LaserSoft Imaging
Encyclopedia
LaserSoft Imaging AG is a software developer designing software such as SilverFast
for scanners
and digital camera
s. The company's headquarters are located in Kiel
, Germany
, 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) north of Hamburg
, and another office in Sarasota, Florida
, United States
.
on the Macintosh
. It was the first company to distribute video digitizers, such as Pixelogic's 'ProViz' and Truvel's 'TrueScan', the first professional color scanner for the Macintosh
, which was first shown at Hannover trade fair CeBIT
in 1988, to which LaserSoft Imaging was invited by Apple Computer
.
in several professional journals.
In 1990 Hell Graphics, the world's leading drum scanner developer in Kiel
, hired him as an independent consultant to keep up with the rapidly proceeding desktop technologies. In 1991 LaserSoft Imaging became a registered GmbH and moved into a large Prepress
house to help in setting up color reproduction on the desktop and to link Chromacom systems to Macintosh Computers
.
With RipLink LaserSoft Imaging presented a system to link major prepress
systems, like Hell, Scitex and Crosfield to Macintosh
. The distribution of leafscanners started the chapter of high-end scanners on the desktop. LaserSoft Imaging consulted Leaf, Canon, Sony
, Seiko and others regarding desktop high end color. LaserSoft Imaging also was involved in the development of the Photone Prepress
, after the product had gone through its infant stages.
In 1994 LaserSoft Imaging started the development of SilverFast
, which was first presented in its early stages at CeBIT
1995. Version 2.0 was demonstrated at CeBIT
1996, version 3.0 was released in December 1996, version 4.0 in 1998.
The second office opened in Sarasota, Florida
in 1997.
version 5.0 in 2000, version 6.0 in 2002, version 6.5 in 2006 ant the latest version 6.6 in 2008. LaserSoft Imaging changed the company into a public corporation (Aktiengesellschaft
) in 2001; the founder is the sole shareholder.
Today, LaserSoft Imaging has implemented scan software for over 300 scanners for Mac OS 9
, Mac OS X
and Microsoft Windows
98, 2000, XP, Vista. In the beginning LaserSoft Imaging's software was mainly distributed in Germany
, but now, with its international and multi-platform solutions, SilverFast
is distributed globally through distributors as well as world-wide bundle agreements with manufacturers such as Canon, HP, Seiko Epson
, Cruse, Leica Camera AG, Microtek
, Nikon
, Pacific Image Electronics, Pentacon GmbH
, PFU/Quato, Plustek, Samsung
, and Umax
.
The company also supports high-end scanners such as the Heidelberg
(Linotype) Topaz, Tango, Nexscan, and Chromagraph (3300 and 3400). LaserSoft Imaging's SilverFast was awarded "best color management software of the year 2008" by the European Digital Press Association (EDP). The award was given for improving the dynamic range
of most scanners
with its Multi-Exposure feature and for automatic creation of ICC profile
s. The Fogra came to a similar conclusion after testing LaserSoft Imaging's IT8
targets and SilverFast's colour management system in 2009 by attesting full conformity to the strict ISO norm 12641. The HDRi raw data format
was also developed in 2009. By adding the RAW data of the infrared channel to the usual RAW data it contains any readable image information for later post processing.
see also: SilverFast
SilverFast
SilverFast is software for scanning and image processing, including photos, documents and slides, developed by LaserSoft Imaging.- History :...
for scanners
Image scanner
In computing, 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. Common examples found in offices are variations of the desktop scanner where the document is placed on a glass...
and digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s. The company's headquarters are located in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) north of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and another office in Sarasota, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
1986 - 1990
LaserSoft Imaging was founded in spring 1986 by the physicist Karl-Heinz Zahorsky, the president of the company today. LaserSoft Imaging became an early adopter of color- and image processingImage processing
In electrical engineering and computer science, image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as a photograph or video frame; the output of image processing may be either an image or, a set of characteristics or parameters related to the image...
on the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
. It was the first company to distribute video digitizers, such as Pixelogic's 'ProViz' and Truvel's 'TrueScan', the first professional color scanner for the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, which was first shown at Hannover trade fair CeBIT
CeBIT
CeBIT is the world's largest and most international computer expo. CeBIT is held each year on the world's largest fairground in Hanover, Germany, and is a barometer of the state of the art in information technology...
in 1988, to which LaserSoft Imaging was invited by Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
.
