ScanPro 1000 Instructions

 

I.                   Getting Started

 

The ScanPro will work with each type of microform media in our collection—microfilm reels, microfiche, microprints (as well as other opaque materials), and cartridge film.  Here’s how to get started:

 

A:  The machine will not function without the software.  First, turn on the machine and open the PowerScan software by double-clicking the icon on the desktop.

 

B:  To choose the appropriate pre-programmed setting, click the “Restore Settings” icon in the software.  (Please refer to the laminated card at the ScanPro station or use the “Help” button for help with identifying the icons.)  A dialog box will open.  The settings are named “Reel.ini” or “Nonreel.ini”.  Select the reel setting for Microfilm and Microfilm cartridge or the nonreel setting for any card-type media.

 

C:  Next load the media in the following manner:

 

  1. Microfilm:  Place the reel on the spindle so that the leader is on top, facing towards the carriage.  Wind the leader around the outside of the white plastic spindle below.  Pull the carriage forward until the glass is raised.  Thread the leader between the panes of glass and underneath the next white plastic spindle.  Thread the leader onto the take-up reel in a clockwise direction, using slightly more leader than required by our other machines.
  2. Microfiche, Microprints, and other opaque materials:  Pull the carriage forward until the glass is raised.  Place the media underneath the glass and slide the carriage back under the scanner.
  3. Microfilm cartridge:  Remove the spindle from the left side of the scanner and replace it with the cartridge attachment.  Click the film into the cartridge holder and, pulling the leader from the cartridge, load the film following the directions for microfilm.

 

D:  Moving the film.

 

  1. Microfilm and Microfilm cartridge:  The settings for each of these material types include a Motorized Roll Film control.  The buttons with double arrows will advance and rewind the film quickly.  To move the film at an appropriate browsing speed, grab the bar in the middle of the icon and pull it in the desired direction.  You can also use the right and left arrows on the Roll Film control to advance or rewind the film.  (You can also try the “Next/Previous Image” button; this function works, but with varying success.)
  2. Microfiche and opaque materials:  Move through the film by moving the carriage as you would on a manual fiche or microprint reader.

 

 

 

II.                Adjusting the image

 

Once the film has been loaded, you may need to adjust the software’s settings to obtain a readable image.

 

A:  Find the first full frame of the microfilm or cartridge reel or any frame on one of the other types of media.

 

B:  Adjust the image until it is correctly oriented by using the following icons.

 

  1. “Film Orientation”:  This control adjusts the scanner to the orientation of the film’s image.  The two choices are:
    1. Horizontal – Use this orientation when the image is wider than it is high (such as a book photographed two pages at a time).
    2. Vertical – Use this orientation when the image is taller than it is wide (such as a newspaper page).
  2. “Rotate Digital”:  This control rotates the image in 90 degree increments.
  3. “Rotate Optical”:  This control makes minor adjustments to straighten the image on the screen.
  4. “Mirror”:  This control reverses an image, which will prove useful in the case of incorrectly spooled film.
  5. “Film Type”:  This control toggles between the settings for positive film, negative film, and opaque materials such as microprint.

 

C:  Using the “Zoom” icon, zoom in or out until the image fills the entire screen.

 

D:  Click on the “Magnifier” icon to view a portion of the film.

 

E:  Adjust the focus, brightness, and contrast to provide the clearest image.  These changes do not immediately affect the entire image, so please be patient.

 

  1. First, try clicking on the “Auto-Adjust” icon.  If this does not produce satisfactory results, it will at least provide ballpark values. 
  2. Then, you may use the individual “Focus”, “Brightness”, and “Contrast” icons to adjust these values according to your needs.

 

F:  The “Scan Type” should already be set to Grayscale Enhanced and the check mark in the “Scan Type” icon should be bold.  If this has been disabled, clicking on the check mark will provide a clearer image on the screen and when printing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

III.             Reading, Printing, and Saving

 

A:  Reading:  To read, move the magnifier window—the blue dotted-lined box—over the desired area.  The magnifier can be resized by grabbing the side of the viewer window and dragging.  For newspapers and other texts printed in columns, a viewing window just slightly larger than the column width works nicely.  Appropriate window size will vary based on the material and the research needs of the patron.

