Getting Started  

1. Turn on the Mac desktop by pressing the power button on the tower; log onto the computer. 

2. If this is your first time logging into the digitization studio computer, follow the instructions in Appendix B to map the M: and P: Drives, or contact IT.

Configure Capture One Software 

1. Open Capture One 12 and create a new session.  

2. Select “New Session" at the bottom of the pop-up menu.

3. Or click on the Library tab in the top left menu of the opened software. Next to the session name, click the “+” icon to the right and “Add a New Session”.   

4. Name your session LASTNAME_YYYY_MM_DD  

5. Change “Location” to a local disk location. The session must run and save locally on this machine, not off-network. Note: when you’re ready to save your processed files, you will be able to change the location and filenames. 

6. Make sure that you do not have “Open in a new window” ticked and click “OK.”  

7. Open Shutter Control software. 

8.  When the box appears, click “select lens” on top and wait. The Apo-Digital 5, 6/72 L-62° lens name should appear.  

9. Set shutter control settings to 1/60 s shutter speed and f8 aperture size. 

10. Check that the red “release” button is greyed out and “C1 Control” doesn’t have an X through it. If it has an X, click the icon to make it disappear.  

Set-Up Camera and Lights  

1. Turn on the lightbox by switching on the “Power” switch on the black box.  

2. Determine if you need the pneumatic book cradle: 

   1. If yes – Turn on the air compressor. Switch to “Auto” and turn the red valve in front of the compressor to “On” (facing the black pressure valve). Remove the hardtop of the copy stand. 

3. Remove the lens cap. 

4. Turn off the room lights. 

5. Set the camera height according to the desired image resolution (300, 400, or 600 DPI). Use the remote control to raise or lower the camera lens, positioning the bracket above the tape marker on the copy stand for your chosen resolution. Note: this is only roughly accurate. You may adjust the camera height again during Pre-Flight.

Pre-Flight

1. In Capture One, navigate to the Preflight and Production menu.  Select Window > Workspace > CH Reflective – Preflight + Production.  

   1. Troubleshooting: If the CH workspaces don’t show up, go to Capture One + Licenses to switch from DB to Pro, re-entering the login info. 

2. From the left-hand side menu, Select the Tools menu by clicking the hammer icon.   

3. In the Camera menu, choose “Phase One IQ3 80MP” in the drop-down menu if it reads “No camera connected.”  

4. The camera is in landscape mode: place your item on the copy stand and center below the lens accordingly.  

5. Place the Golden Thread color target next to the item  

   1. Note: Only handle the color target by its edges to avoid fingerprints. 

Focus  

1. Under the Tools Tab, click the icon of the movie camera in a circle in the Camera menu. This will put you in Live View for the shutter.   

2. In the Shutter Control box (a separate window), click “Open” to open the shutter.  

3. On the top navigation within live view mode, click the RGB box to turn off the color view.  It is recommended to use live view in black and white to maximize clarity.  

4. Resize the Live View window if necessary.  

5. Double-click on a detailed area of the image to zoom in for better focusing.  

6. Manually adjust the lens to focus. Watch the live view on the monitor. Take your time. 

   1. Note: There is a 1-2 second delay to reflect the image. 

   2. Note: it will look sharper once you take the actual exposure than it does in live view.  

7. Optional: Turn on Focus Meter. The main (white-colored) meter peaks at, or occasionally close to, optimal focus, leaving an orange-colored marker at the high point.  

   1. A secondary, orange-colored fine-focus meter is used to verify the measurement (located in the main meter’s frame). Continue to adjust the focusing ring with care, until the secondary fine-focus meter reaches its maximum point.  

   2. When optimal focus is achieved, the outer orange fine focus meter encloses the main white bar, which then changes color to orange.  

8. The Focus Meter helps with finetuning but you should check the final focus with the eye.   

9. When you’re happy with the focus, hit “Close” in the Shutter Control box to close the lens. Then, close out of Live View. 

