V8.3 SDK Update

We’ve been continually upgrading our latest “v8” SDK since we launched it last summer, and the aim of most of these improvements have been around ease of use and performance.

Today, we’re happy to announce the next release, version 8.3, which continues on this trend of continual investment and improvement.  This update brings the following additions:

Image File Support

All of our SDK versions from v1 right up to v8.2 have focused on image DATA, not image FILES.  The majority of our customers to date have had existing file reading and writing capabilities which our SDK gracefully plugged into.  However, we have been hearing from several customers and prospects that it would be very useful if they did not have to build and maintain this piece.

So, we’ve done it for you! Our new Perfectly Clear Image File technology handles reading and writing of JPEG files, basic EXIF and other metadata support, and importantly also adds full color management support.  So, for the first time, the Perfectly Clear SDK can be used stand-alone without requiring any other infrastructure or technology.

Color Management

This SDK update adds a major component in your overall photographic workflow – color management support. This provides two major benefits:

1. The Perfectly Clear SDK will provide ideal results – regardless of the input profile for the images you are correcting. sRGB, ProPhoto, Apple’s Display P3 – it no longer matters!
2. You can choose to convert all corrected images to sRGB, or choose to leave them in their input profile.

Resizing

We’ve added a high-quality, high-performance image resizer to the SDK as well.  Most of our current customers use Perfectly Clear after any layout or interposition work, but the addition of this important tool means that you can go from direct-from-the-customer JPEG files to direct-to-the-printer files without external requirements or tools.  

Better Documentation, Better Sample Code, Faster Time to Market

We’ve fully re-written our SDK Documentation and now provide a full suite of sample code, ready to compile and run.  Some customers are actually using our sample code directly in their production environments, so we listened to provide you with code for this purpose.

The docs are now in HTML format, searchable online, and more clearly walk through new and seasoned engineers thru the process and design decisions so that every implementation is fast and successful.  Check it out here

The sample code now fully supports our new Image File technology to read and write JPEG’s and perform color management conversions as necessary.  These ready-to-compile applications are also fully documented and are ready for direct use in your workflow.

Image Correction Validation

We are also excited to bring our image correction validation process into the spotlight.  We’ve been using tools to validate the corrections that our various SDK versions produce, but now we’re able to bring this to the next level.

The v8.3 SDK now will produce pixel-for-pixel identical corrections for all of our corrections across Windows, Linux, and Mac environments (with the only exception being noise removal). We will also be providing reports of any correction variance in future SDK releases.  These validation reports will be provided with each SDK release, so you’ll have a clear view of what image corrections we have improved and what impact that will have on your workflow and customer experience.

Summary

These various projects all combine to provide one thing – allow you to get the best looking photos in the least amount of time.  New customers have more implementation choices and will be able to get up and running across a wide variety of use cases quicker than ever.  And existing customers have new tools to use to ensure Perfectly Clear is being used to its fullest extent.