Colour-Science Q-Enhancer

 

 

 

Introduction 

 

Q-Enhancer is a fully automatic solution for image enhancement and printer profiling built for high volume digital production environments. The Q-Enhancer system helps to achieve standardized quality for digital printing which is independent of the printer type. It helps the lab to fully control the digital production process without any doubts on the quality side.

 

 

Q-Enhancer features:

 

•  Fully automatic unattended image processing

•  Automatic i2e image enhancement including

   ABE - Adaptive Brightness and Contrast Enhancement

   ACE - Adaptive Color Enhancement (including single channel film statistics if used for film scanners)

   SHE - Shadow and Highlight Enhancement

   MCE - Memory Color Enhancement

   LSE  - Local Sharpness Enhancement (for example: remove grain in the sky but sharpen vegetation)

   ENR - Edge preserving anisotropic Noise Reduction

   ICC  - ICC input and output profiling

   ARER- Automatic Red Eye Reduction using face detection

•  ICC profiling

•  Fast image processing using multi-threading technology

•  Multiple processing channels

•  Master settings for different products, or channel settings for each output device can be defined

•  Special image processing mode for negative film scanners. In this mode Q-Enhancer is able to process 12-16bit raw images and convert them to standard 8bit images. In this mode also a statistical order analysis is possible.

 

Latest Q-Enhancer release:

Download the newest Q-Enhancer Version 6.0.7 (7 Mb) >>>

 

latest changes:

•  Extensions and bug fixes related to the JRF (Job Request Files) handling.

•  Q-Enhancer now also sets private Adobe Photoshop resolution tags and not only the normal Exif tags.
 

 

Older Q-Enhancer versions:

Download Q-Enhancer Version 5.0.5 (7 Mb) >>>

Download Q-Enhancer Version 4 (7.5 Mb) >>>

Download Q-Enhancer Version 3 (8 Mb) >>>

 

 

New features in Version 6.0

• Based on I2e library version 07 (see i2e library version history).

 

New features in Version 5.0

·         Very efficient anisotropic noise removal function.

·         Support for JRF Job Request Files. These JRF files are used in many Editorial systems. Q-Enhancer can be controlled with JRF files to enhance, rotate, noise filter and crop images.

 

New features in Version 4.0

·         New licencing model. Version 4 is a major upgrade and you need a new licence key to run it. The price for a new major upgrade key is 20% from the price of your version.

·         Q-Enhancer can now read and write CMYK images. Also ICC profiling works with CMYK images.

·         You can now define if CMYK images should be processed or skipped.

·         You can define a image name prefix or suffix for the enhanced images. This way it is possible to save original and enhanced images together in the same folder.

·         Q-Enhancer now also recognises images if they do not have a standard extension like .jpg.

·         We have made a new Windows Vista compatible Q-Enhancer installer. ICC profiles, manuals and input/output folders are now placed in the "My Document" folder, because Vista programs have normally no write permission to the Windows "program" folder.

 

Technical brochure on digital print workflow (Pdf 160kb) >>>

 

 

Q-Enhancer versions

 

(Please ask for prices)

 

•  Q-Enhancer entry edition
(fully automatic multi channel image enhancement and ICC color management for productions of up to 2’500 images per day)
 

•  Q-Enhancer standard edition
(fully automatic multi channel image enhancement and ICC color management for productions of up to 5’000 images per day)
 

•  Q-Enhancer professional edition
(fully automatic multi channel image enhancement and ICC color management for productions of up to 10’000 images per day)
 

•  Q-Enhancer multiprocessor server edition
The server versions provide fully automatic multi channel image enhancement and ICC color management. The throughput of the server version is easily scalable using the master-slave concept. The slave Q-enhancer versions can be installed distributed on many PC's but all working on the same processing channel. On a fast PC the server edition can process up to 100’000 images per day or up to 5000 images per hour. This is enough to feed several printers. The multiprocessor server version is used to feed high speed photo printers like the Imaging Solutions Cyra Fastprint with a throughput of 10’000 or 20’000 prints per hour.

 

Example of a digital print workflow with Q-Enhancer image enhancement and printer profiling

 

The following diagram shows you the general setup of the system with two different printing channels. One channel is for amateur work with image enhancement. The other channel is for professional work.

 

 

 

 

Q-Print automated printer ICC profiling and monitoring

 

When setting up an image enhancement system with Q-Enhancer you should consider using Q-Print for a fully automatic printer profiling. With other software (e.g. GretagMacbeth Profile Maker) you cannot generate and validate profiles fully automatically and any manual operations can introduce errors. With Q-Print the operator has to print a color test pattern on two 10x15 (4x6”) prints on all the printers. These prints are fed into the GretagMacbeth iCColor spectrometer. Q-Print will then automatically update the profiles used by Q-Enhancer for every printer. The new profiles are also checked for errors against historical data. This allows you to be 100% sure that the profile you have produced is good for production. Q-Print will also monitor the printer and warn you if the detected color deviations exceed a certain limit.

To learn more about color management and image enhancement in digital photo-printing workflows download the following is&t paper: IS&Tpaper (pdf) >>>