharpening Effects B Sac Efect MUE E a lea Sharpen Narrow Edges 2 Sharpen Narrow Edges 3 __ Preview Sharpen Medium Edges 1 Sharpen Medium Edges 2 Sharpen Medium Edges 3 Sharpen Wide Edges 1 Sharpen Wide Edges 2 _ Merge Res Sharpen Wide Edges 3 ns C Create Lay Edge sharpen 1 Edge Sharpen 2 Edge Sharpen 3 Luminance Sharpen 1 Luminance Sharpen 2 Luminance Sharpen 3 Luminance Sharpen 4 High Pass Sharpen 1 High Pass Sharpen 2 High Pass Sharpen 3 Auto Dimensional Sharpening DSharp Narrow Edges DSharp Medium Edges DSharp Wide Edges Super Sharpener 1 Super Sharpener 2 Super Sharpener 3 Super Sharpener 4 n Info Message Sharpening Effects The Sharpening Effects return a layer with the sharpening effects appl
26. Print Sharpening Ww 16 Bit Output Color Management Profil 5P9680_EFP_PRK_2880 piopleloglalem Intent Relative After output sharpening in PKS 2 you must be sure to uncheck the Print Sharpening checkbox Lightroom Capture Sharpening amp PKS 2 What do you do if you do want to use Lightroom capture sharpening functionality but still use PKS 2 for creative sharpening followed by Lightroom output sharpening for printing You adjust the image in the Detail panel of Lightroom s Develop module to get the best visual appearance at 1 1 100 zoom and then open the image from Lightroom to Photoshop to add PKS 2 creative sharpening For this image the prime difference was having to figure out the optimal capture sharpening in Lightroom manually As shown below right we adjusted the image to get an optimal sharpening setting The Amount is 40 the Radius is 6 the Detail is 60 and the Masking is set to 10 How do you determine the settings Setting visually is the only option In PKS 2 the only sharpening effect we used was the single Midtone Contrast Middle as shown in the center figures on page 34 Since we ll be doing output sharpening in Lightroom we bypassed the output sharpening in PKS 2 as well rr a iym The image in the Lightroom Develop module Close up of the Detail panel Printing from Lightroom The big difference in this situation is rather than using output sharpening in PKS 2 youll make use of Lightroom
27. ages Toolbox Modules Please select a Module Set and Effect Module Rigi gileite 4 a Gt lela cee le el PhotoKit Creative Sharpener Set PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 J Effect Auto Edge Sharpen 4 The PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 0 workflow modules e Capture Sharpening is applied early in the image editing process and aims simply to restore any sharpness that was lost in the capture process e Creative Sharpening is usually applied locally to accentuate specific features in an image for example we often give eyes a little extra sharpness in head shots e Output Sharpening is applied to files that have already been sized to final output resolution and is tailored to a specific type of output process Output sharpening has one specific purpose to compensate for dot gain The benefit of dividing sharpening into these three phases is that it lets us handle the various competing needs separately Capture Sharpeners compensate for the image source and image type without having to worry about output issues Creative Sharpeners apply directly to the image at hand without having to worry about image sources since they ve already been handled by the Capture Sharpeners Output Sharpeners concentrate solely on the needs of the output process since the image has already been sharpened adequately in the two previous phases The three sets of sharpeners have been carefully tuned to work together You can archive images that have had
28. ake a point or emphasize an area of interest Sharpening can be used as a creative tool Sharpening is needed because output devices also introduce some softness When we turn pixels into halftone dots or stochastic dithers of inks or even into continuous tone dots on dye sub printers or film recorders we lose sharpness again We need to apply sharpening to counteract the softness introduced by both capture and output and to satisfy our creative goals The Sharpening Problem When we try to use a single round of sharpening on a digital image we immediately encounter a problem The image source requires one kind of sharpening the image content needs another while the output medium needs still another sharpening treatment Why is this e Different capture mechanisms film formats and digital cameras have their own signature combinations of detail and noise The challenge is to sharpen the detail without exaggerating the noise so successful sharpening must take into account the relationship between image detail and the noise of the image source whether film grain or a digital camera filter mosaic Incorrect sharpening can make the grain or noise more rather than less obvious e Different subjects need different treatments Apparent sharpness depends on the contrast along what we see as edges A close subject with soft detail such as a head shot has wider edges than a high frequency image such as a forest full of trees so each requires a dif
29. ape arpan ETI Ir iain lage rpn onl fei Barely don ey Big ga ee FN Sines ry pee tert eg ch agg Select the Show Batch Options then choose the Select the next desired effect and click Add When first effect and click Add you have finished selecting effects click OK and the cumulative effects will be render and appear in your Layer Stack Pass Through H Opacity 100 View the cumulative results 21 Post Effect Controls After you ve run the effect PhotoKit returns a Layer Set named for the effect that contains a Light Contour layer A a Dark Contour layer B and in some cases a Smoothing Layer D This allows for substantial tweaking of the sharpening effect after it has been applied Pass Through HH Opacity 100 C Pass Through HH Opacity 100 Fills 100 g j Fili 100 gt y QE Auto Edge Sharpen Digital High Res Sharpen RCE Ya m i ra Fa w pe g f G poA Light Contour S O pey Light Contour i OS Dark Contour H gg Carle Contour 1 a iPro D Layer Opacity You can vary the strength of the effect by adjusting layer opacities using the Opacity slider C in the Layers palette The Sharpening Layer Set always appears with 100 opacity You can reduce the strength of the sharpening by lowering the opacity of the layer set The individual Light and Dark Contour layers for Capture Sharpeners always appear with a default opacity of 66
