SilverFast is the name of a family of software for

image scanning An image scanner—often abbreviated to just scanner—is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting or an object and converts it to a digital image. Commonly used in offices are variations of the desktop ''flatbed scanner'' ...

and

processing Processing is a free graphical library and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming ...

, including photos, documents and slides, developed by

LaserSoft Imaging LaserSoft Imaging AG is a software developer designing software such as SilverFast for scanners and large format printers. The company's headquarters are located in Kiel, Germany, north of Hamburg, and another office in Sarasota, Florida, United ...

. There are also other applications for image processing using

digital cameras A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...

printers Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jam ...

and for 48-bit raw data image processing.

History

SilverFast was introduced in 1995, it is still under development today. Some scanner manufacturers bundle their hardware with SilverFast software. Some of the features developed for SilverFast, especially in the area of

color management In digital imaging systems, color management (or colour management) is the controlled conversion between the color representations of various devices, such as image scanners, digital cameras, monitors, TV screens, film printers, computer printer ...

, error detection and automatic dust and scratch removal, have been patented. The

European Digital Press Association European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

named SilverFast the "Best colour management software of the year 2008" for improving the

dynamic range Dynamic range (abbreviated DR, DNR, or DYR) is the ratio between the largest and smallest values that a certain quantity can assume. It is often used in the context of signals, like sound and light. It is measured either as a ratio or as a base-1 ...

of most scanners and for creating

ICC profile In color management, an ICC profile is a set of data that characterizes a color input or output device, or a color space, according to standards promulgated by the International Color Consortium (ICC). Profiles describe the color attributes of a ...

s automatically. In 2011 version 8 was introduced, and HDR imaging software followed in 2012. SilverFast 9 has been released in 2020.

Patents

* 2005: Patent granted on barcode technology used for the Auto IT8 Calibration. (Karl-Heinz Zahorsky, EP: 1594301) * 2008: Patent granted on technology used for SilverFast Multi-Exposure@. (Karl-Heinz Zahorsky, EP: 1744278, US 8,693,808) * 2021: Patent pending for a scanning method that reduces scanning time for flatbed scanners. (Karl-Heinz Zahorsky, German, European and US patents pending) SilverFast HDR Box

Products

SilverFast is offered individually adjusted to the respective scanner model. If several scanners are operated, it is therefore necessary to purchase a corresponding number of additional licenses. Upgrade rates are also offered when purchasing a new scanner. Overview of the available products: ¹⁾ including: Multi-Exposure ²⁾ optional: ICC Printer Calibration

Optional features

As marked in the table above, some products are available with additional features: Multi-Exposure – Multi-Exposure is an exposure blending technique for scanning transparent originals like slides, negatives, and film strips with increased

. This is accomplished by scanning the original multiple times with different exposure times, increasing the dynamic range and preserving detail in the light and shadow areas of the image. Multi-Exposure does not work with reflective originals and differs from "Multi-Sampling," which also scans multiple times but with unaltered exposure. ICC Printer Calibration – The SilverFast ICC Printer Calibration calibrates the printer using a previously calibrated flatbed scanner as the measuring device for profiling the printer.

SilverFast Scanner Software

It can be used as a stand-alone application, as a

Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...

plug-in, or as a universal

TWAIN Twain may refer to: People * Mark Twain, pen name of American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910) * Norman Twain (1930–2016), American film producer * Shania Twain (born 1965), Canadian singer-songwriter Places * Twain, California, a ...

module. Versions include: * SilverFast SE (basic edition) * SilverFast SE Plus (plus edition / with

Multi-Exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be ide ...

) * SilverFast Ai Studio (premium edition) * SilverFast X-Ray (a special version of SilverFast designed to digitize radiographic films for scientific and medical radiography)

SilverFast HDR Software

SilverFast HDR is a

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...

for processing 48-bit raw images. Many newer scanners are able to output the image directly with all existing data instead of breaking it down to 24-bit. This 48-bit raw image can be saved immediately and digital processing performed later. * SilverFast HDR (basic edition) * SilverFast HDR Studio (premium edition) SilverFast HDR contains the functionality of SilverFast Ai Studio for 48-bit raw data, such as defining output size and

resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

, auto-adjusting of highlights and shadows, three-part histogram, gradation curves, selective color correction,

unsharp masking Unsharp masking (USM) is an image sharpening technique, first implemented in darkroom photography, but now commonly used in digital image processing software. Its name derives from the fact that the technique uses a blurred, or "unsharp", negat ...

, color cast removal slider,

color separation Color printing or colour printing is the reproduction of an image or text in color (as opposed to simpler black and white or monochrome printing). Any natural scene or color photograph can be optically and physiologically dissected into three ...

, and

CMYK The CMYK color model (also known as process color, or four color) is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. The abbreviation ''CMYK'' refers ...

-preview. SilverFast HDR can be used as a native plug-in for

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Microsoft Windows, Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas Knoll, Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the indu ...

, as a universal

module, or as a stand-alone application. The HDR Studio has AACO (Auto-Adaptive Contrast Optimization),

JPEG 2000 JPEG 2000 (JP2) is an image compression standard and coding system. It was developed from 1997 to 2000 by a Joint Photographic Experts Group committee chaired by Touradj Ebrahimi (later the JPEG president), with the intention of superseding the ...

, USMPlus (Unsharp Mask Plus), CloneTool and PrinTao.

HDRi (64Bit RAW data with infrared channel)

With version 6.6.1 any SilverFast HDR version supports the proprietary RAW data format HDRi. These 64-bit HDRi color files and 32-bit HDRi greyscale files contain additional 16-bit infrared RAW data besides the 48-bit color RAW data and 16-bit greyscale RAW data respectively. Therefore, a scanner with an infrared channel available to the software is necessary. This RAW format can keep any readable image information for later post-processing. The acronym "HDR" as used by SilverFast is not related to

High-dynamic-range imaging In photography and videography, multi-exposure HDR capture is a technique that creates extended or high dynamic range (HDR) images by taking and combining multiple exposures of the same subject matter at different exposure levels. Combining mu ...

, a widely used technique to increase the dynamic range of (digital) images. The data format is:

SilverFast Archiving Software

The SilverFast Archive Suite includes SilverFast Ai Studio and SilverFast HDR Studio with an integrated color management system. This package is suitable for archiving slides, negatives, and photos, whereas the post processing can take place anytime after scanning. * SilverFast Archive Suite - consisting of SilverFast Ai Studio and SilverFast HDR Studio (premium edition)

PrintTao 8

PrintTao 8 is for

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

and

Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano, ...

large format printers. It can be used as a stand-alone application or as a plug-in for

and

Adobe Lightroom Adobe Lightroom (officially Adobe Photoshop Lightroom) is a piece of image organization and image manipulation software developed by Adobe Inc. as part of the Creative Cloud subscription family. It is supported on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, ...

. PrinTao 8 takes over color management and all printer driver settings. It contains various printing templates like pack templates for portrait photographers or gallery wrap templates for printing on canvas.

SRDx Photoshop Plug-in

SRDx (Smart Removal of Defects) is a plug-in for

to remove defects like dust particles, specks, small scratches and finger prints from digital images. Most dust and scratch removal tools use blur effects which degrade overall image quality. SRDx works without any unsharping effects. SRDx uses an adjustable automatic detection of dust and scratches that can be fine-tuned manually using a defect marker and a rubber tool.

SilverFast DC

SilverFast DC has been discontinued. SilverFast DC was a stand-alone software for digital camera image processing. It contained features for reading the image data from the camera, for processing, optimizing, and archiving the images on the computer, as well as for printing the edited images.

IT8 calibration & color management

Scanner calibration: SilverFast is equipped with a

system that enables largely automated

IT8 IT8 is a set of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards for color communications and control specifications. Formerly governed by the IT8 Committee, IT8 activities were merged with those of the Committee for Graphics Arts Technolog ...

color calibration of the scanner using IT8 targets supplied by the manufacturer

. * according to ISO standard 12641-1 (from 1993): conventional standard * according to ISO standard 12641-2 (from 2020): new standard for a more precise IT8 calibration with about 3 times the number of measuring fields. LaserSoft Imaging cooperated for creating this standard. Printer calibration: SilverFast also enables printer calibration by printing a color table and then scanning it using an already calibrated scanner to create an

Supported devices

SilverFast supports 325 scanners.Products supported by SilverFast
LaserSoft Imaging Most Microsoft Windows-only 35mm USB scanners sold under various names are not supported. Each scanner model requires a separate license.

Heidelberg drum scanner

SilverFast Ai Studio supports prepress drum scanners made by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Linotype - Hell) on Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7, as well as Mac OS X 10.3-10.5 operating systems. Supported models include the Chromagraph 3300/3400, Tango/XL, Topaz, Nexscan, and Primescan.