The VueScan Bible: Everything You Need to Know for Perfect Scanning Paperback – June 28, 2011

I am slowly reading the book prior to starting a large conversion project converting a lifetime of color slides to digital format. So far the book is providing all the information required prior to starting the project.

I recently upgraded my Mac computer to OS 10.8.2, which I had put off because I knew my old Nikon scanning software would no longer worth with the new OS. I downloaded the trial version of VueScan, which seemed to work, but I wanted more assurance regarding the details of software use after I payed for the full Professional version. I will note that I tend to read manuals fairly thoroughly for software I've never used, even though I have extensive film and paper scanning experience; sometimes a small overlooked detail can cause big problems.The VueScan Bible is a good reference for understanding the scanning process, how to set up the software to do scanning, details about the various features, and answering questions on why or why not a user might want to select certain options. I ordered the Kindle version, and had VueScan active while I read through the book. The book covers not just film scanners but also flat-bed scanners, though my interest is solely film scanning. The VueScan Bible is particularly useful because VueScan menus are not static, but dynamic depending on options selected. Though I didn't need to access all options, the book covered all the features I used and needed, as far as I can tell.Problems are minor. There are indications that some information in the book is outdated (for example, try finding a Kodachrome IT8 color target used to profile your scanner; limited availability and very expensive), and I think some illustrations are 'out of sync' with the text. There are places where the details are too much, others where probably not enough. I would have liked a step-by-step process laid out for 'how to scan negative film', 'how to scan slide film', etc., perhaps too much to ask for a reference on software that covers a multitude of scanners. But the information is there if you take time to look for it, and I came away with confidence that I had my scanner properly configured when I finished the book.If you're the type that prefers to just get started and find your way through trial-and-error the VueScan Bible will probably be of limited usefulness. For those who want a verified process for scanning, the VueScan Bible will be a good reference source. The scans I am getting using VueScan are comparable, perhaps better, than those I got using the software that came with my Nikon CoolScan IV ED film scanner.

First let me offer that scanning is not an intuitive skill. There enough settings to blow your mind, lots of terminology you've never seen before, and very little documentation that makes sense to the new user.I have been using a Nikon Coolscan V ED for family slides and negatives for five years. I painfully taught myself Nikon Scan software but always knew that there was so much I didn't know. I bought Vuescan when I upgraded to a Windows 7 64 bit computer and Nikon provided no 64 bit drivers to allow its software to work. I used Vuescan some but struggled with the transition, and instead found some online sites where clever people taught me how to create my own Nikon Scan driver. With Windows 8 coming out, and with relatives still finding pictures for me to scan, I figured it was time to fully cut my ties to Nikon Scan and learn a modern software.So by the time I bought this book I was pretty good with scanning but not with Vuescan. For me this bible was a page-turner, like a good novel, with lots of "aha" moments. I am learning to use Vuescan, I can now see why it is superior to Nikon Scan, and I am picking up skills I never had before. I am certain that if I had this book when I first started scanning I would have saved a tremendous amount of time and had better scans. I particularly like that it gets you started by providing recommended settings for various scenarios. It also provides explanations for the various alternatives, and will be a good continuing reference to re-read as my skills get better. The questions for me are whether I need to go back and re-scan all my old work, and whether I need to buy Steinhoff's other book. Props to Ed Hamrick for creating and supporting this wonderful software, at a reasonable price, and to Sascha Steinhoff for teaching me what is behind the curtain.

VueScan is very good software, but the help screens are woefully thin. They'll tell you how to start using VueSCan, but without something like the VueSCan Bible, you'd never get the best out of the software or your scanner. This book fixes that problem - it's the "missing manual", and in this case the manual really is missing. The first few chapters describe scanning in general; discuss color management in reasonably clear terms and without going deeply into theory; and tell you how to set up VueScan for different types of media -- slides, color negatives, color & B&W prints, etc.My interest is in getting scans of prints on a Canoscan 9000F Mark II and scans of color negatives using a Nikon Coolscan V. The VueScan Bible is just what I needed. In addition to its thorough discussion of how to scan prints and film, the book refers specifically to the Nikon Coolscan film scanners and to the Canoscan, so if you own either one, you'll get an extra bit of help. The book is about as clear as a software manual can be, which is to say that there are a few times when you have to re-read something in order to get it -- or maybe even re-re-read it, although that's rare.The last half of the book is devoted to explaining what all of the menu tabs and option in VueSCan do. You don't need to know all of that, but it's very nice to have it all there so you can get to the parts you do need to know for your particular application -- prints, slides, negatives, documents, etc.[If you're reading this because you're thinking of getting VueScan, well, do it! The software recognizes just about any scanner on earth and it adapts its menus to your particular scanner. If you have more than one scanner, it lets you work with the same sensible, comprehensive interface on all of them.]

