Introduction The Microtek Take-it MV500 is a digital video camera (DV camera) that applies the ASF (MPEG 4) recording video format to capture motion pictures at a resolution of 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels, offering superior image quality and super audio. Equipped with a large 2.0'. The TWAIN Working group does not make, provide, or distribute any scanners or drivers. Drivers should be obtained from the manufacturer of the particular scanner or digital camera you are interested in. Below are direct links to manufacturer websites.

FILM & FLATS

Microtek ScanMaker i900 --
Best of Both Worlds

Review Date: April 2004

We had planned to squirrel away the winter scanning a few hundred old slides. Since we had already discussed using your digicam to copy slides, we wanted to use a film scanner this time. Just how feasible would it be to scan a bunch of old slides with a film scanner?

We hit a snag right out of the box. Our film scanner was a 35mm scanner.

All of our old slides were in 35mm mounts but they weren't all 35mm frame size. Some of them were almost as large as the mount. And some were smaller squarish sizes. It's amazing what mankind has managed throughout history to fit in a 35mm mount.

So we resorted to a flatbed. Not just any flatbed, though. We've scanned transparencies on a flatbed before. We got great results from an expensive Agfa Dual years ago and miserable results from an inexpensive Umax with a transparency adapter.

This time we went for a pretty interesting product from Microtek (http://www.microtekusa.com), the ScanMaker i900. It featured the same dual bed design of the old Agfa and, at $599.99 list (minus a $50 rebate coupon at http://www.microtekusa.com/images/rebatei900.pdf), was closer in price to the Umax. Most importantly, it really didn't care how big a transparency we wanted to scan.

Of course, there are a few other attributes it needed to qualify. Take a look at Kim Brady's Guide to Desktop Scanners (http://www.imaging-resource.com/ARTS/SCANG/SCANG.HTM) from our Sept. 21, 2001 issue for more detail on the following important features.

Inexpensive flatbeds usually boast something as low as 1200-dpi optical resolution (although the trend is upward). If you scan a 35mm film frame at that resolution, your maximum enlargement for a 300-dpi dye sub printer is 4x6. To get an 8x10, you have to be able to scan 2400 dpi (and some people think math isn't our thing). So the low number of the scanner's optical resolution had to be a least 2400. The i900 has 6400x3200 dpi optical, so at 3200 it qualified.

In fact, 2400 dpi is the current limit for 8.5-inch wide flatbeds. Manufacturers achieve resolutions greater than that by stacking CCDs at a half-pixel offset. For the i900, Microtek uses two 1600-dpi CCDs to get to 3200 dpi.

In olden days, the only way to copy a slide was to dupe it. And duping always results in a loss of quality. Typically, detail is lost in both the highlights and shadows, increasing contrast. Naturally, we had about 100 dupes to scan. Precious dupes but dupes. We needed a scanner that could capture as much detail as remained in those dupes, above those high 3.x maximum optical density figures you see on most flatbeds. The i900 has 4.2.

Unlike digicams, most scanners (even inexpensive ones) capture more than eight bits per channel. Eleven, 12, even 14 bits are common, but the i900 captures a full 16 bits. This gives you quite a bit more information to work with.

Finally, we knew we'd be scanning some large files, so we wanted a fast connection. The i900 has both Hi-Speed USB 2 and FireWire ports. We set up the FireWire connection.

With the i900 we got a little more than we bargained for. Because it's a flatbed, it can batch scan up to 12 35mm slides or negatives at a time. At 77 megabytes each, that's probably enough for one batch.

Finally, there are a couple of software items that speak to quality. The inclusion of SilverFast Ai impressed us. Even more, the inclusion of IT8 reflective and transparent targets (with the associated data files on CD).

More companies should supply IT8 targets with their scanners. If not, you have to buy these tools to actually calibrate your scanner. By including them, Microtek makes a statement. And the statement is simply, 'Quality.'

Quality is no stranger to Microtek. The company claims a number of industry firsts from the world's first 300-dpi black-and-white sheetfed scanner in 1985 to the world's first USB and SCSI scanner in 1999. With over 100 patents worldwide, Microtek dedicates over 20 percent of its staff and over 10 percent of its revenue to research and development.

Founded in 1980, the company is headquartered in Industry Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The company has major operations and distribution channels in 53 countries around the world. In the United States, Microtek is located in Carson, Calif.