10. Take a test exposure one of three ways:  

    1. Click large circular button (in the left-hand menu in the Camera: Phase One IQ3 80MP box) 

    2. Keyboard short-cut [Cmd]+[K] 

    3. Tap black foot pedal at the imaging station. The image will display in the viewer at 100%. 

11. Check the Base Characteristics box after the first shot. Adjust the following settings as necessary:  

11. Zoom in by scrolling the mouse button to check if the item is in focus. Adjust the focus slightly and re-shoot until the image is crisp. 

    1. Note: If you change the height of your object or camera, you will need to reset the focus. 

Resolution 

1. Select the “Ruler” tool. Click and drag it over one inch of the color target ruler. The dpi will display in the box on the left-hand side under the Capture Resolution Ruler menu. Set the Length to “1 inch.”   

   1. DPI is typically 400 or 600 DPI for collection objects (see FADGI 4-star guidelines).

2. For first-time users, to add the Capture Resolution Ruler tool, go to View > Customize Toolbar > Capture Resolution Ruler, and drag the tool to dock anywhere in the Tool Tabs section.  

3. Adjust the height of the camera to attain the desired resolution. A difference of 10 px larger than the desired resolution (e.g., up to 410 or 610 ppi) is acceptable.

   1. You may have to re-adjust the focus after attaining the desired resolution. 

White Balance  

1. Type W (shortcut) or select the eye dropper icon from the top center navigation bar. Click anywhere in patches 13-15 (grey) to white balance.

   1. Zoom in to avoid dust.  

2. Click and hold on the eye drop menu and select “Add Color Readout.”  

3. Click anywhere in White Patch 10.  

4. Troubleshoot: If the Color Readout numbers are not reading against the Golden Thread (for example, the numbers are way too high because it’s reading in RGB), go to the View menu on the top navigation and select Lab Readout > Golden Thread (standard).  

   1. Troubleshoot: If the white balance checker is buggy, delete and add a new color readout via the top eye drop menu, or use the eyedropper and hover over the target. 

5. Adjust the strobe exposure intensity on the black lightbox until the color readout reads near, ideally slightly under, the target value of 97.06. 

   1. A color readout of 92 would be an acceptable low for 97 because after applying the LCC (step 3) this number will be higher. Avoid going over 97. 

   2. Turn the Bracket switch on the black lightbox to control the light allowance.

   3. Rock the B switch which changes the light input at greater steps 

   4. Last resort, adjust the f-stop in Shutter Control increasing by 1/10 of an increment each time, but try to stay close to f8. 

   5. Bleed the strobe after every light adjustment by hitting the illuminated “Test” button. 

Create the Lens Cast Correction (LCC) Profile

1. Remove the item from the copy stand if fragile.  

2. Place white foam board over the Golden Thread on the table and turn the Bracket switch on the black power box down two stops. Bleed strobe. 

3. Take a picture of the white foam board.  

4. Click the “Create LCC” button in the LCC menu on the left.  

5. Uncheck the boxes for Dust Removal and Wide-Angle Lens Movements.  

6. Color cast and uniform light should be checked. 

7. Click “Create.” An image marked LCC should appear at the top as a grey image. 

8. Raise the bracket power back up two stops. Bleed strobe. 

9. Remove the white foam board and replace it with the item. Take a picture with the Golden Thread target.  

10. Check the white balance. Applying the LCC will raise the Color Readout number by a few digits. If you’re now reading far above the target value (97.06), adjust the exposure again either using the light box or by using the Exposure tool in the software (left menu) in .02 increments for tiny calibration adjustments to fine-tune the white balance readout. 

11. When the color readout is approximately 97.06, click “set” next to the eye dropper (located in the “Camera” menu).  

    1. Note: If you make any changes to the shot, such as moving the camera up or down, you will need to reset the LCC. 

12. Shoot an image to verify LCC has been created. A square icon on the bottom right of images means that the LCC is being applied.   

Production Shooting

1. Navigate to the Production menu.  

2. Set your file name by clicking the ellipsis (three dots) after “Next Capture Naming.”  

3. In the Preset dropdown menu, select “Name and 3 Digit Counter”  

4. In the Format bar, insert an underscore symbol between “Name” and “3 Digit Counter” 

5. Select OK. 

6. In the “Name” field, enter the item bib number, accession number, or other identifier. 

7. Note: To reset the Capture Counter to “001,” click on the ellipses next to the “Help” (?) icon to expand the menu and select “Reset Capture Counter.”  

