Scanning Made Real Apply your skills & implement your workflow!
Course Overview Project Planning Guiding Principles & Strategies Phase 1- Setting the Stage Phase 2- Scoping the Project Phase 3- Implementing the Workflow Hand s On Session Color Management Photoshop Tools Sample Workflow for Preservation Scanning Online Resources
Update Plan Select Archive Copyright Store Prepare DRM Publicize Project Overview Digitize Process Assess Metadata Deliver Interface System
Guiding Principles A well-planned project will have a significant impact on the efficiency of your workflow and operation Document all aspects of the project in central space accessible to all Be realistic in your estimates for timeline & budget Establish clear lines of communication Define roles & responsibilities, but avoid single points of failure Secure institutional support for preservation projects before starting
Phase I- Set the Stage Define Goals, including Desired outcomes for source material Functional requirements for digital assets Determine selection criteria Assess copyright Assess physical characteristics of material Define audience; establish use cases Determine preservation plan Secure funding
Define Goals of Project What are the benefits to having the material digitally available? Is your main goal to make the material more widely available (access)? Are you looking to replace or supplement originals (preservation)? Are you looking for both access & preservation?
Define outcomes Desired outcomes for the source materials Do you want to limit future access to source materials? Do the objects need conservation treatment? Functional requirements for the digital reproductions What kind of access do you need to provide to the material? How will the material be used?
Different goals/outcomes determine scope of digitization project, for example: Access-only digitization may lower scanning requirements require less long-term planning (depending on project) lower overall costs of project Preservation digitization will require a robust archiving system may require conservation treatment may increase your scanning requirements (higher dpi, etc) will require institutional support
Determine Selection Criteria Support learning, teaching, and research Increased accessibility Exhibitions/publications Space savings Promoting collections Support new forms of use Preservation Reduce wear and tear Reformatting tool
Assess Copyright Copyright can derail digitization Investigate public domain status and calculate ROI on seeking permissions
Copyright Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the U.S. http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/hirtl e_public_domain.htm Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov/records/ Copyright Renewal Records http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~lesk/copyrenew.html WATCH File http://tyler.hrc.utexas.edu/
Assess physical characteristics Assess physical collection; handling requirements; conservation requirements Determine format (slides/ negatives/monographs, etc) Color Size Quality (will influence dpi)
Assess collection metadata Any existing metadata that can be utilized? Collection or item level data? What are the discovery and search requirements? What schema will you use?
Define audience Consider possible use cases Explore delivery options based on user needs Explore metadata options based on user needs
Determine preservation strategy Long-term preservation - Continued access to digital materials, or at least to the information contained in them, indefinitely. Medium-term preservation - Continued access to digital materials beyond changes in technology for a defined period of time but not indefinitely. Short-term preservation - Access to digital materials either for a defined period of time while use is predicted but which does not extend beyond the foreseeable future and/or until it becomes inaccessible because of changes in technology.
Secure Funding Possible sources: grants, foundations, special interest groups Consider long-term maintenance costs Establish institutional commitment beforehand
Phase 1 Documentation Goals / Outcomes Selection Criteria Rights Physical condition (assessment) Metadata assessment Audience / Use cases Preservation Strategy Funding
Phase 2: Scope the Project Determine material requirements, including conservation needs Set Imaging Parameters Define Master vs. Access Images Determine Quality Control Metrics Determine Storage Requirements Set Metadata Requirements Determine Delivery Method Establish Preservation Plan Project Assessment
Preparation Conservation Disbinding Tagging Organizing physical volumes, slides, etc. Safe handling and storage directions Metadata analysis
Digitization Benchmark image requirements align technical requirements to project goals Resolution / PPI-DPI Bit-depth Threshold Color Space / Color Profiles File Formats Compression Techniques Filenaming
Image Processing Master vs Access Files Dpi Color space File formats OCR Derivative creation Static or multi-resolution formats On-the-fly conversion Batching
Scanning methodology Capture device One size doesn t fit all- flatbed, overhead, bound book, slide/film scanner Scanner settings Document type Exposure (auto exposure or no?) Quality ICE or ROC? Color management (on or off?)
