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Post by cats4jan on Aug 4, 2016 21:37:10 GMT
Like Rita, I can't wait to find out how this all ends. I'm sure out of ideas.
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frizzylee
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 170 
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by frizzylee on Aug 5, 2016 0:28:14 GMT
I just now compared some photos. When I scanned each photo I put it in a folder corresponding to the photo album it came from. There are three folders: Alaska, Flower, Hawaii.
Not knowing there was a problem I also duplicated (by copying and pasting)each folder and putting them on a flash drive.
I have randomly chosen six photos from each folder, then compared the results on the desktop folder version with the flash drive folder version. The results are identical, not surprisingly. In the Alaska album photos there are 4 photos showing the problem, 2 photos have no problem. Flower album photos have 3 problem photos, 3 no problem photos. Hawaii album photos have 3 problem photos and 3 no problem photos.
The photos from the Alaska and Flower albums were scanned using the EPSON XP850 Series. The Hawaii album was scanned using the HP Deskjet 3050 J610.
One other thing I must mention. While doing this comparison a message popped up on PSE14, "Could not complete your request because Photoshop Elements does not recognize this type of file." I'd opened that particular photo before without problem. I've had this message off and on when opening other photos not connected with the current scanned ones.
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Post by Andy on Aug 5, 2016 0:33:59 GMT
Just a thought - How much memory do you have on your computer? TIFF files can be very large, and I'm wondering if Elements is running low and memory and not correctly displaying the files.
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frizzylee
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 170
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by frizzylee on Aug 5, 2016 2:48:07 GMT
I have done scanning for these photos using an iMac OSX El Capitan v. 10.11.6. It has 8 GB of Memory.
I have also used a MacBook Pro OSX El Capitan v. 10.11.6. It has 4 GB of Memory.
The problem with some of the photos exists the same on both computers.
I use PSE14 editor on both computers.
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Post by Sepiana on Aug 5, 2016 3:37:08 GMT
frizzylee,
Sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread; I was at the Adobe forums checking the reports on scanning, TIFF files, Elements, etc. At this point I am getting more and more convinced it is an Elements issue and not one with your scanner or your iOS. The reports seem to center on the amount of RAM vs the size of the TIFF files as well as on a possible corrupted Preferences file. I believe we can rule out the latter. If it were a Preferences file being corrupted, I don’t think you would have the situation you describe -- some scanned TIFF files are OK when you open them in Elements; others are not.
When I got back to this thread, I noticed this post by Andy.
Just a thought - How much memory do you have on your computer? TIFF files can be very large, and I'm wondering if Elements is running low and memory and not correctly displaying the files.
Andy was one thought ahead of me. It really added to my thinking that it could be a RAM-related issue. You mentioned you had not encountered this problem before. I wonder if the problem has shown up because of the sheer amount of files being scanned now. There is no way to find out but to test the RAM theory. When one does troubleshooting, no stone should be left unturned.
Go to Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor>Preferences>Performance>Memory Usage and move the slider all the way to the right until Elements is allowed to use 100% of RAM. (NOTE: The default RAM amount available to Elements is 70%.) I would not suggest going to the maximum RAM amount (100%) if you had a 32-bit version of Elements. You have Elements 14, a 64-bit version. If the scanning problem disappears but you notice some problems with your computer outside Elements "territory", just go back and lower down the amount of RAM available to Elements in small increments (95%, 90%, etc.). The goal is to find the optimal amount -- one which will improve Elements performance without causing problems somewhere else.
If this doesn’t solve the problem and no one else comes forward with a solution, I strongly recommend you take the ball to the Adobe field -- post in either one of the Adobe forums below. You have a mammoth of a project and I believe you need timely expert advice.
forums.adobe.com/community/photoshop_elements
feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/categories/photoshop_family_photoshop_elements
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frizzylee
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 170
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by frizzylee on Aug 5, 2016 21:23:51 GMT
Reporting in about adjustment of Memory Usage. I first tried 80%, then 85%, 90% and finally 95%. None of it made any difference. Photos were still opening with same problems.
I am going to hop over to the two forums you recommended, Sepiana. The one with the photoshop_family_photoshop_elements interests me mainly because I have to think that someone else doing the same kind of thing I am doing must have run into this issue. In fact, anyone working with large amounts of photos automatically faces the same thing.