8. Confirm the multi-file icon in the top left menu is highlighted orange to link all images for batch adjustments.   

9. Begin shooting. 

Processing

Loose Material 

1. Select all images and crop using the Auto Crop function. 

2. In the Auto Crop menu, apply the following settings.   

2. Click “Auto Crop.”  

   1. Auto-rotation will have straightened all photos and should automatically crop out the Golden Thread target. Note: If auto crop and straighten are not working, try manually adjusting the crop area to include more space around the object, then click “Auto Crop” again.  

3. Manually change the crop on the first image to keep the Golden Thread in the first photo only for a batch.  

4. If the crop doesn’t catch, there may not be enough contrast between the item and the background. Use the Levels tool to change the contrast. (If the Levels tool isn’t there, select it via Window>Create Floating Tool>Levels and drag it onto the left-hand menu.) 

   1. Drag levels on diagonals to get severe contrast in colors.   

   2. In the top menu, choose the diagonal Arrow tool to “copy and apply changes” so that changes are applied to all and not just selected images.  

   3. Once images are showing in skewed colors, click the Auto Crop button again. It should spot edges and crop correctly.  

   4. Once finished, click “Reset” on the Levels tool by clicking the “undo arrow” icon in the Levels menu. This will take contrast off all images. 

5. Manually adjust crop as needed. 

Modern Books 

1. Take an image of the opened book.  

2. Manually crop the left page with the Crop tool.  

3. Clone the image via top navigation Image > Clone Variant or F3 key shortcut. 

4. On the cloned image, move the crop to the right-hand page. 

5. Under the Next Capture Adjustments menu, change the “Other” field to “Copy Variants from Last”.  

6. Uncheck the “On Crop” and “On Capture” boxes in the Auto Crop menu. 

7. Capture an image of the next spread. The new capture should produce two images, cropped variants of the left-hand and right-hand sides. Finish shooting book. 

8. Select all images and crop using the Auto Crop function 

9. In the Auto Crop menu, apply the following settings.   

10. Auto Cropping will automatically straighten and crop all photos to the page of the book. Sometimes the crop is inaccurate, so it is recommended to manually adjust the crop as needed. 

Quality Control 

Before exporting your photos, it is important to quality control your images. Use Capture One image viewer to verify the following:

• The image should be a faithful representation of the original

• The image is not skewed or off-centered

• The image has clean edges, clear contrast, and legible text 

• Not too light or too dark 

• No loss of detail in highlights or shadows

• No glare visible on the cradle glass

• The image is correctly oriented

  • If the entire book is digitized, keep book orientation for consistency

  • If only select plates are digitized, rotate them as necessary for viewing properly

Exporting 

1. In the top navigation, select Window > Workspace > CH Reflective QC and Process. 

2. In the top left-hand menu, select the Gear icon to access the processing menu.  

3. In the Process Recipes menu, select TIFF Adobe RGB (1998) (8bit) from the pre-made Process Recipes. (Do NOT modify these recipes without renaming them.)  

4. Recipes must be checked to be active (not highlighted.) If an item is highlighted but not checked, the name will appear as red error text in the Process Summary window.   

   1. You can check several recipes to run all recipes at the same time. Note that we will make derivatives from TIFFs in the Digital Collections so this is not necessary. 

5. In the Process Recipe menu, change the resolution to 300, 400, or 600 DPI. The scale should be “Fixed” and set to “100%”.  

6. Change Output Location. 

   1. Next to Store Files, click “Choose Folder”.  

   2. Select Desktop as your destination.

   3. Add a subfolder - title it, Identifier_Item Title

7. Change Output Naming.  

   1. Click on the ellipses icon to change the naming scheme to “Job Name”_“3 Digit Counter.”  

   2. In the Preset dropdown menu, select “Name and 3 Digit Counter”  

   3. In the Format bar, insert an underscore symbol between “Name” and “3 Digit Counter” 

   4. Select OK.  

   5. In the “Job Name” field, enter the item's bib number, accession number, or other identifier.

      1. Note: To reset the Capture Counter to “001,” click on the ellipses next to the “Help” (?) icon to expand the menu and select “Reset Capture Counter.” 

