Image Doctor is a software program on CD of advanced image correction filters for photo repair and retouching. This program consists of four utilities which are identified as Smart Fill, Scratch Remover, Spot Lifter, and JPEG Repair.

Image Doctor is not a stand-alone program and, as such, must be used with late versions of Adobe Photoshop or Macromedia Fireworks in either Macintosh or Windows. It can also be used with Paint Shop Pro in Windows.

Spot Lifter is, perhaps, the simplest of Image Doctor's ^TM filters to use. The Spot Lifter filter provides the quickest and easiest way to remove small low-contrast image defects while blending in the appearance of the surrounding image. This filter is great for removing defects such as water stains and mold from image backgrounds. It is also a great filter for removing facial blemishes such as freckles, acne and moles as well as the shadow under eyes. If, however, the desired results are not obtained using this filter the use of Scratch Remover or Smart Fill filter is advised. One should be cautioned that overuse of this filter will result in a blurred selection which, in turn, tends to eliminate all surface texture.

The Scratch Remover filter provides the fastest method of defect removal as well as scratch repair. It is a filter that is much easier to use than its counterpart, the Smart Fill filter. The Scratch Remover filter is used to eliminate linear defects such as scratches, tears, and creases. It also may be used to effectively remove unwanted elements, such as date/time stamps, logos, or subtitles from an image. Repetitive fill patterns, which generally results from cloning a sample, is eliminated because Scratch Remover samples the surrounding area and homogeneously fills in the open area.

A filter somewhat more complex than the Scratch Remover filter, its little sister, the Smart Fill filter which may be used to remove large unwanted items from an image. Use of this filter, however, leaves a large open area in the image or background that must be filled in. The Smart Fill filter randomly samples around the entire area that is removed and detects sufficient details to create a contiguous background texture. If an unwanted object or area traverses several different background textures, however, multiple selections and applications should be used to achieve the best effect. When using the Smart Fill filter, then, the unwanted area should be broken down into small sections thereby providing better control which, in turn, produce better results.

The JPEG Repair filter is not as difficult to use as one may imagine. There are only three sliders to adjust therefore it is rather difficult to make a mistake. It is, none-the-less, an easy filter to overuse. Overuse of this filter will create an undesired airbrush appearance to the repaired image. This filter is used primarily to help reduce the damage caused by over compressing screen resolution image files. It also helps to make damaged images more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It should be noted that although it is not possible to restore details that were lost in the compression process from the original uncompressed image the visual impact of over compression may be somewhat reduced. One should also be reminded that the JPEG Repair filter relies on the 8x8 pixel regularity of the compression grid. Therefore, the cropping or resizing of an image will limit the effectiveness of this filter. For the best results it is important to use JPEG Repair filter before cropping or resizing an image.

Image Doctor is a product of Alien Software of Raleigh, NC. Cost $99. Although I was given the disk for review at the October 2003 meeting the latest revision of the included manual is June 2002. The disc is also Copyright 2002. Perhaps there is a later edition available. The single CD disk comes packaged with a 51-page step-by-step manual that is easy to follow. While they have a toll-free phone number their Tech Support is apparently by e-mail. For more information they may be contacted at: alien-skinfo@alienskin.com.