Quality Control Key factors in image quality assessment: resolution color and tone overall appearance Procedures Consistent approach Defined scope and methodology Control QC environment Automated & Manual Early detection important
Define Metadata Parameters Metadata types Descriptive, structural, administrative, preservation, technical Metadata standards e.g., Dublin Core (DC), Open Archives Initiative (OAI), Persistent URL (PURL), Encoded Archival Description (EAD), etc. Capitalize on existing metadata!
Determine Access Delivery options Mechanism Luna Insight, DLXS, DPubS, DSpace, Greenstone Levels of permission and access Search mechanism Out-of-the-box vs. customized platforms
Preservation Technical strategies Bit preservation Refreshing Migration Emulation, technology preservation, digital archeology Organization strategies Policies and best practices Technical and organizational infrastructure Funding and staffing Technology forecasting and risk assessment Securing institutional support!!
Determine Budget Conservation requirements Digitization costs Equipment/Software Collating/ organizing material Scanning QC Post-processing Storage Metadata Staff Software Project Management Staff Software Consider long-term maintenance costs
Determine Budget, cont. On average* One third of the effort will be project planning, preservation preparation, management, and oversight One third of the effort will be archival description and indexing One third of the effort will be the actual digitization The actual percentages of time spent on various activities will vary depending on the project * From Federal Agencies Digitization Guideline, Digitization Activities, Project Planning & Management Outline
Project Assessment Evaluation Plan for outcomes assessment Conduct usability and functional testing Conduct interface and robustness evaluation Refer back to original project goals
Phase 2 Documentation Material Preparation Digitization Settings Image Processing Quality Control Metrics & Methods Metadata Access Preservation Budget Assessment
Phase 3: Implement Workflow Coordinate Overlapping Processes for conservation, digitization, and metadata Assign roles & responsibilities Hardware & space considerations Establish digitization workflow Scanner settings Color Management Archiving Post-processing Quality Control Write training guides Scanning & Post-processing Quality Control
Workflow Coordination Not necessarily a linear process Allow for overlapping workflows for conservation, digitization, and metadata creation Determine rough flow of events (conservation-digitization-metadata), but allow for flexibility Establish contingency plans
Roles & Responsibilities Provide clear guidance to staff Defined job parameters Expectations for deliverables (time and quality) Avoid single points of failure Have back-ups for staff
Hardware Considerations Capture device One size doesn t fit all- flatbed, overhead, bound book, slide/film scanner Quality ICE or ROC? Color management devices Computer Memory & Speed Back-up for local drives Archiving Network Gigabit line
Space Considerations Temperature/humidity requirements Space for multiple devices allows for multitasking No windows near overhead devices (mixed lighting) Ability to turn off overhead lights
Establishing Digitization Workflow Set Scanner Settings Filenames Archiving methodology Color management Characterize scanners Calibrate monitors Photoshop Assign device profile/ Convert to working space Image adjustment (levels, curves) Image repair (clone tool, selection, layers) Batch processing
Archive Derivatives Prepare Material Determine & Document Benchmarks Quality Control 2 Determine Filenames Apply Photoshop Adj Digitization Workflow Calibrate/ Characterize Devices Convert to Working Space Assign Device Profile Archive Masters & CM target Quality Control 1 Scan
Create training guides Scanning guides should include: Capture device settings (auto-exposure,color management on/off, etc?) Dpi Color space Processing specs for master & derivative images Calibration methods Filenames Quality control Methodology/ frequency Image settings
Digitization strategies Batch / Automate as often as possible Quality Control early and often Benchmark for project goals Write effective training guides and keep them located next to scanning devices
Phase 3 Documentation Overall workflow plan with contingencies Roles & responsibilities Hardware & space requirements Digitization workflow & parameters Scanning & QC Guides
Sample Project Scenario Digitize collection of 2000 early 20 th century, fragile photographs from Rare Library for patron & faculty use in ARTstor
