Introduction

The Plustek large format scanners are great for scanning oversized items like photo album pages, large
documents, photos, memorabilia and more, but the software and Plustek’s documention for how to use
the scanner isn’t as intuitive as it could be.

That’s why I’ve written this short manual. It’s not an exhaustive tutorial on how to use the Plustek
OpticSlim 1180 or the Plustek OpticPro A320L scanners. It’s just a quick guide to get you up and
running fast without feeling frustrated!

Important!

I don’t go over settings that are simple to figure out on your own. I only discuss the main pitfalls and
confusion I got past by talking to Customer Service at Plustek or by experimenting on my own.

If you have additional questions, please reach out to Plustek’s fine support team. You’ll find a chat option
on their website.

Note: This PDF was published in November 2020. Plustek is working on an update to their documentation
that will hopefully be easier to understand, so if it’s been awhile, check online for updates. If an updated
manual isn’t out yet I hope these tips will help you in the meantime.

Here’s to your scanning success!

Linda Sattgast
Family History Instructor
familyhistoryhero.com

Prepare For Disaster © 2020 Linda Sattgast Page 1

 Windows & Mac Differences
I’ll be using screenshots from a Mac.

Plustek
OpticSlim 1180
Mac Version

The Windows version is similar and operates the same way.

Plustek
OpticSlim 1180
Windows Version

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 Scanner Versions
These instructions will work with the Plustek OpticSlim 1180 and the Plustek OpticPro A320L. The main
difference is the number of buttons (or scanning modes) available on the left.

Plustek
OpticSlim 1180

Plustek
OpticPro A320L

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 3 Important Settings That
Aren’t Easy To Figure Out
Apply Button

Anytime you make a change in the settings for any reason you must click the Apply Button in the lower
right corner. Otherwise your changes won’t stick. Once you click Apply the button will turn gray.

Scan Button

You can start a scan by clicking on the Scan button on the scanner itself, but on the software there’s no
apparent Scan button—only a Preview button in the lower right corner. BUT if you double click the Scan
setting button you’re using on the left, it will start the scan.

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 Image Quality Settings
Image Quality Sliders

For both scanners ajusting Gamma is the secret to getting a good image and adding Brightness makes the
image worse. It helps to add Contrast to the OpticPro, but the OpticSlim already has so much contrast that
adding more will result in loss of detail.

Recommended Settings For OpticSlim 1180:

Scan at a minimum Resolution of 300 ppi. Start with Brightness 0, Contrast 0, and Gamma 2.35, then
adjust as needed.

Recommended Settings For OpticPro A320L:

Scan at a minimum Resolution of 300 ppi. Start with Bightness 0, Contrast 5, and Gamma 2.00, then
adjust as needed.

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 Other Helpful Information
Apply Color Matching
Don’t use Apply Color Matching for the OpticSlim.
Do use Apply Color Matching for the OpticPro.
(Feel free to test a scan with or without it.)

Scan Quality
In the File format section click the “Configure…” button to get a fly-out panel to choose your scan quality.
I use 90 to get excellent scans at a reasonable file size. (Choosing 100 adds quite a bit more file size
without a noticeable difference in quality.)

Click OK and don’t forget to click the Apply button!

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 Naming & Saving Scans
Click on the “Save Setup” button (”Setup” for Windows) to get a fly-out panel where you can:
#1: Choose your Saving Folder. (Click on the button with 3 dots to get a navigation window)
#2: Choose Custom and enter the name you want for your scan or scans.
#3: Numbering Scheme: If you’re scanning multiple images with the same name, check “Enable
Numbering Scheme.” Enter the starting number and choose the “Pad” or number digits you want.
#4: Always check the Example name preview to make sure the name is correct.
#5: Click OK and don’t forget to click the Apply button!

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 Save Multiple Album Pages As A PDF
The reason I bought a Plustek large format scanner was to scan my oversized 12x12 inch photo album
pages. My intent was to upload the JPEG images to an online photo book company to create a hard bound
book that was much lighter and took up a lot less shelf space.

I also wanted to have more than one book printed so each of our children could have a copy.

Not all of my old photo albums were worth turning into books, however, but I still wanted to save them as
a PDF that included all the pages in the proper order.

The Plustek large format scanners make it very easy to do that at no additional cost.

Plustek OpticSlim 1180:

(See next page for the Plustek OpticPro A320L.)

Click on the PDF button in the list of buttons on the left.

• In the File Format section open the Color menu and make sure it’s set to Searchable PDF.
• To the right of File Name click the “Setup...” button to enter your PDF name. You don’t need to check
Enable Numbering Scheme because none of the pages will have numbers.
• In File Format click the “Configure...” button to get a fly-out panel where you can select the quality,
which will also affect the final PDF file size. I use 90.
• Use the same image quality settings you use for regular scanning, but keep Continuous Scan (in the list
on the right) checked. This allows you to keep scanning page after page until you finish all the pages
for your PDF.
• When you’re done adjusting your settings, click the Apply button.
• After each scan you’ll get a pop up dialogue box with the option
to continue or finish.
• When you click Finish you’ll get a pop up to show that the scanner
is scanning for OCR (Optical Character Recognition). This will give your PDF text you can highlight or
copy or search. When that’s done your PDF will appear in the destination folder!

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 Save Multiple Album Pages As A PDF, Cont.
Plustek OpticPro A320L:
• There’s no PDF button in the list of buttons to the left on the software, but you can configure another
button to create a multi-page PDF. I recommend you select one of the “Custom” buttons and set it up
to be your PDF scanning button.
• Open the Button Template menu at the top and choose PDF Utility which will automatically select
“Searchable PDF” as the File Format.
• To choose the “Saving Folder” (destination) click the button with three dots.
• To the right of File Name click the “Setup...” button to enter your PDF name. You don’t need to check
Enable Numbering Scheme because none of the pages will have numbers.
• In File Format click the “Configure...” button to get a fly-out panel where you can select the quality,
which will also affect the final PDF file size. I use 90.
• I found that I had to recalibrate the image quality sliders for PDFs. To get you started here’s what I use
on the sliders: Brightness and Contrast: 0. Gamma: 1.90.
• In the list on the right check Continuous Scan, Apply Color Matching, and Auto Crop.
• Don’t forget to click Apply!
• Double click on the Custom 1 button (or the button you chose) to start scanning. Click “Continue” on the
pop up dialog box until you’re done with all the PDF pages.
• Don’t press the Custom 1 button on the scanner itself to scan a page. At first I thought I was just being
careless when I would occasionally have a scanned page
flip upside down, but it happened so many times that I
paid really close attention and found it only happened
when I pressed the button on the scanner, and then not
even every time!
• When you’re done scanning all the pages for your PDF,
click Finish on the pop up dialog box.
• You should now get a pop-up showing that the program is applying OCR (Optical Character Recognition.
(My pop up says “FinReader.”) When that’s done your PDF will appear in your destination folder.

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So those are my tips for using the Plustek OpticSlim 1180 and OpticPro A320L scanners.

For more tips and news on turning your boxes of photos into sharable family stories go to
familyhistoryhero.com.

Prepare For Disaster © 2020 Linda Sattgast Page 10