30. at almost any resolution The key difference between scanning backs and more typical one shot digital cameras is that scanning backs capture real red green and blue data for every pixel producing an essentially grain less capture Unsharpened De JPEG Sharpen and Smooth 13 Choosing a Capture Sharpener Effect Each Capture Sharpener set contains five effects tailored to emphasize different edge widths labeled Auto Edge Sharpen SuperFine Edge Sharpen Narrow Edge Sharpen Medium Edge Sharpen and Wide Edge Sharpen respectively The sole exception is scanning backs where the images are so clean that there s no need to emphasize edges and downplay non edges Choosing between these five flavors of sharpening is not an exact science if it were wed have a less ambiguous naming convention and is to some degree a matter of taste Generally the Auto Edge Sharpen will produce the best results however in some cases the use of one or two of the other four may render a better overall Capture Sharpening Auto Edge Sharpen analyzes your images and determines the optimal sharpening based on the average frequency We recommend that you try this first and then analyze the results This selection will generally produce the best overall Capture Sharpening However in the unlikely event that the Auto sharpening adversely affects select areas of the image we recommend that you mask them out temporarily turn off the Auto Edge Sharpening Group and then run
31. d Wide Edges Compared On any single image the differences between Auto SuperFine Narrow Medium and Wide Edge Sharpen may be quite subtle The image details below show the same image with Auto SuperFine Narrow Medium and Wide Edge Sharpen applied The example below illustrates just how subtle the Capture Sharpening is The Difference image is a Calculation that shows where the Auto Sharpen has enhanced the image Although it s barely perceivable by the eye on a pixel level it s significant rw A Pee O Aer of Eh ef o A fl T J 7 il ji 7 _ j k a tai n E 3 Y F Original Capture Auto Sharpen Difference O ee ee ae od ofA GLa os F r fi T Ai i Auto SuperFine Edge Narrow Edge Medium Edge Wide Edge 19 Comparing Sharpening Results All PhotoKit products including PKS 2 follow the same basic rules First and foremost PhotoKit never harms the original image All PhotoKit effects are applied on additional layers leaving the original source image untouched Second PhotoKit effects offer great flexibility by using all currently visible layers as the source for the effect This lets you control exactly how effects are applied For example if you want to compare two different effects two different Capture Sharpeners for example you simply run the first effect then turn off the visibility for that effect in the Layers palette before running the second one Comparing effects
32. der the Photoshop menu in the About Plug in submenu On Windows it s under the Help menu About Plug in submenu The splash screen is shown below ry Pixel Genius Luc Vinon 2 0 0 Product Design Marlin Ewenin Mac Holkeri Serth Resnici K ie Bruce fra IT Andrew Modne Jeff Sthewe and Mike Skuraki SH A R PENER Product Alanager Mac Halbert Ea di V a e Speclicaton Manager oli Schww Seltwire Architecture Slike Skureki a W i pisclgenius com Software Engincering Michacl Ki ppel Photokit Sharpener 2 2 0 0 PSHM200001 CM IMM 9TU9 MSMl Deac The PKS 2 splash screen Note the actual serial number has been obscured Thanks to You from the PixelGenius Team We hope this manual is helpful to you We want to thank our users for all their help and support over the years the pleasure has truly been ours We started PixelGenius with the goal of making useful products that we would like to use We did and we do But it is because of the strong support of our user base that we created PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 so to you we say thanks We would also like to thank and remember two former members of PixelGenius who sadly are no longer with us Mike Skurski was the engineer that originally got this merry band of brothers together His insight and dedication allowed us to create simple tools that we wanted to use We also wish thank and remember Bruce Fraser who was the original inspiration designer and product manager for PhotoKit SHARPENER
33. dot gain so the only accurate prediction is a proof print The PixelGenius team has printed thousands of prints to test the output sharpening settings and we feel confident that they will produce optimal result in most cases The Output Sharpeners are divided into four sets to address four different types of output Contone Output Sharpeners Halftone Output Sharpeners Inkjet Output Sharpeners and Web and Multimedia Output Sharpeners QOL PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules oK Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel Module PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 EZ Helip_ Set Contone Output Sharpeners Info ii Contone 150 Message Contone 200 Contone 267 NOTE The i Current Size Contone 300 Contone 400 Create Layer Mask Merge Results Hide Effect Width i14 4 125 Height 10 6167 Resolution 240 _ Show Batch Options Preview is only accurate at 100 The Contone Output Sharpeners are designed for final output sharpening of images destined for continuous tone printing processes such as dye sublimation and photographic printers The effects are organized by resolution in pixels per inch at final output size Some continuous tone printers will downsample file resolution to match the device resolution so if your image resolution is significantly higher than the device resolution your sharpening may not be optimal For best results we recommend resampling images to the specific
34. e Edge Sharpen near right and Narrow Edge Sharpen far right 15 Narrow Edge Sharpen is designed for high frequency busy images with lots of tiny details shown below The differences between Narrow Edge Sharpen and SuperFine Edge Sharpen are quite subtle but unless youre concerned with details around the single pixel level Narrow Edge Sharpen is usually a better choice for high frequency images than SuperFine Edge Sharpen Bear in mind that all the effects will sharpen all edges to some extent the difference is simply one of emphasis Each of the edge widths emphasizes a different general tendency in the image Once you gain some experience using PKS 2 you ll find that it s relatively easy to match the effect to the image to produce the results you want Toolbox Modu les Please select a Module Set and Effect Module PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 Set Digital High Res Sharp Light Contau Effect v Auto Edge Sharpen SuperFine Edge Sharpen Narrow Edge Sharpen 5 Medium Edge Sharpen Wide Edge Sharpen _ Message J 24 Dark Contour Selecting Narrow Edge Sharpen from The layer group name reflects the Set HRDC the Effect menu Sharp and the Effect N el I D F AU o n P cj gt gt ws P ie ria ity j i f oy g i jak gaa z i 4 pees of aede Gs k ESTIT f stu a aay teat s nran