 

Due to memory constraints in the software, the image on the screen will sometimes freeze or will give a smeared appearance if the image freezes while the carriage is moving.  When this happens, clicking the “Live” icon will refresh the image.

 

B:  Printing and Saving: 

 

  1. Selecting material:  The user can select what material is printed or saved by framing the desired article within the onscreen green box.  Next, click the “Fit-to-page” button located in the bottom right corner of the “Scan Size” icon; the software will fit the boxed material onto a single sheet.  (The ScanPro can even print an entire newspaper page on an 8.5 x 11 sheet such that the print—though small—is readable.  To prevent eyestrain, the user will probably still want to print a full newspaper page as two halves.)
  2. Printing and Saving Icons: 
    1. Clicking the “Print” icon brings up the standard dialog box for printing.  If the image is horizontally oriented (like two pages of a normal sized book), the user will need to select the “landscape” printing option in order to maximize the image on the page.
    2. The “Scan to Drive #1” icon saves the image to a pre-specified drive.  This icon will also bring up a “Save As” window so the patron can select the desired path and file type.
    3. The “Scan to Drive #2” icon saves the image to a USB device.
  3. Multipage Files:  In addition to offering several different file formats for saving, the PowerScan software allows the user to save all images from a session as a single file.  Should the patron wish to do so, select one of the “Multipage” formats in the “Save As” dialog box.  Once the first image has been scanned to a file, a dialog box will appear which reads “Scan Count = 1”.  Each time the same “Save to Drive” icon is clicked, the scan count increases by one.  Once the patron is through saving images, clicking the “Finish” button on the Scan Count box will finalize the multipage file.

 

IV.             Rewinding Microfilm or Cartridge film

 

The film can be rewound using the Motorized Roll Film control in the traditional manner.  To rewind the film even more quickly, pull the carriage all the way forward and double-click the button on the very left of the Motorized Roll Film control.

 

 

V.                Advanced Tips

 

A:  “Setup Window” icon:  The setup window allows staff to change various settings in the PowerScan software.  For example, it is used to create the preprogrammed settings for the different media types and controls which icons appear for each setting.  Currently, each setting has all of the relevant icons available, so staff should not have to access this menu frequently.

 

If staff should need to adjust these settings, here’s how to do so:

 

Upon clicking the “Setup Window” icon, the user will be prompted for a password.  Enter “1234”.  Once this password has been entered, a window labeled “Setup” with the current settings will appear.  The window contains the following areas:

 

1.  Toolbar:  This area lists which icons appear for the current preprogrammed setting. 

a.  If a new icon needs to be added due to a software update, highlight that function in the “Available Controls” list and click the plus sign.  This control will now appear in the “Selected Controls” list.

b.  To remove an icon from the setting, highlight that function in the “Selected Controls” list and click the minus sign.

 

2.  Scan:  This section lists the path to which scans will be saved and the file format in which scans will save.  Since the software allows the user to choose these settings when saving (using “Scan to Drive #1”), there should be no need to adjust this information.

 

3.  Options:  This section allows the administrator to choose whether the Roll Film control appears, whether to allow the user the “Save As” option, whether to display English or metric measurements and English or Japanese language.  It also offers a “Secure Screen” option, which will prevent patrons from accessing other programs when using the designated ScanPro computer.

 

4.  Fit-to-page size:  This section specifies what paper size the printer will use.  Currently, this is set at 8 x 10.5 inches, so that the software will print the image with a half-inch border.

 

5.  Print offset:  When enabled, this area will allow the user to specify different margins.  For now, the border specified in the Fit-to-page size option should suffice.

 

In order to save new settings, you will need to add the “Save Settings” icon to the “Selected Controls” following the instructions above under “Toolbar”.  After doing so, click “OK”.  Next, click the “Save Settings” icon and save the new settings under the name for whichever media type you would like to be affected.  Finally, go back into the set-up window and remove the “Save Settings” icon from the “Selected Controls”, as patrons should have no need to save settings.  Doing this will disable the icon when the preprogrammed setting is restored.