The full specs for the i900 follow:

• Photo reconstruction via built-in Digital ICE Photo Print technology
• Photo restoration via ColorRescue color restoration for photos and film
• 6400x3200-dpi optical resolution
• 48-bit color bit depth
• 4.2 maximum optical density
• 24,480-element Sigma Six CCD image sensor using a dual tri-linear array
• 8.5x14 reflective and 8x10 transparent scan areas
• Six-pin FireWire/IEEE-1394 and Hi-Speed USB interfaces
• 7 second full-bed preview scan time
• Single color pass; two passes required for Digital ICE
• 120V-220V, 50-60Hz voltage with 36.5W power consumption
• Bottom screw chassis lock
• 23.6x15.2x6.3 dimensions, weighing 24.7 lbs. (44.2 lbs. shipping)

Included in the box are all the cables you need (power, USB and FireWire) and a set of SnapTrans templates. SnapTrans templates are plastic inserts the size of a sheet of paper that let you mount multiple filmstrips, slides or transparencies with little more than a snap. The loaded templates fit into an opening in the lower, main staging tray so the film can be scanned with no glass between the sensor and the film (like film scanners and unlike flatbeds with transparency adapters). The included set contains templates for 35mm mounted slides, 35mm filmstrips, 6x9cm film, 4x5 film. Also included is an 8x10 glass film holder assembly to handle larger transparencies. A set of 10 vinyl strips for the glass holder is also included.

Both a reflective and transparent IT8 target are included.

Macintosh software for OS 9 includes Microtek ScanWizard Pro, Microtek Scanner ICC Profiler, Color Matching System, ABBYY FineReader, Ulead PhotoExplorer, Adobe Acrobat Reader. OS X software includes Microtek ScanWizard Pro, Microtek Scanner ICC Profiler, Acrobat Reader. Windows software includes Microtek ScanWizard Pro, Microtek Scanner ICC Profiler, Color Matching System, ABBYY FineReader, Ulead PhotoExplorer and Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Included for all three platforms is Photoshop Elements 2.0 and SilverFast Ai.

We also tried Ed Hamrick's VueScan with the i900, scanning reflective and transparent materials and doing OCR with the latest version. The i900 is fully supported.

Support by email or through the Web site is free. Microtek offers one year of complimentary installation support and fee-based advanced troubleshooting, support and consulting through the MLI Consulting Group. The unit includes a one-year limited warranty.

Macintosh system requirements are 128-MB RAM (256-MB to use Digital ICE), G3-G5 processor with built-in USB or FireWire port, OS X 10.2 or later.

Windows system requirements are 128-MB RAM (256-MB to use Digital ICE), Pentium III processor, USB or IEEE-1394 port, Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP.

We installed the i900 twice. Hoisting this behemoth around is not for everyone. At roughly 25 wide-bodied pounds, it's awkward to pull out of the box and hard to lift. Enlist an associate.

That, of course, only speaks to the quality of its construction. It's built like a tank. Considering the sensitive optics, that's a good thing.

Once positioned, you have to unlock the chassis (as with any flatbed). A screw on the bottom can be rotated with a coin or screwdriver. To unlock the chassis, turn the screw counterclockwise until it pops free. It will extend slightly below the bottom of the scanner when unlocked. Lock the chassis before moving the scanner by pushing the screw in and turning clockwise until it's snug.

Connect the cable of your choice to the appropriate port on your computer and you're almost ready to go. You should really install the software before powering it on so your computer knows what is being plugged into it.

Software installs are a lot less painful than they used to be and we have no pain to report in this case. We installed both SilverFast Ai and Microtek's ScanWizard Pro. We had already installed VueScan.

Every one of these three programs knows about ICC profiles and wants one for the reflective bed and another the transparency tray of the i900. ScanWizard Pro actually insists you calibrate and profile the scanner. That's really the last step and all these programs make it easy (if you read the documentation). We can't applaud Microtek enough for including the IT8 targets you need to actually do this. It's the last step to the installation.

Over several weeks, we scanned a variety of material, starting with some 90+ year old black-and-white prints from Germany. Then we scanned some 35mm Tri-X negatives we'd developed ourselves. Color negatives developed at one-hour kiosks were not far behind. Then we scanned a reference set of 35mm slide images with a good deal of contrast and saturated color.

We were impressed with the quality the i900 delivered in each case. The 4.2 DMax delivered excellent shadow detail and the 3200-dpi optical resolution delivered sharp detail. Our notes from scanning each of the various materials follow.