35. e ve also set the Width to 16 inches The final layer stack 35 Output Sharpening The final step in the sharpening workflow is to apply output sharpening The figures on the bottom of page 35 show selecting the Inkjet Output Sharpeners Set and the Glossy Effect lower left You ll also note that we used PKS 2 to change the final print dimensions so the Width would be an exact 16 inches The final layer stack is shown in the lower right figure on page 35 Although we havent mentioned using Photoshops soft proofing capability found under the View menu Proof Setup we highly suggest using it prior to actually making a print from Photoshop or even Lightroom if you are round tripping through Photoshop Print DM eal 4 Primii bpon tE H FY Deters ihoia Pofon ILE CI Foal 149 014 iaa u IATA iag Copies i x Print Settings E Allait kski aki a Cole Hirsik l afl Tand i bi Cla Paosguboay Harber ows Poreber E cil Caner image Berember te daub the priri i color ue W chee priar Gee Gece bora T p Printar Prefi Left OP Pr Fw ace wed Frit Tow Fandhrn Inia a Seals to Prt Maton Belgie Color errr Ey falar Le I af Blek Poe Coreper be Maaghe LOEk E Pros Senu Width 05 ent ict 220 AA af Boencirey Mew Lo Marh Print Coder Lela ichan F Cancel Done J Prine l Printing the final image in Photoshop CS5 s Print window Using PKS 2 amp Lightroom The steps for using Lightroom and PKS 2 inside of
36. ed hard to add new features and address previous users requests As a result we have redesigned the user interface UI to take advantage of what we call the PixelGenius Toolbox First introduced with the release of PhotoKit Color 2 the Toolbox UI provides for an image preview as well as additional functionality as shown in the figure below The red letters highlight the changes and additions AOD PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules Please select a Module Set and Effect F Cancel Module PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 Help Set Digital High Res Sharp et Info Effect Auto Edge Sharpen H v Preview Message C Merge Results emme C _ Show Batch Options F _ Create Layer Mask Hide Effect w Preview is only accurate at 100 The basic PixelGenius Toolbox dialog window showing PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 0 A The new dialog window in PKS 2 now includes a preview button that allows seeing a preview of the selected sharpening effect The preview will only be accurate when the preview window is zoomed to 100 B The cursor inside of the preview window shows the area of the image that will be zoomed in when you click the mouse C New to PKS 2 but previously available in PhotoKit Color 2 is the ability to have effects with multiple layers and layer groups returned as a single combined pixel layer This feature can help keep file sizes down although it does impact the flexibility of ind
37. elete Batch Sets Create Layer Mask Show Effect Set Name High Res Batch ee Batch Set Batch Existing Sets g al gt PE 1 Cancel nn PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 Digital High Res Sharp Set Contents PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 Auto Edge Sharpen Digital High Res Sharp PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 Auto Edge Sharpen Special Effects PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 Midtone Contrast Middle Special Effects PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 Midtone Contrast Middle Inkjet Output Sharpeners PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 Glossy Inkjet Output Sharpeners Glossy The Show Batch Options with three The Save Batch Set dialog with the Set The Load Delete Batch Sets dialog sharpening effects already added Name entered as High Res Batch Clicking on the saved batch list will display the effects saved in the list Sharpening Basics Sharpening is basically a very localized contrast adjustment Increasing the contrast along edges in the image produces the appearance of increased sharpness If you ve ever wondered why Photoshops principal sharpening tool the Unsharp Mask filter is called Unsharp Mask when the result is to make the image appear sharper the simple answer is that it replicates an analog darkroom technique called unsharp masking The original negative is duplicated then the original and the duplicate are attached to one side of a transparent carrier often a piece of window glass When the enlarger is focused on the negative on the bottom of
38. en Message _ Merge Results __ Create Layer Mask Show Effect Batch f Add Ng The OK button and Preview are unavailable until a Delete Module Set and Effect are added to the batch list ee Load c pon save Show Batch Options checked before adding any Effects Note the OK button and Preview are unavailable until you actually add an Effect to the batch list To extend the workflow concept of PKS 2 we designed a built in batch capability to the PixelGenius Toolbox This allows you to select and add multiple effects not only from PKS 2 but also from PhotoKit Color 2 youll need the most recent free update and the upcoming PhotoKit 2 You select a Module Set and Effect just as you would normally but instead of running them you use the Add button to put them into a batch list as shown in the figure below In this example 3 sharpening effects have been added to the batch list You can also save a batch list and use it over again The figure in the middle shows the Save Batch Set dialog where you can name the set The lower right figure shows the Load Delete Batch Sets dialog which is accessed by clicking on the Load button of the main PKS 2 dialog You can save as many batch lists as you wish although you cant edit an individual list after it is saved You ll need to delete the list and create a new one instead C Merge Results M Show Batch Options AOD Save Batch Set AOD Load D