1990 - 2000
Karl-Heinz Zahorsky published many articles about image processingImage processing
In electrical engineering and computer science, image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as a photograph or video frame; the output of image processing may be either an image or, a set of characteristics or parameters related to the image...
in several professional journals.
In 1990 Hell Graphics, the world's leading drum scanner developer in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, hired him as an independent consultant to keep up with the rapidly proceeding desktop technologies. In 1991 LaserSoft Imaging became a registered GmbH and moved into a large Prepress
Prepress
Prepress is the term used in the printing and publishing industries for the processes and procedures that occur between the creation of a print layout and the final printing...
house to help in setting up color reproduction on the desktop and to link Chromacom systems to Macintosh Computers
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
.
With RipLink LaserSoft Imaging presented a system to link major prepress
Prepress
Prepress is the term used in the printing and publishing industries for the processes and procedures that occur between the creation of a print layout and the final printing...
systems, like Hell, Scitex and Crosfield to Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
. The distribution of leafscanners started the chapter of high-end scanners on the desktop. LaserSoft Imaging consulted Leaf, Canon, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Seiko and others regarding desktop high end color. LaserSoft Imaging also was involved in the development of the Photone Prepress
Prepress
Prepress is the term used in the printing and publishing industries for the processes and procedures that occur between the creation of a print layout and the final printing...
, after the product had gone through its infant stages.
In 1994 LaserSoft Imaging started the development of SilverFast
SilverFast
SilverFast is software for scanning and image processing, including photos, documents and slides, developed by LaserSoft Imaging.- History :...
, which was first presented in its early stages at CeBIT
CeBIT
CeBIT is the world's largest and most international computer expo. CeBIT is held each year on the world's largest fairground in Hanover, Germany, and is a barometer of the state of the art in information technology...
1995. Version 2.0 was demonstrated at CeBIT
CeBIT
CeBIT is the world's largest and most international computer expo. CeBIT is held each year on the world's largest fairground in Hanover, Germany, and is a barometer of the state of the art in information technology...
1996, version 3.0 was released in December 1996, version 4.0 in 1998.
The second office opened in Sarasota, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in 1997.
2000 - 2010
LaserSoft Imaging released SilverFastSilverFast
SilverFast is software for scanning and image processing, including photos, documents and slides, developed by LaserSoft Imaging.- History :...
version 5.0 in 2000, version 6.0 in 2002, version 6.5 in 2006 ant the latest version 6.6 in 2008. LaserSoft Imaging changed the company into a public corporation (Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
) in 2001; the founder is the sole shareholder.
Today, LaserSoft Imaging has implemented scan software for over 300 scanners for Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
98, 2000, XP, Vista. In the beginning LaserSoft Imaging's software was mainly distributed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, but now, with its international and multi-platform solutions, SilverFast
SilverFast
SilverFast is software for scanning and image processing, including photos, documents and slides, developed by LaserSoft Imaging.- History :...
is distributed globally through distributors as well as world-wide bundle agreements with manufacturers such as Canon, HP, Seiko Epson
Seiko Epson
, commonly known as Epson, is a Japanese technology company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers, information and imaging related equipment...
, Cruse, Leica Camera AG, Microtek
Microtek
Microtek International Inc. is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of digital imaging products and other consumer electronics. Among its current product line are Microtek branded plasma and LCD TVs, LCD flat panel monitors, LCD and DLP projectors, and digital cameras as well as their flagship line of...