Phase 1 Goals: Source Material: Reduce handling /Preserve Functional Requirements: Zoom; Search; Export; Print Selection Criteria: Collection based Preservation-worthy Established faculty-need Copyright: Cleared (pre-1923) Material Assessment: Fragile/Special handling req. Conservation clearance Cyanotypes; Silver Gelatin Metadata Assessment: Collection-level metadata EAD finding aid Descriptions on back of photo Audience: Scholars; library patrons Use Cases: Slide Lectures Possible Faculty Publications Preservation: Long-term plan library assets in need of preservation combined with enduring access Assessment: Should involve faculty feedback & user testing Funding: Internal grants Sample Project Scenario Phase 2 Conservation: Treatment required Image Parameters: High resolution, 24 bit images TIFF masters with JP2 derivatives Color managed workflow Metadata requirements: Migration of existing data to VRA 4.0 w/ full search capabilities Quality Control: 100% QC Delivery: ARTstor Preservation needs: Storage with triple redundancy plan Premis metadata administrative/descriptive/technical Institutional policy Institutional support Phase 3 Personnel: Conservation specialist Scanning Tech Metadata specialist QC tech Project Manager Software/ Hardware: Flatbed scanner High Speed Computer High end monitors (x 2) Storage with back-up Adobe CS4 Suite Color management software Space considerations: Temperature/humidity controlled Workflow plan Conservation-imaging-meta Digitization workflow: Filenames: Collection prefix followed by sequential # Color management: Calibrate monitor Characterize scanner Workflow guides: QC Digitization Metadata Conservation
Part II- Hand s On
Archive Derivatives Prepare Material Determine & Document Benchmarks Quality Control 2 Determine Filenames Apply Photoshop Adj Digitization Workflow Calibrate/ Characterize Devices Convert to Working Space Assign Device Profile Archive Masters & CM target Quality Control 1 Scan
Color Management Basics In digital imaging systems, color management is the controlled conversion between the color representations of various devices, such as scanners, digital cameras, monitors, and computer printers. Necessary to ensure accurate color fidelity
Color management terms* Calibrate: The process of adjusting a device to known color conditions. Commonly done with devices that change color frequently, such as monitors (phosphors lose brightness over time) and printers (proofers and other digital printing devices can change output when colorant or paper stock is changed). Characterize- Measurement of device in relation to standard color target. This process creates a profile that describes the unique color conditions found on a particular device. ICC Device Profile- A file that describes how a particular device (e.g., monitor, scanner, printer, or proofer) reproduces color (i.e., its specific color space). Profiles can be either generic or custom. *From Adobe Solutions Tech Note
Implementing a Color Management System Color Targets MacBeth - best for manuscript material and silver gelatin prints Kodak Q13 - ideal when not utilizing color management system Kodak IT8 - best for contemporary photographs (color glossy paper) Software InCamera software for characterizing scanners Color Eyes Display Pro Device for monitor calibration
Creating a scanner profile You will need the following: Color target Installed Color Calibration Software, preferably InCamera Plug-In for Photoshop Scan Target in Photoshop Clean Scanner glass Turn off all automated color adjustment Place chart face down, handling only the edges Crop to edge of target Scan at high-resolution (600 dpi) Save as Targetname_date (macbeth_11_22_09.tif)
Creating a scanner profile, cont. Create the profile Open scanned target in Photoshop Clean image, removing any dust, etc Open InCamera in Photoshop : Filter/Picto/InCamera4.5 Adjust as necessary to fit squares in the middle of color patches. Click Ok Save file as Device_MB_Date.icc Using the profile Scan without any auto color adjustment Archive Master file with profile & target scan Assign profile & convert to working space for derivative images (See scanning manual for more information)
Photoshop Tools Tools to use: Levels & Curves (especially curves) Clone Stamp Unsharp mask Profile assignment/conversion Batch Processing Tools to avoid: Automated levels Brightness/contrast Sharpening
Sample Workflow for Preservation Master Turn off automated exposure, automated color, etc Capture raw file Can either capture with a kodak color chart or archive with profile & macbeth target Check white/gray/black values for consistency across channels (if scanning RGB) and tonal range Archive raw file; make adjustments in PS; archive adjusted file as well.
Online Resources Federal Agencies Digital Guideline: Excellent overview of digitization process & workflow http://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/stillimag es/documents/digactivities-fadgi-v1-20091104.pdf Jisc Digital Media Guides Cross-media advice to the creation of digital resources http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/
Listservs ImageLib Listserv http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/ima gelib.html Museum Computer Network Listserv http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman /listinfo/mcn-l