We Used the KODAK Photo CD Acquire Module to Import Base Images into ADOBE PHOTOSHOP Software

The KODAK Photo CD Acquire Module is one of several tools that Kodak has made available for accessing the images on Photo CD in a desktop computing environment. See About Photo CD for more information.

The Equipment We Used

We did the imaging work on a MACINTOSH PPC7100 with a SONY CPD-1730 monitor. The monitor was adjusted to a gamma of 1.8, and a white point between 6500 and 9300 degrees Kelvin. Reproducing that display environment exactly is the key to "seeing" the images exactly as we produced them. Of course, we expect that all kinds of computers and displays will be used to view the images. Practically speaking then, there are two ways you can optimize the viewing of the images:

  1. Change your monitor: Adjust the monitor to gamma 1.8 and white point 9300, which will approximate the display we used when adjusting brightness, contrast, and color
  2. Change the image: Use image editing software to adjust the contrast, brightness, and color balance of the image to best suit your monitor, and its particular gamma, whitepoint, and brightness

ADOBE Photoshop software includes a control tool for adjusting monitor gamma and white point. For more info on monitor gamma, see the paper by Robert W. Berger, Monitor Gamma , and the paper by Charles Poynton, entitled GammaFAQ, (offered in .pdf format as well as text).

Settings on the Acquire Module: Use the Various Look Up Tables (LUT) to Optimize Your Transform

Some Photo CD enabled software provides only one YCC to RGB transform-- and is optimized for TV viewing. Generally this results in fine images, but can sometimes fail to best represent the full quality that is available from Photo CD. The short story is this: Poor results in the display of images from a Photo CD can raise doubts about the scan quality when the culprit is, in fact, not the scan quality, but the way the data is rebuilt from the Image Pac file (PHOTOYCC color space) into an RGB image.

The Acquire Module provides a selection of transforms. You can select from the various settings in the Acquire Module's dialog box. A thumbnail display gives a rough indication of the image characteristics that will result from the use of each LUT. Simply click through the list until you see one that delivers the best looking thumbnail. This approach is an easy and fast way to roughly optimize the transform quality.

Where to Go for More...

For a more detailed exploration of the imaging characteristics of Photo CD, refer to Kodak's series of white papers "Fully Utilizing Photo CD Images," including:

A review of the above articles will demonstrate why there is no short story to optimizing digital image quality. Digital imaging is similar to chemical based imaging in this regard-- there are many variables that contribute to the final result. Understanding and controlling the variables is the best path to satisfaction.