39. er Output Sharpeners in that they are organized in terms of pixel dimensions and SuperFine Narrow Medium or Wide Edges The pixel dimension refers to the width of the image in pixels The criteria for choosing SuperFine Narrow Medium and Wide Edge Sharpen are the same as for the Capture Sharpeners In the vast ma jority of cases you ll want to use the same choice of edge width on both the Capture and the Web and Multimedia Output Sharpeners Unlike the Contone Inkjet and Halftone sharpeners that can resize without resampling the Web and Multimedia Output Sharpeners can actually resample your image The type of resampling or image inter polation will depend on your Photoshops Preferences as shown in the figures below Simply enter in the desired pixel dimension you want for the final output The resampling will be done and then the image will be sharpened Note we suggest using Save for Web and Multimedia in Photoshop when saving im ages intended for the web The actual ppi of your image won t matter after using Save For Web We also suggest converting to sRGB before changing the image mode from 16 bits channel to 8 bits Preferences dob Comal Color Peke Adobe E om Color Picker a oooO nies ee a Orana a R Cancel Ee Tn est re eer Iprasurva Hare migs of Pestemmaeste image interpolstinc LLL Ll eek ee Pes Bilinear Cons PE Bitwhic Soseother Bat for enlargement mage aT a Bicubic best for smooth gradients k j pa
40. ferent treatment in terms of sharpening radius Incorrect sharpening either obscures small details or oversharpens textured areas such as skin tones e Output processes differ in the way they render the conversion from pixels to printed dots so sharpening that works well for an inkjet printer may fail when sent to a halftone output process such as a web press or to a continuous tone process like a film recorder Incorrect sharpening either produces insufficiently sharp results or makes obvious sharpening haloes along high contrast edges l No matter how hard we ve tried to reconcile these three demands in a single round of sharpening weve never been happy with the results Independently several of the PixelGenius team had developed a two pass approach to sharpening performing a round of gentle sharpening close to capture time and a second round tailored for the specific output process but we each did things a little differently proceeding as much by instinct as anything else To create PKS 2 we first analyzed what we had been doing independently then we tested thousands of images from different sources and sent them to a variety of outputs The result is PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 0 The Sharpening Workflow Solution The solution a well thought out sharpening workflow is relatively simple in concept Rather than try to address all the factors that impact sharpening in a single edit the sharpening workflow splits sharpening into three st
41. g longer be in the list You must actually save the list to be able to access the saved Batch list A Load Delete Batch Sets Batch Set Hic h Res Batch C OK 9 Cancel St SP Delete hm i Set Contents PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 Digital High Res Sharp Auto Edge Sharpen Photokit Creative Sharpener Special Effects Midtone Contrast Low PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 Inkjet Output Sharpeners Glossy In the above example the following effects were added to the batch list set 1 Photokit Capture Sharpener 2 Digital High Rez Sharp using Auto Edge Sharpen 2 Photokit Creative Sharpener 2 Special Effects Midtone Contrast Low 3 Photokit Output Sharpener 2 Inkjet Output Sharpeners Glossy res 240 Using this batch the user has the option to Merge the result of all effects into a single layer by selecting the Merge Results checkbox Additionally a layer mask to hide or reveal the results can be added by selecting Create Layer Mask Note that you must select the Merge Results checkbox in order to enable the Create Layer Mask option Any batch can be saved and reused later by using the Save and Load buttons After sharpening and major corrections you may wish to either merge some layers or downsample to 8 bits per channel to avoid working with huge files The question of when to merge or downsample is largely a matter of personal preference and the capability of your hardware Its generally true
42. he Module Set and Effect to the Batch Set Module Set and Effect are added to the batch list Photokit Sharpener 2 0 Workflow Using the Show Batch Options The Show Batch Options in PKS 2 provides a solution for applying the entire sharpening workflow from Capture gt Creative gt Output from a single dialog It also allows one to save preset workflows including PhotoKit Color 2 and PkotoKit 2 effects and easily apply them to similar images The Batch Dialog Options become available once the Show Batch Options checkbox is checked After the first effect is chosen in the Module Set and Effect the effect is added to the Batch Window by clicking the Add button NOTE the OK and Preview buttons are grayed out not active until you add at least one Effect The selected effect will then appear in the Batch Window Additional effects are then added and will appear in the Batch Window When all desired effects are added clicking the OK button will run the batch The combined effects can be Previewed by checking the Preview Button To insure a more accurate Preview click on the Preview window to view a selected portion of the image at 100 Auto Edge Sharpen After selecting the Module Set and Effect click the Add but ton and that effect is added to the batch list If you wish to delete an effect highlight the effect and click on the Delete button Batch Add Batch Add Pet re Load _
43. ia Normal re gt Opacity so io Alease select a Module Sec and Effect __ Cancel d Leck Co a rm 100 ja Module Photokit Creative Sharpener 2 a eine ae a a8 E irf i m E it Special EMects 44 oe a Bidone Conmnat i Preview EHeci Midtone Contrast Middile E EF EF TEN _ Menge Results _ Shia Batch Opteons l Create Layer Mask Hide Effect ete Preview is ocly attra at UHIN of G65 59 32 Selecting Midtone Contrast Middle from Special Effects The Midtone Contrast Middle layer with layer mask painted Creative Sharpening While we are a fan of Camera Raw s Clarity tool we prefer using PKS 2 s version the Midtone Contrast effects In the figure above we ve selected the Middle version The figure above right shows the final layer mask The final step will be output sharpening PixeliGenios Tomba Tignes bdicechole t i DE Y Please select a Medula Set and Effect Caneel Mezlule Phootokit Output Gharpener 2 __Help Ses N inh Set inkjet Output Sharpeners a Preview Effect Glossy re LLLE E BOTE Tha imaga mimt Be at final supe gizal Current Size 15 60 in n 10 40 in 360 00 pri Width 16 Honig a 10 6667 Resedution 251 Merge Pee nalts Show Batch Options _ Create Layer Mask Mhda Obeti 7 Preview if only accurate t LONE Selecting Inkjet Output Sharpeners Set and Glossy in the Effect menu W