Reflective art. No special template is required to scan reflective material like photos. You simply position the material upside down (so the scanner can see it) with the top near the front, just as you would with a photocopier. The 8.5x14-inch glass is bordered by markings in inches and centimeters. A flat black background is attached to the hood of the scanner.

35mm color slides. The SnapTrans template for slides is, well, a snap to use. You can load 12 at a time in individually numbered windows. The slides are held securely in place by flexible plastic springs. As with everything scanned from the bottom tray, the film should be loaded with the emulsion up, wrong reading. And, as with everything on this scanner, the head should be toward the front.

Scanning 35mm film format as 16-bit channels at 3200-dpi yielded 77-MB files that captured detail in the darkest areas as well as the highlights. Reduced to 8-bit channels, they were 38.8-MB files.

At 3200 dpi, you get enough data to resize (without resampling) for printing at 300 dpi. That yields a 10.1x14.9 image. Which is more than we felt we needed to make 13x19 prints on the Canon i9900 or the Epson 2200.

We examined our originals on the light table with a 10x loupe. Everything we saw there, we found in the scan. Shadows, however, were noisier than scans from a film scanner.

Slides are clearly the most demanding material to scan. They're small, so they challenge a scanner's optical resolution. And they have the densest shadow detail, challenging, requiring a high DMax to distinguish detail there. In both cases, the i900 was up to the challenge. These slide scans were nearly as good as any we've done on a dedicated film scanner.

35mm negatives. The SnapTrans template for 35mm filmstrips, which takes two individually numbered strips of up to six frames each, is the trickiest of the set. The hinge, at the narrow end, slides to be able to align the individual frames to the plastic frame partitions for each strip.

So you open the plastic lid for each strip, drop your strip into the holder, line up the first bank area between frames with an arrow on the holder (which is not the final alignment) and close the lid until it snaps. As it closes, it slides the film strip into what should be the correct alignment in frame partitions, but we found we had to slide the lid back and forth a bit to match up. That's why the hinge slides, after all.

Different cameras will advance the film differently and the developing and drying process shrinks each roll differently, too. So don't expect all frames to line up perfectly. Why does Microtek put those little plastic partitions in the template, then? They help you put the image where the scanner software expects it to appear. If you need more precision, of course, you can always use the glass holder.

On one occasion we ran into trouble with this template. A handcut strip of film slipped below the holder and sliding the lid back only smacked the film edge against the side of the frame partition, preventing the lid from moving back into the holder so it could be raised. Our film was locked into the holder. We resolved this by carefully prodding the film back into the holder from the bottom, touching only the base with a gloved hand.

Negatives play a trick on DMax. The scanner's ability to distinguish tones in the shadows become its ability to distinguish tones in the highlights when you scan negatives. Given the wide latitude of negative film in general, compared with slide film in particular, this presents an interesting challenge to any scanner.

The i900's 16-bit channel capture is a boon for this, though. It may seem like overkill to capture 16-bit channels of what is typically a snapshot, but the reward is a much finer image than was ever squeezed out of that film before. This is particularly true of poorly exposed negatives whose prints from the one-hour machine disappointed you years ago. The i900 can bring them to life.

Converting color negatives to positive is a black art. We discussed it at length in two Advanced articles, explaining what the orange mask does and the proper way to account for it. Fortunately, Microtek's two software solutions both include advanced negative conversion modules that, if nothing else, are excellent starting points. SilverFast Ai includes NegaFix and ScanWizard Pro has a similar feature, as does VueScan.

In fact, just as Microtek engineered the hardware with no holds barred, the included software has every tool you need to do some otherwise hard work. We've mentioned the negative conversion tools. But let's look at the restoration tools.

There are two types of damage that occur to prints. One is color fading and the other is physical damage to the emulsion caused by folds, scratches and tears.

Microtek's ScanWizard Pro addresses both with its PictuRescue system. PictuRescue combines the color restoration technology of Microtek's ColoResue with Digital ICE's infrared defect masking and repair. SilverFast Ai has its own tools to address these issues (see our SilverFast review http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/SF6/SF6.HTM).

Using these corrections is straightforward. In the Scan window, do a Prescan and select only the image area (no border or background). In the Settings window, just select the level of Digital ICE to use (Normal, Strong) to fix physical damage. To automatically restore color, just click the Automatic Color Restoration checkbox.

Digital ICE requires two passes over the image and more RAM. It scans the image in an infrared pass that maps the image defects and scans it for its visual properties. Adding RAM can help processing speed, but it's an inherently longer process. Note, also that this approach is not for film or halftoned images.

