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                <h1>
                    Sharpen using Unsharp Mask
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                <div><div class="section"><p>The
Unsharp Mask sharpens an image by increasing contrast along the
edges in an image. The Unsharp Mask does not detect edges in an
image. Instead, it locates pixels that differ in value from surrounding
pixels by the threshold you specify. It then increases the contrast
of neighboring pixels by the amount you specify. So, for neighboring
pixels the lighter pixels get lighter and the darker pixels get
darker. </p>
<p>In addition, you specify the radius of the region
to which each pixel is compared. The greater the radius, the larger
the edge effects.</p>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="tr_30" src="images/tr_30.png" /><div class="figdesc">Original image, and Unsharp Mask applied</div><br /></div><p>The
degree of sharpening applied to an image is often a matter of personal choice.
However, oversharpening an image produces a halo effect around the edges.</p>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="tr_31" src="images/tr_31.png" /><div class="figdesc">Oversharpening an image produces a halo effect around the
edges.</div><br /></div><p>The effects of the Unsharp Mask filter
are more pronounced on‑screen than in high-resolution output. If
your final destination is print, experiment to determine what settings
work best for your image.</p>
</div>
<ol><li class="stepexpand"><span>(Optional)
If your image is multilayered, select the layer containing the image you
want to sharpen. You can apply Unsharp Mask to only one layer at
a time, even if layers are linked or grouped. You can merge the
layers before applying the Unsharp Mask filter. </span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Choose Filter&#160;&gt; Sharpen&#160;&gt; Unsharp
Mask. Make sure the Preview option is selected.</span> <div class="tip"><img src="images/tip_help.png" />Click the image in the preview window and
hold down the mouse to see how the image looks without the sharpening.
Drag in the preview window to see different parts of the image,
and click + or – to zoom in or out.</div><p>Although there is a
preview window in the Unsharp Mask dialog box, it’s best to move
the dialog box so you can preview the effects of the filter in the
document window.</p>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Drag the Radius slider or enter a value to determine
the number of pixels surrounding the edge pixels that affect the
sharpening. The greater the radius value, the wider the edge effects.
And the wider the edge effects, the more obvious the sharpening.</span> <p>The Radius value varies according to the subject matter,
the size of the final reproduction, and the output method. For high-resolution
images, a Radius value between 1 and 2 is usually recommended. A
lower value sharpens only the edge pixels, whereas a higher value
sharpens a wider band of pixels. This effect is much less noticeable
in print than on‑screen, because a 2‑pixel radius represents a smaller
area in a high-resolution printed image. </p>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Drag the Amount slider or enter a value to determine
how much to increase the contrast of pixels. For high-resolution
printed images, an amount between 150% and 200% is usually recommended.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Drag the Threshold slider or enter a value to determine
how different the sharpened pixels must be from the surrounding
area before they are considered edge pixels and sharpened by the
filter. For instance, a threshold of 4 affects all pixels that have
tonal values that differ by a value or 4 or more, on a scale of
0 to 255. So, if adjacent pixels have tonal values of 128 and 129, they
are not affected. To avoid introducing noise or posterization (in
images with flesh tones, for example), use an edge mask or try experimenting
with Threshold values between 2 and 20. The default Threshold value
(0) sharpens all pixels in the image.</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="section"><div class="tip"><img src="images/tip_help.png" />If applying Unsharp Mask makes already
bright colors appear overly saturated, choose Edit&#160;&gt;
Fade Unsharp Mask and choose Luminosity from the Mode menu.</div></div>
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