Extend the Dynamic Range of your Scanner Get rid of Noise! SilverFast Multi-Sampling with Auto-Alignment is here! Ships with SilverFast SE Plus and SilverFast Ai Studio: Upgrade now! ——

The annoying noise?
Scanner noise comes in random patterns and is mostly visible in the very dark areas of the scan. This is where the CCD is getting very little light to work with, so the difference between the signal from image details and the background noise from the CCD and other analog components is too small, resulting in image noise. If the image is scanned only once (normal scanning), the noise will be imprinted on the scan. When scanning with multiple sampling, the same image is rescanned repetitively. Since the noise patterns randomly change each time, SilverFast can differentiate the noise, cancelling it out if inconsistencies are present.

A hardware feature?
In the past, multi-sampling was possible only with scanners that had this capability in their hardware. Many scanners never included this capability, so users were left in the dark when it came to scanning a high-noise image. SilverFast has now circumvented the lack thereof by including the feature in the software for these scanners.
Scanner noise is eliminated

How does it work?
With multiple sampling turned on, SilverFast will perform either 4, 8, or even 16 scans during scan time. You can specify the count, usually the more the better. After performing the scans, the single images are averaged together into one image. Since noise is random, a special averaging procedure will cancel only the noise but leave the image details untouched. There is a problem associated with this process.

Every scan might not exactly be in the same position with reference to each other, so normal averaging would blur the resultant Multi-Sampling scan. That is why
LaserSoft Imaging had to develop an intelligent Auto-Alignment, so no blurring effect can occur.

The benefits of SilverFast Multi-Sampling?
With this new function you can effectively bring your scanner to a higher quality level by extending the usable dynamic range. You will get enhanced shadow details with reduced or no visible noise, even when you apply Unsharp Masking to make the image appear crisper. How to select and apply SilverFast Multi-Sampling? SilverFast Multi-Sampling is activated from the vertical too bar. Click onto the Multi-Sampling icon and toggle until you see the desired number of samples that you want the scanner to perform. For maximum results select 16, for avaage results 4 or 8.

Be advised that with the number of samples the time until you have the final scan increases. This will, of course, also vary with the selected scanner resolution.
It is recommended to use the Job Manager, if you want to do several scans, so you do not have to wait for each scan to be ready. Multi-Sampling and High-Bit
Scans? Multi-Sampling can be applied with any kind of Scan-Type. You can do Multi-Sampling scans in 24 bit mode positive or negative (using NegaFix)
or if you want to work with large high-bit 48 bit TIFF files and SilverFast HDR, you can also sample into 48 bit HDR format. This format contains the full dynamic
range that the scanner can supply and with Multi-Sampling is the best image data for later processing without any loss of quality. Multi-Sampling and JPEG 2000
Compression

SilverFast STUDIO versions support JPEG 2000, which can also be used in conjunction with the Multi-Sampling function. The advantage is, that you can sample into high quality lossy or even into lossless compression format with all high bits preserved. Only JPEG 2000 format is capable of this high quality compression.