8. Select the files you want to export in the menu on the right-hand side. Click the “Process” button at the bottom of the Process Summary box on the left.

9. Once your files have been exported to the desktop, copy the folder into the external hard drive, “External Dig Backups.”

10. Copy the folder again into Promethium/Digitization/[Respective department folder].

11. Delete the export from the desktop once it has been saved to the M drive and backed up. Don’t forget to clear the Mac’s trash every so often to save space on the device.

 End-of-the-Day Procedures  

1. Close all software on the Mac before shutting down the machine.  

2. Turn off the black power box. Bleed the lights one last time. 

3. Turn the compressor switch to “off” and turn the red plastic valve to “off” (by switching it so that it is perpendicular to the metal tube below it).  

4. Cover the copy table with the hardcover if you removed it.  

5. Replace the lens cap back on.  

6. Turn off all lights in the room and make sure the door is securely locked.  

7. Remove all collection items – this is not a secure location for storing or leaving collections items.  

 Troubleshooting  

Please consult the following resources for digitization troubleshooting assistance:

The camera is powered by the computer and will get “stuck” if the system sits idle for too long or if the computer goes to sleep. If the camera stops responding (“No camera attached”), try:  

1. Closing out of all software and opening them again.  

2. A hard shutdown of the computer (just logging off or restarting tends to not work).  

3. Unplug and replug at the Mac (for power supply issues).  

4. Once everything is back on, if the camera still isn’t responding, try going in and out of the live view to re-establish the connection.  

If the shutter won’t trigger, make sure the shutter and aperture are both open in the Shutter Control application.  

1. Make sure all cables are connected properly.  

2. Make sure the camera card is seated properly.  

If the digitization drive isn’t visible in Capture One, save locally when processing and manually copy files.  

Make sure the “power source” is set to “Autodetect” and the “camera setting” is in “Camera Mode 1.”  

For further help, you can also consult the online support forums, online camera manual, user guides, or contact Digital Transitions.  

Please Note: Emails are preferred and generally responded to within 30 minutes if the technicians are not assisting other clients.   

Overview of System Hardware & Software 

We have a Phase One IQ3 80MP digital back, an RGC-180 book cradle, and the Capture One - Cultural Heritage Software (Version 12) running on a MacPro with the Catalina operating system. Serial #: EJ040213.  

Warranty info for digital backs: SN: IP001022 expired 8/21/2021; SN: EJ040213 expired 7/06/2021 

Hardware 

Hardware Maintenance  

Software

Short-Cuts  

File-naming 

Guidelines are for new imaging—legacy filenames will stay and be ingested as is. Use underscores for spaces. External IDs for various collection materials can be found in the digitization queue, OPAC, Past Perfect, or Archives Space. (Note: You must be logged in to http://digital.sciencehistory.org to access the Digitization Queue via the Admin dashboard). 

Archives (including photographs):  

Library monographs:  

Museum objects (recorded on item level):  

Science History Institute Imaging Standards  

Map M: and P: Drives 

1. From the Apple Menu at the top of the screen, select “System Preferences” (Gear icon). 

2. Click “Users & Groups,” then click the “Login Items” tab on the right. 

3. Click the + sign and select “Map P, H, & M Drives” in the Applications folder. Then click the “Add” button. 

4. Close “Users & Groups.”  

5. Log off the computer and then log back on. When you log back on, a series of pop-ups should appear (“You are attempting to connect to…”), indicating that the computer is attempting to connect to each drive. Click “OK” or “Yes” to connect. 

6. From the “Go” Menu at the top of the screen, select “Computer.” 

7. You should now see three new “Locations” on the left: erbium.cf.org (H: Drive), europium.chf.org (P: Drive), and promethium.chf.org (M: Drive). 

8. On the right-hand side, you should see icons for “P” (which connects to the P: Drive), “Digitization” (which connects to the M: Drive), and “Private” (which connects to your H: Drive or private network folder).   

9. If the drives have been mounted correctly, they will automatically connect every time you log in.