When used properly, sharpening is a subtle process. Its effects can be difficult to illustrate well across the web on a computer monitor of unknown calibration. Nonetheless, the following images attempt to demonstrate some aspects of EasySharp, and how it differs from conventional unsharp mask sharpening. The images are rollovers; move your cursor over them to see the comparison.
Shown below is a crop, at 300% magnification, of a larger image. While excessive peering at individual pixels is usually unhelpful, it is useful in this case to illustrate how EasySharp differs from basic unsharp mask sharpening. Hold your mouse over the image to see the image as sharpened with EasySharp, and remove the mouse to see the result of standard unsharp mask sharpening. Both are sharpened to the required amount along the important edges in the image—those defining the people sitting on the steps.
However, to achieve this amount of sharpening, the unsharp mask has overemphasized the texture in wall behind, creating a slightly "crunchy" appearance. In comparison, these areas remain untouched by the EasySharp sharpening effect.
Good sharpening can make a real difference to the presentation of images on the web. EasySharp makes the job easy. The images below show unsharpened, down-sized images ready for presentation on a web page. Their overall appearance is soft due to down-sizing. By rolling your mouse over the images, the benefits of EasySharp sharpening can be seen.
Interesting results can be obtained when EasySharp is applied to resized images. In some cases, the filter is effective at restoring significant sharpness to the broad edges that results from up-sampling an image. The example below shows a 100% crop of an enlarged image. (The detail shown is of a motor vehicle.) The enlargement was created from the original by increasing the width and depth by 300% each. As can be seen, the edges are quite soft. Rolling the mouse over the image reveals the edge sharpness that can be recreated using EasySharp.
Sharpening is an unfortunate but necessary part of the digital imaging workflow. Appropriate sharpening plays an important role in the creation of high-quality images, both in print and on the web. EasySharp can help reduce your sharpening burden while creating high-quality results. We encourage you to try EasySharp for yourself to see if it can help improve your work. A thirty-day evaluation version of the software is available for download here.
(Images on this page courtesy of Tim Raupach.)