I was thinking that I could try scanning all the "potential" photos as jpg, work with those to see what the finals will actually be, then go back in and rescan the finals but as TIFF. Lot of work. ugh
My great thanks to everyone who was kind enough to help me through this. Although we know the exact answer hasn't been found yet, I am confident we will find it. Many factors have already been addressed in this discussion so I'm not starting from Ground Zero with the other sites.
I will post back whatever happens from here on and keep you updated.
Best wishes.
Pat aka frizzylee (my cat is named Frizzy, Jan :-)
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Post by Sepiana on Aug 5, 2016 21:53:26 GMT
frizzylee,
This has been quite a mystery! Hopefully Adobe will be able to help you. Good luck!
Once you have posted in their forum, would you please give us the link to your thread? In this way, we can learn how they handle this problem. Thanks! |
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Post by BuckSkin on Aug 5, 2016 23:37:13 GMT
Although I am far from even being remotely knowledgeable about this, let alone being an expert, were I in your boat, here are a few things I would do.
1. Download and install one of the many FREE open-source image editors and see if the problem carries over to them; one I highly recommend is RawTherapee.
2. Zip-file and e-mail to someone, OR load on a flash-drive and head over to the inlaws/neighbors, several of the problem images and also a few of the ones that have worked and see if their image editor will handle them.
3. Save some 600-ppi TIFF copies of non-scanned images, preferably from a different editor, or from your Elements, then outside of Elements move these image files onto a different drive, change their file-name, reload them into Elements and see what happens.
4. It could possible be your drive that is corrupting the files; we have a 1GB SD card from a little point & shoot that has been known to corrupt the bottom third of images much like the multi-colored pattern of some of those that you have shown; a drive can corrupt them in the same way.
5. Set the scanner to save jpegs and try a few to see what happens.
This won't help you fix your problem; but, another thing I recommend is up your save resolution to 1200-dpi.
Also, I highly recommend the book "Digital Restoration from Start to Finish" by Ctein; lots of good scanning information in that volume.
Also, if any of your photos are in those peel-and-stick so-called magnetic album pages, DO NOT remove the photos from the pages; remove the pages from the book and scan the entire page through the plastic.
If you peel the clear plastic away from the photo, the residue from the little adhesive stripes will have transferred onto the photos and stand out like a soar thumb in the scans.
I am anxious to see how this mystery plays out.
Thanks for reading; I hope some of my ramblings are of benefit.
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Post by BuckSkin on Aug 5, 2016 23:54:37 GMT
I was thinking that I could try scanning all the "potential" photos as jpg, work with those to see what the finals will actually be, then go back in and rescan the finals but as TIFF. Lot of work. ugh Were it me, while I already had the photos on the scanner bed, I would scan as BOTH, jpeg and TIFF; you can always delete the jpegs later if you don't want them on the drive. Honestly, 99% of people will never be able to tell the difference in the finished product between RAW, TIFF, and high-quality jpeg. Another recommendation: if you still have the negatives of any of these pictures, you can get a WHOLE LOT better scan from a negative than from a printed photo; there are negative scanning attachments for scanners and, even better, dedicated negative/slide "scanners" that photograph the negative and save the image to a standard SD card; these can be had for around $100; I have had my eye on this one: www.amazon.com/Wolverine-Mighty-20MP-Digital-Converter/dp/B00O46B7TY/ref=sr_1_3?s=office-electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1470441043&sr=1-3&keywords=negative+scannerThe more I think about your problem, the more I believe you have a drive that is corrupting your files; if that be the case, sometimes they may exhibit fine and the next time not; those examples you posted look to me like files corrupted by a drive. |
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Post by cats4jan on Aug 6, 2016 1:31:05 GMT
For your purposes, this is 100% true.
I have scanned in jpg only and when I printed my layouts created at 12x12 with 300 resolution (3600 pixels by 3600 pixels), the photos were clear as could be.
I can see that if you are preserving memories (and spending all that time scanning), you would want them in the best format for preserving and for editing, but in reality, hardly anyone will see any difference in your finished product. Especially the market you are creating your product for - family members who will be awestruck by the wonderful scrapbook and wouldn't know a TIFF from a jpg.
I believe the hullabaloo about quality loss when saving from jpg to jpg after editing is not an issue for almost everyone out there. It's only the few real experts that feel there is a difference.
You are making a digital scrapbook. You will be printing at one of the companies that do less than perfect printing - the quality of which only slightly rivals a decent calendar. The desktop printing industry has lessened our expectations of quality and most of us accept it for what it is. Lithography is a lost art - and who could afford that anyway - so, the age of beautifully printing items is gone anyway.
Thus, worrying about TIFF and RAW is overkill.
That being said - if the answer to your problem was simply that you need to scan as jpg, I would say - don't worry one bit, but then again - that doesn't seem to be the problem.
On a side note - if you scan at high quality jpg rather than TIFF, you will use a whole lot less hard drive space for storage -- and you won't need as much RAM when working with your photos in PSE.
I know I will get arguments from the professional photographers out there - but we are not talking about professional photography and prints here - we are talking about making a digital scrapbook at a company that does not have the highest quality printing equipment.
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frizzylee
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 170
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by frizzylee on Aug 6, 2016 20:38:53 GMT
NEWS!!
(And, Janice, you're going to be most interested in this. :-)
I decided to take one of the photos (I'll call it corrupted for simplicity's sake), one of the corrupted photos, from its original folder where it was scanned to, and duplicate it onto the desktop. I then opened it in Preview. As always, it looked good. I then chose Export and exported it to the desktop as a jpg. I then opened it using Photoshop Elements 14 Editor. It opened exactly as it should. No sign of anything amiss. I then opened several more corrupted photos from the folders they live in which means I was looking at photos from both scanners I used. They also opened with no problem.
My next step will be to take several photos, scan them as jpg's not TIFFs, and see what happens. I will report back.
Pat
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Post by cats4jan on Aug 6, 2016 21:08:49 GMT
Oh, Pat - I surely hope the answer is as simple as this. If all works well, it's time to put your worries to rest. I doubt you will ever figure out what happened. I hope getting past the problem is enough for you.
I wish that you can just move on to creation. I can't wait to see some of your heritage photos where they rightly belong - on scrapbook pages you can share with family and friends. I don't have a lot of old photos, but the pages I have created with those old photos are the ones I cherish most. I really want to see what you create.
Any Scrapbooking questions? I'd love to try and help.
Good luck
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frizzylee
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 170
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by frizzylee on Aug 6, 2016 22:33:56 GMT
I scanned four photos as usual, except I scanned them as jpg's. Then opened each one in Photoshop Elements 14 Editor. They opened with no trouble and there is no sign of the previous problem. So at least I have a work-around for the time being. It still doesn't explain why some open normally and others don't.
Basically, for what I am doing I agree with Janice and Buckskin. The person I have to please so far as clarity, color etc of these photos is me. I spend far more time editing video and when still photos like these are used I do the best I can to make them the best I can, but 4 seconds is average for the time a still image is on that screen. There are many other factors to be considered. (Unless showcasing a photographer's work is the video's subject.) I love doing the books using PSE because each page is a blank canvas where a person can create a whole world. How wonderful. I'll be okay with jpg's.
I do have one question about the jpg thing. High-quality jpg is mentioned. How do I recogize if I'm choosing regular jpg or high quality jpg?
So, long story short, I can keep on scanning but I would still like to know what is going on. So I have registered on the Photo Family site and will continue to try to find the answer. Should that happen I will post here. I will also give you the link to the thread if there is good information coming from it.
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Post by cats4jan on Aug 6, 2016 23:09:43 GMT
The way I check the quality is pixel size. My ultimate goal is to have a photo sized onto my layout that is equivalent to 300 resolution because for Scrapbooking purposes, everything is based on 300 resolution.
So, my amateur way of figuring out whether my photo is good quality is to divide my pixels by 300. (That gives me an idea of how large a photo will be on my 3600x3600 pixel project.)
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Post by Sepiana on Aug 6, 2016 23:40:02 GMT
NEWS!! (And, Janice, you're going to be most interested in this. :-) I decided to take one of the photos (I'll call it corrupted for simplicity's sake), one of the corrupted photos, from its original folder where it was scanned to, and duplicate it onto the desktop. I then opened it in Preview. As always, it looked good. I then chose Export and exported it to the desktop as a jpg. I then opened it using Photoshop Elements 14 Editor. It opened exactly as it should. No sign of anything amiss. I then opened several more corrupted photos from the folders they live in which means I was looking at photos from both scanners I used. They also opened with no problem. My next step will be to take several photos, scan them as jpg's not TIFFs, and see what happens. I will report back. Pat Pat,
The best news of the day! Glad to hear you found a workaround. However, I still think you should bring this issue to the attention of Adobe. If you are now restricted to using only scanned JPEG files and not TIFF files in Elements, it looks to me there is a problem (whatever it is).
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