We've been meticulously restoring the odd but precious antique image for a long time now. It's demanding work, even with something as sophisticated as Adobe's Healing Brush. It ranges from simple scratch removal to the reconstruction of facial features. It also ranges from duplicating meaningful patterns to filling in fuzzy background features. No mere software algorithm is going to have the intelligence to handle the full range of repairs.

Microtec Camera

So don't expect miracles when repairing physical defects like tears. You can do better in about as much time using the Healing Brush or a clone tool. But automatic color restoration is a huge time saver. It can be very difficult to find the sweet spot without a tool like this.

Just a couple of quibbles. Behavior became unreliable scanning within Photoshop with 512-MB RAM and 7-GB free disk space. Running either ScanWizard or SilverFast without Photoshop loaded worked better.

You can get the job done with any of these programs but it could be a more pleasant experience. We're comfortable with VueScan and SilverFast. We knew what to look for in ScanWizard, but its selection of film types leaves a lot to be desired.

So prepare yourself for a little software frustration. Especially if this is new to you.

Looking for a scanner that can handle film as well as flats is like looking for a camcorder that can take great stills. If you ever did find one, no one would believe you. They really address different problems.

But the i900 attacks the problem with a large dual bed design, adequate optical resolution precisely controlled for multiple scans and a high DMax to capture shadow detail. And Microtek supplies the IT8 targets you need to calibrate it.

Our tests showed that whether we ran it from ScanWizard Pro, SilverFast Ai or VueScan, we were able to get excellent results with both flats and film (positive and negative). We're starting to wonder about that dual-purpose camcorder and even the Fountain of Youth.

Microtek International Inc. (Chinese: 全友電腦股份有限公司; pinyin: Quányou Diànnǎo Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) is a Taiwan-based multinational manufacturer of digital imaging products and other consumerelectronics. It produces imaging equipment for medical, biological and industrial fields, occupies 20% of the global imaging market and holds 450 patents worldwide.

It is well known for its scanner brands ScanMaker and ArtixScan. The company launched the world's first halftone optical film scanner in 1984, the world's first desktop halftone scanner in 1986, and the world's first color scanner in 1989. It has subsidiaries in Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore and Rotterdam. It recently expanded its product lines into the manufacture of LCD monitors, LCD projectors and digital cameras.

History[edit]

1980-1985: Foundings and incorporation[edit]

In 1979, the Taiwanese government launched the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park (HSIP) as a vision of Shu Shien-Siu to emulate Silicon Valley and to lure back overseas Taiwanese with their experience and knowledge in engineering and technology fields. Initially there were 14 companies, the first was Wang Computer (王氏電腦), by 2010 only six of the original pioneers remained: United Microelectronics Corporation (聯電), Microtek International, Inc. (全友), Quartz Frequency Technology (頻率), Tecom (東訊), Sino-American Silicon Products Inc. (中美矽晶) and Flow Asia Corporation (福祿遠東).^[2]

Microtek (Microelectronics Technology) was co-founded in HSIP in 1980 ^[3][4] by five Californian Taiwanese, three were colleagues who had worked at Xerox^[5] Bobo Wang (王渤渤), Robert Hsieh (謝志鴻),^[6][7] Carter Tseng (曾憲章) ^{[8][9][10][11]} and two were colleagues from the University of Southern California, Benny Hsu (許正勳) ^[12][13][14] and Hu Chung-hsing (胡忠信).^[2] They decided to set up root after Hsu was invited by HSIP Manager Dr. Irving Ho (何宜慈).^[15][16] In September 1983, the Allied Association for Science Parks Industries (台灣科學園區同業公會 abbr. 竹科) was established and Hsu was elected to be its first Chairman.

Microtek first entered the industry in 1983, when scanners were little more than expensive tools for hobbyists. In 1984, it introduced the MS-300A, the world’s first desktop halftone scanner. At about the same time, the company realized a need for scanning software for mainstream users and developed EyeStar, the world’s first scanning software application. EyeStar made desktop scanning a functional reality, serving as the de facto standard for image format for importing graphics before TIFF came to fruition. Continuing its leading-edge approach to the scanning industry, Microtek proceeded to develop the first OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, program for text scanning, once more successfully integrating a core function of scanning with its machines.^{[citation needed]}

1985: Microtek Lab, Inc.[edit]