44. ide Effect O Prewiew ii only acura ar WOR 22 Capture Sharpen The Capture Sharpener set is designed so those users who want the ultimate in control can fine tune the effect The example shown here is relatively unsubtle we wanted to make sure that the before and after difference is obvious Use them only when you want to make subtler changes than can be achieved by adjusting the layer opacities In PKS 2 we preserve the mask through which sharpening is performed as a layer mask Layer masks control the visibility of the layer to which they apply white in the layer mask makes the layer fully visible black hides intermediate grays make it partly visible Editing the layer mask allows you to fine tune the effect of the Sharpening layer One very easy way to fine tune the sharpening is to adjust the contrast of the Layer mask using Levels Curves works too but Levels offers the advantages of speed and simplicity In the example shown here we pull the white input slider down creating more white pixels in the Layer mask and hence more sharpening On the Light Contour layer we also make a midtone adjustment using the gray slider to darken the midtones compensating for the white slider move so that areas we want to leave unsharpened are indeed left that way Here are the simple rules to follow e Adjusting the black input slider in Levels creates more black pixels and protects more of the image from the effect e Adjusting the
45. ied to the pixels of the layer As with all PhotoKit 2 0 Effects you can choose to include a white Show Effect or black Hide Effect layer mask If you choose a black mask Hide Effect you can paint in sharpening to selected areas of your image You the user need to actively reduce the overall opacity of the layer masks brush yourself An easy keyboard method of changing a brushss opacity is to simply press a number key after the effect is run Pressing the 5 key will give you 50 opacity a 3 gives 30 We suggest using an opacity of between 10 30 for gentle buildup of effects and a 50 opacity for a quick buildup Remember you can always paint away the effect by selecting black as the foreground color so you can always adjust your final blend very precisely An easy way to toggle between White Black and Black White is to type the x key This exchanges the foreground and background colors The Edge Sharpen effects apply sharpening only to simple edges in three strengths from 1 3 The Luminance Sharpen has an additional strength and applies sharpening only to the luminosity of an image while the High Pass Sharpen effects use an Overlay blend mode to enhance edge halos The Dimensional Sharpening applies an inverted Luminosity mask to a modified High Pass Sharpen effect to restrict the amount of sharpening according to tonal content Darker areas get more sharpening than lighter areas All Sharpening Effects result in global sharpening over
46. iew However zooming out of one area and zooming back into a new area is fast We suggest practicing with the zoom function to get the hang of using it Preview is only accurate at 100 Preview is only accurate at 100 Close up figure of the Preview showing the entire image and the 100 zoom cursor Close up figure of the Preview at 100 zoom Note the cursor changes to the minus magnify icon The Merge Results Option Selecting the Merge Results option will condense down all of the various layers PKS 2 may produce into a single pixel layer as shown below In this example an Inkjet 240 Glossy layer group containing two layers has been combined into a single PixelGenius Toolbox Layer This can provide considerable file size savings but does limit flexibility because the individual layers are combined M Merge Results _ Show Batch Options C Create Layer Mask Show Effect Pass Through B Opacity 100 Lock LJ y a FRY 100 Normal HH Opacity 100 Lock O y P Fill 100 Light Comtour wt amp i se eh ELF E E so Background Toa T Dark Contour Layers panel showing the result of se lecting the Merge Results option Layers panel showing individual layers and layer group The Create Layer Mask Option The Create Layer Mask option allows you to automatically add a layer mask set either to Show Effects white layer mask or Hide Effects black laye
47. ilm sets are effective at almost any scanning resolution the key factor is the relationship between the edges you wish to sharpen and the inherent noise structure grain of the film The Digital Capture sets are organized by capture size and by the degree of smoothing they apply from least to most Unless it s obvious that an image needs smoothing it already has visible noise or artifacting we recommend that you first try the Auto option The amount of noise present in a digital image usually correlates with the ISO speed at which the image was shot But cameras vary widely in their behavior so its difficult to provide a set of magic numbers that dictate when smoothing is required As a general rule it s unlikely that images captured at 400 ISO or slower will need smoothing and equally unlikely that images captured at 1600 ISO or faster won t require smoothing but there s a large gray area in between The images on the following page are illustrative of varying degrees of noise and show the effects of sharpening alone and sharpening with smoothing Choose the Capture Sharpener set that corresponds most closely to your image source The Capture Sharpener sets for scanned film are described in more detail below 35 Positive Film for scans from 35mm positive film 35 Positive Film METW for scans from 35mm positive film of close subjects with soft detail and very wide edges such as portraits The METW Modified Edge Transition Width algorithms
