Tutorial: AKVIS Magnifier

Working with the program

Watch a flash movie demonstrating the technique of image resizing with AKVIS Magnifier: Click here (flash-movie, 8.4 Mb)

AKVIS Magnifier allows changing the size of an image within the range of 1 to 30000 pixels without loss in quality. Compare the ten times magnified image with the original image.

The image after scaling using the Navigator	Image magnification with the program

In order to resize an image, one should perform the following steps:

• Step 1. Start the standalone edition of AKVIS Magnifier or open your photo editor (if you work with the plugin version of AKVIS Magnifier).

• Step 2. Open an image.

  - If you work with the plugin:

  Open an image in your photo editor by calling the command File -> Open or using the key combination Ctrl+O.

  - If you work with the standalone edition (use a file in BMP, JPEG, PNG or TIFF format):

  The dialog box Open source image from file appears if you double-click on the empty workspace of the program or if you click on the button on the Control Panel. You can also drag the required image into the workspace of the program.

  The image will be loaded into the program and scaled to fit the Image Window.


Original photo
• Step 3. In plug-in version only: make sure that layers are merged otherwise the plugin can't be called, and select the menu item File -> Automate -> AKVIS Magnifier.
• Step 4. To be able to see the result of the parameters' change at once it is recommended to activate Autorun mode using the button . The image will be scaled to 100%. When the button is pressed, any change in the settings or navigation on the image will result in automatic start of image processing. When the Autorun mode is off, the image processing starts by pressing the button . The Esc key interrupts the process; if there is no processing then it closes the program's window and all the changes are lost.

• Step 5. Set the required size change into the Width or Height field (either in pixels or in per cent). Please note that the output image can not exceed 30000 pixels in any specified direction.


Changing the image size

As soon as the size is changed, the program will start processing the visible part of the image with the default settings (Akvis Default preset or the last used preset).


Default parameters
• Step 6. If needed, adjust the parameters in the Settings panel. There are following parameters:

  Sharpen Edges (0-100). The parameter increases sharpness and intensity of object's edges. Because of the specific properties of the algorithm, the parameter is active only in the range of 101% to 500%; at a higher New Size the optimum parameter value is chosen automatically and the parameter is disabled.

  Sharpen Edges = 0	Sharpen Edges = 80

  Edge Smoothness (1-8). This parameter smoothes color gradients on the border of contrasting color zones. At high values of the parameters the border looks softer. At low values of the parameter the border line looks uneven and irregular: it is well visible on an image with contrasting color zones.

  Edge Smoothness = 1	Edge Smoothness = 8

  Simplicity (0-400). The parameter sets the level of detail on the final image. The higher the value of the parameter, the more simplified and artificial will look the result; the lower the value, the more details will be visible. At the same time sharpness/smoothness of the image is influenced by the size and the scale of the image. At high values of the Sharpen Edges parameter, the difference between the original and the simplified image increases.

  Simplicity = 10	Simplicity = 380

  Microline (0-400). The parameter singles out thin (1-2 pixels) contrasting lines on an image with a low resolution. The default value provides a good result, but it is possible to adjust it. At low values of the parameter the lines are thinner and the edges are sharper (the cheek line on the image below). At higher values, the lines get a bit thicker (the locks).

  Microline = 10	Microline = 400

  Grain (0-25). The parameter adds slight noise to the image. It is helpful in case of an oversmoothed image (an image processed with high values of the Sharpen Edges parameter and a high level of Simplicity).

  Grain = 0	Grain = 15
  Sharpen Edges = 50, Simplicity = 300	Sharpen Edges = 50, Simplicity = 300

  Unsharp Mask. The tool sharpens the image by increasing contrast between the pixels. When the check-box is enabled, the program compares the resulting image with its blurred copy and if the pixel of the image contrasts with the pixel of the blurred copy, the contrast is increased; otherwise, the pixel stays unchanged. In this way the program processes all image pixels.

  • The level of contrast between the pixels is regulated by the parameter Amount. The values of the parameter range between 0 and 250%. At 100% the contrast is increased twice, at 200% - by 4 times, etc.

  • The Radius of the copy blurring shows a number of pixels around pixel to be corrected (that is the sharpen contour size). While 1.5 pixel is a recommended blurring radius, the latter can vary between 0 and 50 pixels.

  Before Unsharp Mask	After Unsharp Mask
  	(Amount = 120, Radius = 3,5)

  It's worth mentioning that Edge Smoothness and Microline are advanced settings which provide a finer means of control. Sharpen Edges, Edge Smoothness, Simplicity and Microline are inactive at New Size lower than 100%.

• Step 7. Click on the button to process the image with the adjusted settings.

  Attention!

  Increasing an image's size is a resource-intensive process and requires a substantial RAM capacity and 2-3 Gb of free space on disk C:/ for swap-files. When increasing a 5-10 megapixel image on 400%, the image area increases by 16 times + 200-300 Mb; in this case the processing will consume about 1,5 Gb RAM.

• Step 8. It is possible to save the settings you like as a preset and use them in the future. To save a preset, enter a name for the preset into the Presets field and press the button Save.

  The settings of the selected preset will be used as default settings. If you change the values of the parameters, you can always come back to the default settings of the preset with a click on the button Reset. To process an image with the settings of a certain preset, you should select it from the fall-out menu and press the button . To delete a preset, select it from the list and press Delete.

• Step 9. In plug-in version only: press the button to apply the result and close the plugin window. The AKVIS Magnifier plugin will close and the resized image will appear in the workspace of the photo editor.
• Step 10. Save the processed image.

  - If you work with the plugin:

  Call the Save As dialog box using the command File -> Save As, enter a name for the file, choose the format and indicate the target folder.

  - If you work with the standalone edition:

  Click on the button to open the Save as dialog box. Enter a name for the file, choose the format (TIFF, BMP, JPEG or PNG) and indicate the target folder.

  Below you can see the result of image scaling with parameters, presented in the screenshot.

  
  Five-fold magnified image fragment
• Step 11. The standalone edition of AKVIS Magnifier allows printing the image. For this purpose press the button , adjust print settings in the Print dialog box and press the button Print.

  The left part of the Print dialog box is the preview area where the current position of the image on the page is shown, in the right part of the dialog box the print settings are adjusted:

  • The check-boxes Album and Portrait set the page orientation when printing. The check-box Album corresponds to the horizontal page orientation (width larger than height), the check-box Portrait - to vertical.

  • The parameters Scale, Width and Height and the check-box Fit to Page set the printed size of the image. They do not influence the image itself, only its printed copy. It is possible to change the size of the printed copy by specifying the image scale in % (any value less than 100% reduces the image, any value over 100% increases it) or by setting new values for width and height in the corresponding fields. If you just want to fit the image into the page, enable the check-box Fit to Page.

  • The image in the preview area has a frame with markers that allow changing the image size manually. Put the mouse cursor to a corner marker or to one of the sides (the cursor will transform to a two-side arrow) and drag the marker or the side. To change the position of the image on the page, bring the cursor to the center of the image, press the left mouse button and move the cursor. Besides, it is possible to define the image position on the page with the parameter Move To by clicking on one of the nine squares.

  If your computer is connected to a local network with several printers or several output devices are connected to this computer, you will have to choose one of the available printers to do the job. Click Printer Setup in the dialog box Print, select a printer in the opening dialog box and adjust the printing settings.

• Step 12. Close the program AKVIS Magnifier with a click on .