Excellent guide to using VueScan, methodical and sensible. I found it easy to understand and full of helpful tips. Also useful advice on how to balance time to spend against quality of scan needed. I didn't know how to save settings for different tasks until I read this, and now I know how to take full advantage of all the features of VueScan which of course you don't have to learn differently for another scanner. The initial sections on colour space and gamut explained this better than anything else I'd read before. Useful pointers to sources of further advice eg calibration targets, but with a practical approach so that you don't have to over-complicate things if you don't need to. Final sections provide a comprehensive guide to all possible menus and options. I already had good results with century-old family black and white prints, some decaying. Although this edition is a few years old, the author still kept the promise on the jacket and answered a question from me, but you have to find him via the RookyNook website now as the ScanGuru site had closed.

I am an experienced scanner of photographs, but found myself using Vuescan for the first time. It is significantly different from other scanning programs, and at first seems hard to understand. You need to persist, though, because once you learn its ways, it is both powerful, and strangely, rather easy to use. You need help to get going, though, as the official information is brief and not well organised. Hence this book. I'm not sure if it was originally written in English or translated from German, but either way the style takes a little bit of getting used to. Once you are attuned to that, it's really very helpful. The first half is a tutorial on scanning for quality, using Vuescan. Necessarily, the author begins at the beginning so I was able to speed-read in places, though even experienced users should not skip this part entirely. The second half goes through all the menu options in detail, not just explaining what they do, but recommending the best combinations of settings for different tasks. Overall the book was very helpful in getting me up to speed faster than I would have done on my own, and very probably better. With its help I now regard Vuescan as one of the most useful and versatile scanning tools I have found. I have the kindle edition which is much cheaper than print. It is a bit more difficult to navigate a than a book would be, and the illustrations, even viewed on a modern iPad, are not clear enough to make points they are supposed to make. However, the book doesn't really need them, so I think most people would be happy with the Kindle version on iPad. I tried it on a real Kindle too, but found that the book really benefits from the larger screen of the iPad, far more than a novel does.

VueScan is an odd piece of software - it works with just about every scanner, takes full advantage of each scanner's facilities, and is constantly being improved. But ... its help system and online manual is most kindly described as "minimalist".As others have said, "The VueScan Bible" is the manual that should have but did not come with the software. The book author has had assistance from the VueScan author, Ed Hamrick, and provides a much more detailed description of the various functions as well as advice on how to use them.However, "The VueScan Bible" is not entirely up-to-date, not least because the Hamricks are constantly changing the program, especially in respect of some of the more esoteric functions. Generally, the further you move beyond relatively routine scanning tasks - the point at which detailed explanations begin to become more valuable - the less information it provides.More positively, Steinhoff is not afraid to take a slightly critical line and admit that VueScan has its deficiencies, or to recommend that you use a different application for some tasks. For example, he suggests that black-and-white prints should be scanned in full colour and then processed in Photoshop, which was exactly the conclusion I had reached myself through experimentation, before receiving the book.In summary, recommended to all VueScan users, but don't set your expectations too high!

I am not the worlds expert in matters relating to technology, and so was quite pleased when this book launched, having taken my time to read it through I now feel far more confident in downloading the software to allow me to begin the mammoth task of digitising a lifetimes collection of negatives and tranparencies, some dating back to 1965. I have read on many occasions that Vuescan is the must have software for compatibility with the majority of scanners, and I only hope that the software lives up to my expectations, the book certainly gives me the added confidence to take the scanning bull by the horns so to speak, and it makes for more confidence to have a step by step guide easily available when dipping ones toe into the water that is photographic scanning for the first time.

I was interested in this book in Kindle version as it is a lot cheaper than the paper version but was a bit wary as no-one else had mentioned how well it works as a kindle book. I have two devices, a Nexus 10 (Android 10 inch tablet) and a Kindle Keyboard.Nexus 10. Yes you do get nice colour images which at first appear far too small on the screen. If you pinch or try to zoom the text changes size but the images stay far too small. You can, however, double tap on the image and it gets blown up to full screen. Most of the images are ok when blown up but there appears to be some variability in the quality of the images. If you use the "click to look inside" on the amazon web site, kindle version, and look at the image just under "Try before you buy" within the book you can see the quality of the image. I think this is the poorest, most unusable, with the rest being like the one in the "Advanced / More Full display of all options" section which are passable.Kindle keyboard. Images do come through but obviously in black and white. If you use the cursor to move up onto the image you get a little magnifying glass and a single press on the ok button (the big square one) enlarges the image to fit to screen. Often the text is not quite readable. A second press of the ok button allows you to select 150%, 200%, 300% and actual size. At 150% the images were bigger than the screen, just, but were readable. On the kindle it is a bit more awkward than on the 10" tablet but still readable. Presumably later versions of kindle will do the same and possible give you better contrast.So my 3 stars is only based on the usability of this as a kindle book with respect of the images. It is ok but not perfect. As you will probably be using the book in conjunction with the software itself, it is not a show stopper.