, Nikon
Nikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
, Pacific Image Electronics, Pentacon GmbH
Pentacon
Pentacon is the company name of a once-important camera manufacturer in Dresden, Germany.The name Pentacon is derived from the brand Contax of Zeiss Ikon Kamerawerke in Dresden and Pentagon, as a Pentaprism for Single-Lens Reflex cameras was for the first time developed in Dresden...
, PFU/Quato, Plustek, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, and Umax
Umax
UMAX Technologies is a manufacturer of computer products, including scanners, mice, and flash drives, based in Taiwan. The company also uses the Yamada and Vaova brand names.-History:...
.
The company also supports high-end scanners such as the Heidelberg
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG is a German precision mechanical engineering company with head offices in Heidelberg . It is a manufacturer of offset printing presses sold globally. The company has a worldwide market share of more than 47% in this area and is the largest global manufacturer of...
(Linotype) Topaz, Tango, Nexscan, and Chromagraph (3300 and 3400). LaserSoft Imaging's SilverFast was awarded "best color management software of the year 2008" by the European Digital Press Association (EDP). The award was given for improving the dynamic range
Exposure range
In photography, exposure range may refer to any of several types of dynamic range:* The Light sensitivity range of photographic film, paper, or digital camera sensors.* The luminosity range of a scene being photographed....
of most scanners
Scanners
Scanners is a 1981 science-fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan...
with its Multi-Exposure feature and for automatic creation of ICC profile
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...
s. The Fogra came to a similar conclusion after testing LaserSoft Imaging's IT8
IT8
IT8 is a set of American National Standards Institute 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 Technologies Standards in 1994.-Standards List:The following is a...
targets and SilverFast's colour management system in 2009 by attesting full conformity to the strict ISO norm 12641. The HDRi raw data format
HDRi (data format)
The HDRi data format is a 64bit or 32bit data format for saving RAW data of HDR scans including infrared data developed by LaserSoft Imaging.- Data format :- Description :...
was also developed in 2009. By adding the RAW data of the infrared channel to the usual RAW data it contains any readable image information for later post processing.
2010 - today
SilverFast version 8.0 was released in fall 2011. As a completely new development SilverFast 8 features the WorkflowPilot, which is a kind of wizrad that guides the user in the correct order through all processing steps required for his workflow, thus avoiding errors in the handling. SilverFast 8 is capable of multitasking, has a customizable graphical user interface and runs on Windows and natively on Mac OS X. SilverFast 8 is not yet available for all scanners, individual models are adapted one by one. Version 8 of image editing software SilverFast HDR (Studio) is currently in development. In October 2011, a public pre-release version has been deployed.Products
The Company's products can be classified in four different categories :- SilverFast SE / Ai / Ai Studio (Scanner Software)
- SilverFast DC SE / DC Pro / DC Pro Studio (Digital Camera Software)
- SilverFast HDR / HDR Studio (48 Bit Image Processing Software)
- SilverFast Archive Suite / Archive Suite SE (Archiving Solution with Color Management System)
- SilverFast PrintTao (Printer Software)
see also: SilverFast
SilverFast
SilverFast is software for scanning and image processing, including photos, documents and slides, developed by LaserSoft Imaging.- History :...
- LaserSoft Imaging is also manufacutring reflective and transparent IT8IT8IT8 is a set of American National Standards Institute 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 Technologies Standards in 1994.-Standards List:The following is a...
-targets, KodachromeKodachromeKodachrome is the trademarked brand name of a type of color reversal film that was manufactured by Eastman Kodak from 1935 to 2009.-Background:...
-targets since 2008.
Literature
- Taz Tally, Ph.D. SilverFast - The Official Guide. Sybex, 2003. ISBN 978-0782141979
- Taz Tally, Ph.D. SilverFast - Das offizielle Buch. Mitp-Verlag, 2004. ISBN 978-3826615214
- Sascha Steinhoff: Scanning negatives and slides : digitizing your photographic archive - Rocky Nook, 2007. ISBN 978-1933952017