48. imes the line screen which is often used to save storage space and transmission time on less critical work The other series corresponds to a Quality Factor of 2 a resolution of double the line screen which is typically used for premium work If figuring out what 1 5 times the line screen is for a 133 line line screen makes your brain hurt note that weve done the math for you The figure above indicates the 1 5 series and the 2 0 series for a final screen ruling of 85 lpi For each line screen the lower ppi value corresponds to a Quality Factor of 1 5 and the higher one corresponds to a Quality Factor of 2 Unlike Contone or Inkjet printing where we recommend maintaining native resolution and simply resizing without resampling for printing sending too much resolution to a Halftone process will result in soft images even when sharpened So we recommend both resizing and resampling before final output sharpening for halftone While getting the EXACT resolution still isn t mission critical you should at least be close to the typical range of 1 5 2 5X max the lpi of the halftone screen Avoid using a Quality Factor of less than 1 5 for halftone Be sure to use a Quality Factor of 2 when the image contains fine diagonal lines or important small details Note The Output Sharpeners for print processes Contone Halftone and Inkjet are likely to produce results that can appear quite ugly on screen when viewed at zoom levels of Actual Pixels 10
49. is allows increased noise in the shadows and reduced noise in the highlights and eliminates the visual flattening that can occur when adding a single global noise layer Super Grain effects add a digital replication of photographic film grain while sharpening an image These grain effects can be usefully applied over retouching to help integrate the overall textural appearance and hide irregularities Adding a low level of photographic grain to digital captures can also make the capture look more film like Remember while the image is still in layer form you can exercise enormous control over the flavor and strength of sharpening or smoothing but once it s flattened you can t undo the effects Also remember to leave some headroom for the final stage of the sharpening workflow the Output Sharpeners which will handle destination specific sharpening requirements 27 Output Sharpeners The Output Sharpeners are designed for images that have already had Capture and Creative Sharpeners applied The last step of the sharpening sequence is to crisp up the image to help compensate for the dot gain of the printing process Dot gain is an increase in dot size over the original due to the spreading of the ink droplet in the printing process Matte papers tend to exhibit more dot gain than photographic surface papers Although we allow the user to Preview the sharpening amount it s an inaccurate view at best Screens dont show
50. ividual layer adjustments after an effect has been applied D The Create Layer Mask options allow all PKS 2 effects to be brushed in or out depending on the Hide or Show effect options The Hide Effect returns a layer with a layer mask set to black The Show Effect returns a white layer mask that shows the final effect To paint in an effect with a Hide Effect layer mask paint with white To remove the effect on a Show Effect layer paint with black E The Show Batch Options allow stacking multiple effects to be run one after the other So if you have a common capture creative and output sharpening series you use you can add those effects to a batch list The batch list can be saved and loaded Toolbox Modules Please select a Module Set and Effect Module RAMEE TEE a PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 Effect Auto Edge Sharpen hi Message Set PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 Toolbox Modules Please select a Module Set and Effect Module PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 a Set RAE E aiae Smoothing Effects Effect Special Effects 5 Message Selecting the Toolbox Module for Capture Sharpener 2 Selecting the Set under the Creative Sharpener 2 Module Toolbox Module Set and Effects To use PKS 2 first select the Module then the Set and finally the Effect as shown in the figures above Generally the Capture Sharpener would be the first step in a sharpening workflow unless you ve already done ca
51. ls pixel dimensions of up to approximately 2500 x 1600 that are relatively free of noise and hence dont require smoothing Digital Low Res Smoothed Sharpen for noisier digital captures of up to approximately 4 megapixels pixel dimensions of up to approximately 2500 x 1600 that require some smoothing in addition to sharpening Digital Mid Res Sharpen for digital captures of up to approximately 6 megapixels pixel dimensions of up to approximately 3072 x 2048 that are relatively free of noise and hence don t require smoothing Digital Mid Res Sharpen and Smooth for noisier digital captures of up to approximately 6 megapixels pixel dimensions of up to approximately 3072 x 2048 that require smoothing in addition to sharpening Digital Mid Res de JPEG Sharpen and Smooth for digital captures of up to approximately 6 megapixels shot as JPEG that display obvious magenta green JPEG artifacts as well as noise see below We typically only see this on images shot at 800 ISO and above Digital High Res Sharpen for digital captures of 8 or more megapixels pixel dimensions of approximately 4000 x 2700 and upwards that are relatively free of noise and hence dont require smoothing Digital High Res Sharpen and Smooth for noisier digital captures of 8 or more megapixels pixel dimensions of approximately 4000 x 2700 and upwards that require smoothing in addition to sharpening Scanning Back for digital captures made with scanning back cameras
52. ose All YAW Close and Go To Bridge GHW Save 7 5 Save As O25 Save for Web amp Devices CoHS Revert F12 Place import gt Export Automate F Saving the image from Photoshop adds the image back into the Lightroom catalog From Lightroom to Photoshop to Lightroom for Printing Once you ve done the tone and color corrections in Lightroom and set the sharpening Amount to zero the next step is to open the image from Lightroom into Photoshop as shown in the figure above left In the Photo menu in Lightroom select Edit in Photoshop Depending on your version of Lightroom and Photoshop and ACR you may get a message about having Lightroom render the image This is expected if the Lightroom and Camera Raw versions are mismatched In our case Lightroom 3 3 and Camera Raw 6 3 in Photoshop CS5 are matched The steps required are the exact same steps shown previously on page 34 However to use Lightroom to print you ll need to save the image first so the processed tiff file is added back into the Lightroom catalog above right After saving the image you can print from Lightroom The key is to make sure you turn off output sharpening in Lightroom as shown on the lower right figure Otherwise you ll double sharpen for output which is a bad thing We A SA E ee ee Oh al Sar ira Een ers a rere ee oahe 2 1 oe The image in the Lightroom Print module after saving 37 Printer Draft Mode Printing Print Resolution
