ImageLab - FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Power
My scanner won’t power on. What should I do?
Is there any difference in the operation of the scanner in battery power mode versus AC power mode?

Hardware and Software Requirements

What computer hardware is required to use the scanner?
What software is required to use the scanner?

Scanning

My pictures are coming out backwards.
My pictures are coming out sideways.
I am getting a black bar on my photos when I scan them in.
If I insert an SD card into the scanner, will my images be scanned to the scanner’s internal memory or to the SD card?
Can I insert an SD card after I’ve started scanning.
How many images can I scan before I have to export?
What will the image quality be of my scanned images.?

Exporting

When I export images from the scanner to my computer, will the scanner delete the images on my SD card?
Why do the images of the negatives that I scan show in “positive” and then revert back to “negative” on the scanner screen?
How do I make a backup of my images?

Accessories and Replacement Items

How can I get additional slide trays, power adapters or USB cables?

Where can I purchase FS-5C05 Scanner?

Power

Q. My scanner won’t power on. What should I do?

A. First check to see that you are connected to a power source. If you are using the AC adapter, check to see that the adapter is plugged in securely to both the outlet and the back of the scanner. If you are using battery power, check the alignment of the batteries and make sure that they are not loose in the battery compartment. Then put you scanner into “scan” mode and see if the red LED Power light turns on. If your scanner will still not power on in scan mode, try a different set of AAA batteries.

If you are in Export mode and are not getting power, first check to see if you have a good connection between the scanner and your computer via the USB cable and that your computer is powered on. The scanner will not power up in Export mode until your computer accepts the USB connection and recognizes the scanner. At this point, the LED Power light will turn green, indicating that you have made a good connection and are powered up in Export mode. Sometimes your computer will not recognize your USB connection if you switch quickly from Scan or Playback mode to Export mode. To check this, switch the toggle into Off mode and leave it there for a second. Then switch back to Export mode.

Q. Is there any difference in the operation of the scanner in battery power mode versus AC power mode?

A. No, the scanner operates the same way and the picture quality is no different. Battery power is provided simply as a convenience so that you can scan your pictures without being connected to a power source or a computer.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Q. What computer hardware is required to use the scanner?

A. The scanner is designed to operate stand-alone. As such, you do not need any computer hardware to use the scanner. However, if you would like to export your images to your computer, the scanner is compatible with most PC and MAC operating systems, including Windows ME/2000?XP/Vista and MAC OSX.

Q. What software is required to use the scanner?

A. There is no software required to operate the scanner. Al l required software comes pre-loaded. There is no need to load software or drivers on your computer to export images to your computer. Most computers come equipped with software for importing images, editing them and saving them. If you would like to use more advanced photo editing/organizing software other than the default software loaded on your computer, see our Resources page for suggestions.

Scanning

Q. My pictures are coming out backwards.

A. Open the slide and/or negative tray and flip over the negatives or slides and re-scan.

Q. My pictures are coming out sideways.

A. This is normal based upon the orientation of the slides or negatives you are using. Most photo editing and storage software will enable you to rotate the images when you save them on your computer.

Q. I am getting a black bar on my photos when I scan them in.

A. Check the alignment of your negatives or slides in the trays. This may be an indication that they are slightly off center. In some cases, this will be due to the image source (your slide or negative) being slightly smaller than usual. Many of the common photo editing software packages enable you to “crop” your images to get rid of borders or unwanted space.

Q. If I insert an SD card into the scanner, will my images be scanned to the scanner’s internal memory or to the SD card?

A. When you insert an SD card, all of the scans will be saved to the SD card. The counter on the screen of the scanner will display the estimated number of image spaces left on the SD card. Any scans that you have saved to the memory of the scanner will stay in the scanner memory.

Q. Can I insert an SD card after I’ve started scanning.

A. Yes, but remember that when you go to export the images, you’ll need to export the images from the SD card, then remove the SD card and export the images you have scanned into the scanner’s internal memory.

Q. How many images can I scan before I have to export?

A. You can scan until you run out of memory and the export. The number of images will depend on the size of the images you are scanning. But as a general rule of thumb, you will be able to scan roughly this number of images:

To Internal Memory 20 Photos

To a 1 GB SD Card : 1,000 photos

To a 2 GB SD Card : 2,000 photos

Q. What will the image quality be of my scanned images.?

A. The resolution of the scanner is 5 megapixels. This means that the scanned image scan be enlarged up to roughly 25” by 40” without a loss of resolution. The appearance of the picture will, however, depend very much on the quality of the slide or negative used for the scan. If the source slide or negative has scratches, fading or discoloration, it will show directly on the scanned images.

Exporting

Q. When I export images from the scanner to my computer, will the scanner delete the images on my SD card?

A. The scanner will not delete any of the images when you export to your computer. Note, however, that many of the photo software programs, including Microsoft’s Scanner and Camera Wizard and Apple’s iPhoto have settings that allow you to delete the images from the scanner after you have successfully exported them to your computer.

When you delete images off of your SD card using the scanner’s delete mode, it will not delete images that are in other folders on your SD card. It will only delete images from the scanner.

Q. Why do the images of the negatives that I scan show in “positive” and then revert back to “negative” on the scanner screen?

A. The scanner shows you the image in “positive” after the scan in order for you to see that you scanned the image you want. The image will also show in “positive” (meaning it looks just like a print) when you view the scan in Playback mode. The scanner reverts back to showing the image in “negative” so that there is no confusion about the type of image you are scanning.

Q. How do I make a backup of my images?

A. There are several ways to make backups of your images. First, you can hook your scanner to more than one computer to export and save your images. If you are using an SD card, you can also scan the images into another computer either by hooking a card reader to that computer and inserting the SD card into the card reader. Many photo services allow you to bring your SD card in to them and they will either make prints or a CD copy of your pictures. Also, after exporting your images to your computer, you can either burn a CD copy of the digital images, save the images to an internet photo service or save them to an external drive.

Accessories and Replacement Items

Q. How can I get additional slide trays, power adapters or USB cables?

A. These accessories are offered for sale by some, but not all retailers who carry ImageLab scanners. Accessories can be ordered on-line at:

www.americanmusical.com

Q. Where can I purchase FS-5C05 Scanner?

A. You can purchase ImageLab FS-5C05 Scanner from following websites:

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