Photos, slides and negatives are naturally afflicted with image defects
Even if photos and slides are handled very carefully, it's hardly possible to avoid contact with tiny dust particles; small scratches aren't uncommon as well. Greater defects on favorite images could be especially annoying. These flaws do often get recognized not until scanning, because scanning means increasing image size too in most cases. LaserSoft Imaging offers a solution to remove these defects during scan process:

SilverFast's software based dust and scratch removal tool (SRD®)
The algorithms used in SRD® (Smart Removal of Defects) for defect detection can recognize dust and scratches, because their image information differs a lot from the surrounding. Detected flaws can get removed by calculations taking the surrounding image information into account. The dust and scratch removal has been embedded completely into the workflow of SilverFast SE and Ai and gets already used during the scan process. Images scanned before (RAW files as well) can be freed from dust and scratches afterwards with SilverFast HDR. Digital camera software SilverFast DC Pro and Pro Studio apply this functionality to digital camera images. Many options to adjust the SRD® tool with simultaneous optical checking offer a reliable technique for removing any defects without destroying image details.


Example images: Before and after applying the SRD® dust and scratch removal.
(Click the images to enlarge them, please.)

Further details on SilverFast SRD®
SRD® offers a set of unique tools for freeing any image from defects like dust and scratches reliable and comfortable:

• It's very hard for software based dust and scratch removal tools to differentiate between actual image flaws and details worth preserving. With SRD® the user deploys masks for marking those parts of the image, that are containing defects. Afterwards the correction takes place here, where unmarked areas without scratches won't get effected, thus will keep any image details.
• The sensibility of defect detection, the size of flaws to get recognized and the intensity, from which on defects should get corrected, are adjustable with sliders.
• A preview window shows identified defects marked in red. Every adjustment to any option will update the preview window for checking.
• An additional realtime function is optional for helping to get an optimum alignment.
• The user can add up to 3 additional layers for correcting scratches, that are very difficult to remove, with special adjustments.
• SRD® includes a brush tool for marking defects manually.

Following movie shows, how quick and easy you can learn working with SRD®:

SilverFast's iSRD® is a further developement of the SRD® technology. This tool utilizes the infrared channel, some scanners are equipped with, for detecting defects more precisely. Removing dust and scratches, but without destroying any details, is especially efficent when using SRD® & iSRD® and layers & masks in parallel.

Note: The SRD® functionality is limited in SilverFast SE versions. (Just a single layer possible)