53. otoKit Output Sharpener arranged in the order in which theyre typically used For best results we recommend starting out with unsharpened files turn off any sharpening in the scanner or capture software and using PKS 2 to apply all sharpening Turning off sharpening in scanner or camera capture software isnt always easy though we havent yet encountered a case where it was impossible If Capture Sharpening oversharpens images it s likely that some sharpening was applied beforehand in which case you ll need to dig deeper into your scanner or camera capture software to find the Off switch The figure at the bottom of the page shows the PixelGenius Toolbox Module drop down menu with not only PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 but also PhotoKit Color 2 and the new PhotoKit 2 due 1st Quarter 2011 The ability to select any of the PixelGenius PhotoKit products allows you to combine and mix amp match effects from any of our products This is particularly useful when combining effects across multiple products when using the Batch Options Batch Scripts b Create Droplet File Info Nits Crop and Straighten Photos PKS 2 requirements for images Print AP PhotoKit 2 f i Print One Copy COEP Images can be in 8 or 16 bit mode PhotoKit Color 2 Images can be in Grayscale or RGB FhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 mode PhotoKit Creative Sharpener 2 PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 i PKS 2 does not support CMYK Lab Fit Image Lens Correction
54. pixel resolution of the device but if its only slightly off 308 ppi for a 300 ppi device for example its probably OK to apply the 300 ppi sharpening and send the file without resampling Simply choose the closest Output Sharpener to the files actual resolution Panel Options Close Close Tab Group Dec 60 26 770 6M Adobe AGE 1998 bpe 5516 pixels x 3744 pixekb 240 ppi Info Panel Options First Color Readout Mode Actual Color Second Color Readout Mode RGE Color Mouse Coordinates Ruler Unitas Pixels Status Ini Centimeters Millimeters The Units shown in the Contone Inkjet and Halftone TeS Pos Docum i Sharpeners reflect the Units currently set in Photoshop z i Percent As shown in the figure above the Unit readouts are in pixels To change the Unit Readout select Panel Options from the flyout menu and change it in the Ruler Units drop down menu as shown on the right 28 E Document Dimensions _ Measurement Scale Show Tool Hints Timing Current Tool aC PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules mok Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel Module PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 r d Help Set Inkjet Output Sharpeners B Info Effect y Glossy B _ Preview Matte Message NOTE The image must be at final output size Current Size 9 61 in x 7 08 in 360 00 ppi Width 14 4125 Height 10 6167 Resolution 240
55. pture sharpening in a separate application such as Camera Raw The Creative Sharpener is usually used to make local sharpening or smoothing adjustments The last stage of sharpening would be for the final Output Sharpener after all other sharpening rounds and after the image dimensions and pixels per inch have been determined The Toolbox Preview Toolbox Modules Please select a Module Set and Effect Module PhotoKit Output Sharpener 2 a Set Inkjet Output Sharpeners Effect E Matte Message NOTE The image must be at final output size Current Size 23 40 in x 15 60 in 240 00 ppi Width 23 4 Height 15 6 Resolution 240 Selecting the Effect under the Inkjet Output Sharpeners Set The PixelGenius Toolbox provides for a preview of the selected Module Set and Effect You should note however the Preview is only accurate when the Preview has been zoomed into 100 one screen pixel for each image pixel When you move the cursor around the Preview you ll see a cursor that includes the magnify icon as well as a white rectangle that shows where the 100 Preview will be selected and shown Clicking in the zoomed out image will sample that area and accurately preview the selected Effect in the zoomed in Preview Once Previewed you can zoom back out by clicking in the Preview window again Because PKS 2 s effects are complicated and processor intensive we dont allow scrolling in the zoomed in Prev
56. r mask The only functional difference is whether or not you want to paint in or out an effect In the figures below the left Layers panel shows the result of applying a Super Sharpener 1 effect from the Creative Sharpening set with a Show Effect option The middle figure shows the Hide Effect result The figure on the right shows the result of painting in the layer mask to isolate the effect to the center of the image __ Merge Results __ Show Batch Options v Create Layer Mask Hide Effect LAYERS LAYERS Pormal 4 Opacity sox fe Normal 4 panei Ea e Mormal Lok E a P Fill 100 Lock Cl P Fill 100 el Lock CJ a Super Sharpen 1 Super Sharpen 1 a A sr O65 a F Se ee Layers panel showing the layer mask Layers panel showing the layer mask Layers panel showing the layer mask set to Show Effects set to Hide Effects painted to allow the effect to show through in the center of the image Show Batch Options O00 PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules OK Please select a Module Set and Effect Cancel i a Hel Module PhotoKit Capture Sharpener 2 Pp ETETETT Info Set Digital High Res Sharp Smooth z aar Preview Effect Auto Edge Sharp
