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Glossary of Imaging Terms
Some of the terms here are not used in the scanner or camera driver or application software included
with your scanner or camera. The information here is for your information only and does not imply
support for any imaging task or application.
3rd-Party Software
Application software of many kinds is generally available from your computer store or other vendor. Any
rd
rd
application that was not supplied with your scanner is considered 3
party. Info does not directly support 3
party software. There are many general guidelines to using all scanning applications (see Scanner Operation).
16-bit & 32-bit
This refers to the operating system or an application written for a specific operating system. Windows 3.x is
16-bit and Windows 95 is 32-bit (to be precise a 32-bit emulation over 16-bit). Programs that work in both
Windows 3.x and Windows 95 are 16-bit (also called Legacy programs). Programs written only for Windows
95 are 32-bit and will not work in Windows 3.x. When you are choosing a source, if you are using a 16-bit
application, you should choose (16). If you are using a 32-bit application, you should choose (32). 3rd party
software can be either 16-bit or 32-bit and an appropriate source should be chosen.
36-bit color, RGB
Color images composed of three 12-bit channels: red, green, and blue (RGB). Trillions of color combinations
are possible, providing for more vivid color reproductions with subtle gradations of hue. Even though a
picture is scanned with 36-bit hardware, the image output will be 24-bit due to limitations of digital imagery
once it is on your computer. 36-bit color has nothing to do with the operating system.
36-bit color, CMYK
Color images composed of four 9-bit channels: cyan, magenta, yellow, black (CMYK). Trillions of color
combinations are possible, providing for more vivid color reproductions with subtle gradations of hue. 36-bit
color has nothing to do with the operating system. At this time (May 98), none of the ImageReader scanners
or other imaging devices are CMYK enabled. There are many graphics programs that will convert RGB color
to CMYK.
32-bit color
Color images composed of four 8-bit channels: cyan, magenta, yellow, black (CMYK). Over 50 billion color
combinations are possible, providing for more vivid color reproductions with subtle gradations of hue. 32-bit
color has nothing to do with the operating system. At this time (May 98), none of the ImageReader scanners
or other imaging devices are CMYK enabled. There are many graphics programs that will convert RGB color
to CMYK.
30-bit color
Color images composed of three 10-bit channels: red, green, and blue (RGB). Over 50 billion color
combinations are possible, providing for more vivid color reproductions with subtle gradations of hue. Even
though a picture is scanned with 30-bit hardware, the image output will be 24-bit due to limitations of digital
imagery once it is on your computer.
24-bit color
Color images composed of three 8-bit channels: red, green, and blue (RGB). With 24-bit color, it is possible
to have over 16 million possible color combinations providing for a more photo-realistic image. Also called
True Color.
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