In 1985, Microtek set up its United States subsidiary, Microtek Lab, Inc.,^[17] in Cerritos, California. The company went public in 1988. It was one of Taiwan's initial technology initial public offerings.^[3] Microtek has research and development labs located in California and Taiwan dedicated to optics design, mechanical and electronic engineering, software development, product quality, and technological advancement.^[18] According to AnnaLee Saxenian's 2006 book The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy, Microtek has produced more than 20% of the worldwide image scanner market.^[19]

1989: Ulead Systems[edit]

In 1989, Microtek invested in Ulead Systems^{[19]:166[citation needed]} (based in Taipei) which became the first publicly traded software company in Taiwan in 1999. Ulead System was founded by Lotus Chen, Lewis Liaw and Way-Zen Chen three colleagues from Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry. Microtek helped Ulead by jointly purchasing CCD sensors from Kodak which benefited both companies as it was a component not yet locally produced at the time.

Microtech Cameramate

Products[edit]

Microtech Camera

Herbarium Specimen Digitization[edit]

• ObjectScan 1600^[20] is an on-top scanner designed for capturing high resolution image of herbarium specimen. The device is bundled with ScanWizard Graphy which provides scanner setting and image correction tools. The maximum resolution is 1600 dpi.
• ScanWizard Botany is a workstation software for specimen image processing, electronic data capture software, and uploading metadata to database or server. The software has OCR (Optical Character Recognition) function which can automatically detect label information and read barcode information on botanical collections. The information will be saved as metadata. It also includes image processing tools such as brightness adjustment and contrast adjustment.
• MiVAPP Botany is a botanical database management system and web-server system. This system allows a botanical garden, university, and museum to share their collection online.

Operations[edit]

Taiwan[edit]

• Microtek International Inc.: Headquarters, Science-Based Industrial Park, Hsinchu City
• Taipei Office: Da-an District, Taipei City

Mainland China[edit]

• Shanghai Microtek Technology Co., Ltd: Shanghai
• Shanghai Microtek Medical Device Co., Ltd: Shanghai
• Shanghai Microtek Trading Co., Ltd: Shanghai
• Microtek Computer Technology (Wu Jiang) Co., Ltd: Jiangsu

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcde'Annual Report 2016'. Microtek. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
2. ^ ^ab李 (Lee), 珣瑛 (Hsun-Ying) (2010-12-13). 竹當年單一窗口效率高 現在當心反淘汰. 經濟日報 (Economic Daily News) (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-05-02.
3. ^ ^abFunabiki, Jon (1987-05-15). 'Technology seen as the answer - The question being, what will extend the economic boom?'. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
4. ^'Business information'. Hsinchu Science Park Bureau, Ministry of Science and Technology (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-04-30.
5. ^Tanzer, Andrew (1991-06-24). 'Bobo Wang's midlife crisis. (president of Microtek International Inc.)'. Forbes (via Highbeam Business). Retrieved 2017-05-01.^{[dead link]}
6. ^'Robert Hsieh'. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
7. ^'Applied Magic Corporate Management Team'(PDF). PRwriterPro.com. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
8. ^'Carter Tseng'. Committee of 100 Extraordinary Chinese Americans. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
9. ^'Executive Profile & Biography: Carter Tseng'. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
10. ^'Dr. Carter Tseng'. Little Dragon Foundation. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
11. ^'Starting Up a Successful Business'(PDF). North America Taiwanese Engineering & Science Association (NATEA). 2003-10-06. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
12. ^Rowen, Henry S.; Gong Hancock, Maguerite; Miller, William F. (2007). Making IT: The Rise of Asia in High Tech. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 107. ISBN978-0-8047-5386-9. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
13. ^Royal, Weld (2004-12-21). 'Made in Taiwan'. Industry Week. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
14. ^'Executive Profile & Biography: Benny Hsu'. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
15. ^'High-Tech Leadership: Irving T. Ho'. Taiwan Today. 1988-04-01. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
16. ^'Taiwan's Silicon Valley: The Evolution of Hsinchu Industrial Park'. Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Stanford University. 2000-01-11. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
17. ^'Microtek Lab, Inc'. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
18. ^Hoffenberg Amsden, Alice (1992). Taiwan's enterprises in global perspective. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe. pp. 269–296. ISBN978-1-5632-4071-3.
19. ^ ^abSaxenian, AnnaLee (2006). The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 164–167. ISBN978-0-6740-2566-0. Microtek.
20. ^'Microtek Object scanner ObjectScan 1600 the Herbarium specimen digitization solutions'. www.microtek.com. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

External links[edit]

Microtech Cameramate Driver