57. rents Camel Bicwiic Sharper best Por reduction r z z T n Bicubic Smoother best for enlargement Leas k Mister to Update Open Documenti Options Bi bi eh etf 3 Tida Eni Beep When Done cubic Sharper best for reduction Pe afl namig Coker sideri 1 e fl Export Clipboard _ Auto Update Open Documents Uae Shif Rey for Tou swich a Resize Image During Place Animattd Zoe foam Revines Windo A EENAA The Web and Mutlimedia Output Sharpeners use Deam eh HH Weel Pear aar tne erie whatever image interpolation is currently set in Pho Enable Flick Fanning fai ea acl Sa hemes ea Saat Oa toshops Preferences If you are doing a large downs oA History Log ample we suggest using Bicubic Sharper which is zive Log itemi Te Der hal 3 Text File Choose Brame puneiheo te Lng designed for down sampling If the amount of resam och 4 na paa pling is a relatively low percent we suggest the regular Resp All Wining Dialogs Bicubic 31 w PixelGenius Toolbox Toolbox Modules Be Please select a Module Set and Effect _ Cancel me Help gt WA Module Photokit Capture Sharpener 2 ad a ATT fi Info me ae Set Digital High Res Sharp i e TN _ Preview To Pa 7 meree a DaT g Effect Auto Edge Sharpen ne aha Eh SD oS i Ress age A il Merge Results IM Show Batch Options _ Create Layer Mask Euch Add 5 The OX button and Preview are unavailable until a Add t
58. so you can increase or decrease the strength of the light and dark contours independently by varying the respective layer opacities You may find that you often want to reduce the opacity of the smoothing layers or even turn them off entirely But the sharpening layers are based on the result of the smoothing layers so even if you wind up discarding them they ve still played a useful role Layer Masking To localize the sharpening effect you add a layer mask to the Sharpening Layer Set by selecting Create Layer Mask checkbox E in the PKS 2 dialog You can also select whether you want to create a mask to hide the effect black mask or a mask that reveals the effect white mask Click the layer mask s tile to activate it for editing Its active when the icon has border You can now paint in the effect Hide Effect Black Layer Mask using a white brush or you can paint out Show Effect White Layer Mask using a black brush a SoWhere Are The Brushes Tice Bett BAe ae F F r Pee Previous versions of Photokit CAHE SELL A E 221 an EL T P Pig ne Pratt Canture sharpener 2 gt Seeman sharpener have included options 8 gil arD that would allow the painting in of BNT i Set Digital Mid Res Sharpen H m l l ine a a 0 or out of the sharpening effect This e functionality has not been removed meat p but rather extended to all effects available in PKS 2 Mire Show Batch Options inf Create Layer Mask Show Eeit H
59. that you ll get better results working in high bit mode than in 8 bit mode but after the big initial edits the advantages get smaller We all have different pain points so we recommend staying in high bit mode until it starts to hurt 33 Using PhotoKit SHARPENER 2 with Camera Raw or Lightroom and Photoshop We at PixelGenius know that many of our users are using either Camera Raw ACR or Lightroom or both and we wanted to give PKS 2 users the optimal workflow to combine the best parts of all the potential applications That said it s really an either or proposition Either you use the capture sharpening in ACR or Lightroom and not in PKS 2 or you use the capture sharpening in PKS 2 not in ACR or Lightroom You really cant use both successfully However there is a way of using all the products successfully and that s what this section is about Regardless of whether you use ACR Lightroom or PKS 2 the odds are very good that you ll be going through Photoshop at some point Even though Lightroom and to a certain extent ACR has minimized the necessity of running all your images through Photoshop there is still a present need to process at least your best images in Photoshop So here are the steps for creating a raw processing workflow which includes PKS 2 There are two basic options either use ACR Lightroom for capture sharpening or use PKS 2 In either case we strongly recommend doing the vast majority of your image adjustments at the raw
60. the entire image but they can be manipulated by adjusting the default 66 layer opacities or by including a layer mask 25 Also included in the Sharpening Effects is Super Sharpener in varying strengths The Super Sharpeners are special purpose tools use them with caution If your image is already sharp these effects may indeed vastly oversharpen those areas in your image But the Super Sharpeners can actually create textural detail where none was visible before In general you should use these effects at the default opacity of 50 or less Also be sure you examine sharp edged areas of your image and include a layer mask to locally reduce the opacities or use the eraser tool to eliminate those areas in your image that break The Super Grain effects add a digital replication of photographic film grain while sharpening an image These grain effects can be usefully applied over retouching to help integrate the overall textural appearance and hide irregularities Adding a low level of photographic grain to digital captures can also make the capture look more film like As with all of the Creative Sharpeners you should use judgement and self discipline to resist over applying these effects Remember while the image is still in layer form you can exercise enormous control over the flavor and strength of sharpening or smoothing but once it s flattened you cant undo the effects Also remember to leave some headroom for the final stage of the
61. thing Medium aa aaae plied over your pixels instead of on Detail Subtractor 1 the mask Detail Subtractor 2 Detail Subtractor 3 Create Lay Edge Protected Smoothing 1 Edge Protected Smoothing 2 Edge Protected Smoothing 3 Edge Protected Smooth Noise 1 Edge Protected Smooth Noise 2 Edge Protected Smooth Noise 3 JPEG Smooth1 JPEG Smooth 2 JPEG Smooth 3 _ Merge Res iptions 26 The Special Effects PimelGenius Tooli Topbar Modules i OK Y Please celece a Moule Ser and Effect d Cancel J Module Photek Creative Sharpener 2 Helo p Sel Special Effects __ info an E E E Frair Elfect y Midtone Conirast Low mii Midrone Conrast Middle Message Mittone Cantrast High Negative Midtone Contrast Low Negative Midtone Contrast Middle Negative Midtone Contrasi High Fie Pog 2 Fog 3 Create piffusion 1 Difusion 2 Diffusion 3 Auto Hare Cutter HaztCutier Hame Edges Klerqe ai iptions HazeCutter Medium Edges Haze Cunter Wide Edges Auto Depth of Field Depth of Feb Maren Edges Reach of Field Mediunn Edges Depth of Field Wide Edges Dimensional Hoiste SURF Grain leo Super Grain 200 Super Crain 00 Super Grain BOG Super Grain 1600 These are effects that fall outside of traditional sharpening or smoothing effects Midtone Contrast effects enhance tonal separation and help combat dot gain when outputting your images to print Select the effect that most closely reflects your target midtones

PKS - Pixel Genius

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents