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Scanning, crashing, resolution and frustration


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I have some drawings size A3 I need to scan in and as my scanner - a combined scanner/printer Epson ET-2710 takes only A4 I need to do it in two parts and then import them to Affinity Photo to merge them.
First problem: when I aquire the scanner and try to scan, the entire program crashes. Is that a bug? Is it because I try to scan in 300 dpi?
Second problem: when I open up the saved parts in Affinity Photo, it changes the resolution from 300 dpi to 72 dpi! Why!? I need it to be 300 because it is for print.
Third problem: Because of this, I need to resize the two parts, but I have to do all the steps again for every new image. I want to see the dimensions in millimetres and I have to uncheck Resample and I have to do that over and over and over and over again. Frustrating. 
So, are these known bugs or are there ways to avoid this?
It was easy to do in Photoshop Elements, but as I have chosen Affinity and think it is a very promising package, I hope you will fix all of this soon. Or that you can tell me that there is a way to fix it.  

And one more thing: I don't see any option to show Print Size. That would have been handy, too. 

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Hi Wilfred,

I'm an owner of an old Epson scanner, Model 3170  in my case. Epson provides a free-of-charge dedicated scan application "Epson Scan" which i always use (since 20 years). The UI is a bit dated, but the functionality gives all you need. Never need to learn any new UI ;-) Then save the images as TIFF/16 bit.

The scanned files can then be further edited in Affinity Photo.

This two-step approach could lead to far better and 100% predictable scan results. It avoids all issues often caused by buggy Microsoft TWAIN driver.

There is a recent comparison about scan software, including Epson Scan, to be found here: https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comparison-review-can-vuescan-or-silverfast-archive-your-film-better/2

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Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

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6 minutes ago, NotMyFault said:

Hi Wilfred,

I'm an owner of an old Epson scanner, Model 3170  in my case. Epson provides a free-of-charge dedicated scan application "Epson Scan" which i always use (since 20 years). The UI is a bit dated, but the functionality gives all you need. Never need to learn any new UI ;-) Then save the images as TIFF/16 bit.

The scanned files can then be further edited in Affinity Photo.

This two-step approach could lead to far better and 100% predictable scan results. It avoids all issues often caused by buggy Microsoft TWAIN driver.

There is a recent comparison about scan software, including Epson Scan, to be found here: https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comparison-review-can-vuescan-or-silverfast-archive-your-film-better/2

Thank you, but it works well with Preview on the Mac. The problem is that Affinity Photo transforms it from 300 dpi to 72 dpi when I open up the images. I guess it will do the same, also if I had used Epson Scan. There is also Image Capture on the Mac, but I have no problems scanning, althought it would have been more convenient if I could scan it directly into Affinity Photo. And if scanning crashes it in Windows, too, then it is most certainly a bug. 

By the way, I save them as JPEGs. I used to use TIFF earlier, but since the newspaper puts my drawings on the web, too, it is more convenient that way.

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@NotMyFault: I received a notification of another reply you posted, but I don’t see it here, but well, since it doesn’t work scanning directly into AP, I can’t follow my preferred workflow, but have to scan in using another application and in my case it’s Preview. Then, as I wrote, I open up the two scanned parts of the drawing in AP, but…

7 hours ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:


Second problem: when I open up the saved parts in Affinity Photo, it changes the resolution from 300 dpi to 72 dpi! 

And yes, I go to Document resize and that’s where I can see that they’ve been changed from 300 dpi to 72. This also means that the physical dimensions have been blown up, from A4 to more than a metre high, for instance. That is also why I need to resample them and I need to change the measurements from pixels to millimetres, so I can set the height to something which fits into A3, like 290 mm. it works that way and I can copy/paste the two halves into a new document which is a horizontal A3 with a resolution of 300 dpi. I set the upper layer’s Blend Mode to Difference, because then I can adjust the two halves so they fit exactly. Then I change the Blend Mode back to Normal, flatten the document and crop it and then I export it as a jpeg. 
It works, but it would have been so much easier if I could scan directly into the program - and at least if it didn’t transform the scanned halves from 300 dpi to 72 and thus, blowing up the proportions immensely. 
I hope I have managed to describe what I attempt to do precisely enough and what the problem is. 

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Unfortunately, i cannot support further this time. While trying to investigate deeper, i had to realize that direct scan into Photo is not available for my used OS.

Never the less, if you want to go ahead with the workaround, you could simplify the steps by:

  • Recording a macro for the resize step
  • Defining keyboard shortcuts
  • Using export Persona, or a batch job to automate the export

It is all a mater of personal preferences, i hope you find a satisfactory workflows, or others using MacOS can provide more hints.

 

image.thumb.png.8d7c0786e9da1d90490327c4efda6f51.png

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

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Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

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20 minutes ago, NotMyFault said:

Unfortunately, i cannot support further this time. While trying to investigate deeper, i had to realize that direct scan into Photo is not available for my used OS.

Never the less, if you want to go ahead with the workaround, you could simplify the steps by:

  • Recording a macro for the resize step
  • Defining keyboard shortcuts
  • Using export Persona, or a batch job to automate the export

It is all a mater of personal preferences, i hope you find a satisfactory workflows, or others using MacOS can provide more hints.

 

image.thumb.png.8d7c0786e9da1d90490327c4efda6f51.png

 That was of great help, because somehow I was under the impression that AP didn’t have the macro-recording future yet! I looked it up and it certainly has and using that I should be able to record every step until the adjustment of the two parts. That must be done manually, but as soon as it is done, I could create another for all the steps until the naming of the files. That way, it’ll save me lots of time! 
I guess I should report a bug regarding the crashing using the Aquire-option, trying to scan directly. 
But again, thanks!

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13 hours ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:

when I aquire the scanner and try to scan, the entire program crashes. Is that a bug?

There are such bugs, obviously:

7 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

Model 3170

Ah, the good ole 3170! Still the best one from my own scanner "collection", living in my "Office Two". :)
I also have a functional 1240 that I bought 20 years ago, but it's painfully slow on hi-res scans with descreen and the sensor begins to discolor a bit. Last year I've replaced it in my "Office One" with a not-so-great but massively faster CanoScan 8800 from my late dad's PC gear arsenal. Works on Mac only via VueScan though.

7 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

a free-of-charge dedicated scan application "Epson Scan" which i always use (since 20 years)

Its Mac port looks horrible, doesn't run on (Mountain) Lion or higher, yet I miss it for its functionality. Got a copy installed on my older MacBookPro (2008 model) that can run (Snow) Leopard.

7 hours ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:

but it works well with Preview on the Mac

Exactly. See my aforelinked thread.
The issue is definitely with Affinity's "Acquire Image" here.

That all said, I'm with @NotMyFault here regarding

7 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

This two-step approach could lead to far better and 100% predictable scan results.

This has been my workflow ever since I had to give up on Epson Scan almost a decade ago:
Scan hi-res first, save lossless (TIFF) if it's anything important, worry about everything else later, be it in Photoshop or – these days – Affinity Photo.

Sometimes I'm using VueScan because it has quite some very advanced features incl. IT8 profiling, but having such an utt bugly UI, usually I'm alright with the simple and casual Image Capture scanning.

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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Thank you @loukash and I added to the bug-thread - but none of you have touched upon the problem with Affinity Photo changing the resolution from 300 dpi to 72 dpi when opening up the scanned images. That also result in the physical dimensions of the images to be blown out of proportions. Isn’t that a bug, too?

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41 minutes ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:

Thank you @loukash and I added to the bug-thread - but none of you have touched upon the problem with Affinity Photo changing the resolution from 300 dpi to 72 dpi when opening up the scanned images. That also result in the physical dimensions of the images to be blown out of proportions. Isn’t that a bug, too?

Maybe, or not. I would assume that affinity rates this as "by design". There are more threads about this in different circumstances, e.g. when pasting from clipboard. Feel free to use the search function of this forum ;-)

Affinity is quite reluctant to change Photo's functions if it what you rate as a bug can be simply corrected by one of the existing functions (like resize in your case).

I don't know if the MacOS scan-to-app provides a defined DPI which is ignored by Affinity (more a bug), or it is not provided (then it's more a UI thing as Photo may miss a way to define your own default). There are numerous posts complaining about the (1) bad default settings and (b) missing options to define your own defaults, e.g.

  • Unwanted "are your sure" boxes (close RAW persona)
  • healing brush default to "current layer" instead of "& below"
  • Studio layout (can be changed)
  • Info panel showing CMYK (i never use) instead of HSL (i always want)
  • Default zoom level when opening small images
  • Placement of new layers
  • Initial brush settings
  • you name it

Did you ever notice when watching one of James Ritson's excellent tutorial videos, that he almost always starts to explain how to adjust the (inadequate) default settings like layer placement, brush hardness etc?

I don't want to go crazy or harsh here, but Affinity's reluctance to listen to users demands makes me very sad, over an product which beside this annoyance is - as others say - pure gold.

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5

iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589

Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

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Well, what do you know? Recording a macro wasn't of much help. 

When I scan in those two halves of the A3 document, I save them as "Uten navn" and "Uten navn2". The operations I recorded was to open up those two files and then resizing and resampling them and add them into an A3-sized document in Affinity Photo. 
That works well the first time. 
But then I scan in another drawing and replace the two files "Uten navn" and "Uten navn2". Then I run the macro - and what I see in the document is exactly the two files before they were replaced! Which means it is of no use at all. So, Affinity Photo works in mysterious ways when it opens up files. First it changes the resolution and the dimensions. Then it refuses to recognise replaced files, but keep on opening the previous files. How it does that, is beyond me. Re-creating them from its own memory?

I can always just record the resizing and resampling which will save a little time, but how do I know that it won't do some other magic trick with the files?

The developers should definitely have a look at this.

Meanwhile, perhaps I should buy an A3-scanner...

OK, so now I see: recording is limited. It doesn't record it when I open files. So, the only thing it records is what I do with already opened files. Which doesn't help as much as I had opened. Does the macOS still have Automator? I have to look into that then. 

It has but although I set it to open Affinity Photo it insists on opening Designer instead. I think we are still in the infancy of this technology. The stone age if you ask me. 

I give this shit up! Now I wanted to record the process after I have opened up the files in AP, but it stops recording after I have resized and resampled one of the two images! I want to have the entire process until I have placed the two halves into the A3 document in one macro, but no Sir! This is not very useful at all. 

It is the most frustrating experience I have had for a very long time.

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53 minutes ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:

Does the macOS still have Automator?

Of course. Just don't expect it to do any "magic". Much like AppleScript – despite its "natural language" – it needs quite a lot of tweaking to make things work.
In fact, usually I'd end up running an Automator Service plugin only as a wrapper to a Run AppleScript or Run Shell Script action(s) within, the latter two being way more flexible in performing more complex tasks than the prefab Automator actions.

To handle external macros that have to interact with an otherwise unscriptable app like Affinity, I much prefer using Keyboard Maestro because it has a plenty of actions that would directly exectute many System Events commands without having to write them as AppleScript. (And even after years of using it, apparently I'm still only scratching on the surface of what Keyboard Maestro is capable of.)

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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2 minutes ago, loukash said:

Of course. Just don't expect it to do any "magic". Much like AppleScript – despite its "natural language" – it needs quite a lot of tweaking to make things work.
In fact, usually I'd end up running an Automator Service plugin only as a wrapper to a Run AppleScript or Run Shell Script action(s) within, the latter two being way more flexible in performing more complex tasks than the prefab Automator actions.

To handle external macros that have to interact with an otherwise unscriptable app like Affinity, I much prefer using Keyboard Maestro because it has a plenty of actions that would directly exectute many System Events commands without having to write them as AppleScript. (And even after years of using it, apparently I'm still only scratching on the surface of what Keyboard Maestro is capable of.)

Well, as I added to my previous post, Automator didn't do much other than play a dirty trick on me: it refused to open Affinity Photo and opened up Designer instead. So we're definitely in the Stone Age still. If we had been where we should be, Siri should have been doing all of this for us; the tedious repetetive tasks, but 'she' doesn't do much, either. I think we needn't worry about Skynet taking over in the near future. 
But thanks for the tips on Keyboard Maestro. I am an illiterate when it comes to scripting and stuff. 

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1 minute ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:

Siri should have been doing all of this for us

Haha!
Thanks, but no, thanks. :P

5 minutes ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:

I think we needn't worry about Skynet taking over in the near future. 

Not so sure. Obviously not literally as in the movie. But to have A.I. that smart, it needs to spy on us with everything we do, all day and all night, and learn. Scroogle, Fecebook & co. are already on their path to that future, with all those literally billions of sheep using their "free" services and thus giving away all the "big data". (With Apple likely still being the most trustworthy of the bunch because collecting big data is not their primary business model.)

8 minutes ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:

I am an illiterate when it comes to scripting and stuff. 

I'm not a programming expert either, even though I'm "trying" to find my way in AppleScript for more than 20 years now, having to look up various "beginner's guides to AppleScript" PDF brochures over and over again. :D
Still, at the end of the day (literally), usually I can make things work the way I need.

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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11 minutes ago, loukash said:

Haha!
Thanks, but no, thanks. :P

Not so sure. Obviously not literally as in the movie. But to have A.I. that smart, it needs to spy on us with everything we do, all day and all night, and learn. Scroogle, Fecebook & co. are already on their path to that future, with all those literally billions of sheep using their "free" services and thus giving away all the "big data". (With Apple likely still being the most trustworthy of the bunch because collecting big data is not their primary business model.)

I'm not a programming expert either, even though I'm "trying" to find my way in AppleScript for more than 20 years now, having to look up various "beginner's guides to AppleScript" PDF brochures over and over again. :D
Still, at the end of the day (literally), usually I can make things work the way I need.

Oh yes, thank you, Jeeves. Much obliged :)
That's why I hate automats and they respond in kind - because you cannot communicate with them. Although it is rather primitive, we are able to communicate with our computers and other computing devices, but yes, when I reincarnate, I expect to be able to have a reasonable conversation with my personal assistant:) 
Anyway, I have downloaded the free trial of Keyboard Maestro and it looks very promising. So far I have managed it to do what Automator could not. I think it will be well worth the 36 euro they want for it, so thanks again. 

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1 minute ago, Wilfred Hildonen said:

the free trial of Keyboard Maestro and it looks very promising

It definitely is worth every penny.
Just for the Clipboard History alone. Which – ironically! – doesn't play well with Affinity at all; Affinity being the first apps in all those years that I had to exclude from being recorded by the clipboard history. (That Affinity doesn't handle clipboard enhancements very well, has been acknowledged by Serif staff many times.)

In the Affinity suite, I use e.g. this simple macro:

aff_km_window_size.png.4e275a52f3efeeaa8a51e49a8624df18.png

That's for the Separated Windows mode, to resize the document window to fit my MacBook screen without being partially hidden by the toolbar and panels.

Another – global – macro can run simple text statistics on clipboard content; useful if you need to know character/word count in Publisher:

km_macro_text_statistics.png.4212049349a1a546187c1deb659288ec.png

Another one, based on a recent thread, batch converts a list of swatches in the Swatches panel into global swatches:

ade_km_macro_make_global_swatch2.png.6aefa0aa203a4537b36609dba51151c8.png

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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  • 6 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/15/2021 at 11:45 AM, Dan28 said:

Hi,

Same very bad scans with a canon TS9550, whatever resolutions (awful images, see attached).

And crashes when trying to make manual corrections before scanning

When will this be solved ?

Test.jpg

 

Affinity team ?

 

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Maybe related. If yes, Apple seems to be responsible.

 

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5

iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589

Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

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