3.2 Photoshop & Other Editors

DustMagic works with Photoshop through a script that comes with the app. Any other editor, such as Capture One, works through TIFF or JPEG files: export, clean in DustMagic, and import the cleaned files back.

Photoshop — Script

The DustMagic Batch script, included with DustMagic, sends a flattened copy of your image to DustMagic and adds the cleaned result back as a new layer called DustMagic Cleaned. Your other layers are left as they are.

1. In DustMagic, go to Help → Photoshop Integration… and click Install. (On Windows the first install can ask for administrator rights.)
2. Restart Photoshop.
3. Open your image (or several) and choose File → Automate → DustMagic Batch….
4. Pick your options (below) and click OK.

The options:

• Images — This image, or All open images to clean every open image in one go.
• Mode — Clean automatically cleans in the background with no DustMagic window. Open in DustMagic lets you check and brush by hand; only the images you save in DustMagic are changed.
• Profile — your default DustMagic profile, Conservative, or any profile you’ve saved.
• Result — Add as a new layer keeps your layers; Replace the image flattens the cleaned result into the image.

Photoshop — Cleaning Many Images

Step-by-step setup for actions and Batch, and how layers are kept: 3.4: Photoshop: Batch Cleaning, Actions and Layers.

• Images you have open — choose All open images with Clean automatically. DustMagic cleans them in parallel, the fastest way inside Photoshop. A progress window and a summary show how it went; then save the images as usual.
• A folder of files, including layered PSD files — record the script into a Photoshop action (choose This image while recording), then run it with File → Automate → Batch. With Destination set to Save and Close, each file is saved back in its own format with its layers kept, so work on a copy of the folder. Batch starts DustMagic once per image, so it’s slower than All open images.
• A folder of TIFF or JPEG scans — the DustMagic app’s own Process Batch is fastest of all; open the cleaned files in Photoshop afterwards.

Keeping layers: the DustMagic Cleaned layer is a cleaned copy of the image as it looked when you ran the script, so it hides later changes to the layers below it. Clean first and edit afterwards, or keep adjustment layers above it. A layer mask on it lets you restore any area.

Photoshop — Manual File Workflow

1. In Photoshop, flatten or select the layer you want to clean.
2. File → Save a Copy as 16-bit TIFF (LZW compression is fine).
3. Open DustMagic and import the TIFF (Ctrl+I or drag-and-drop onto the window).
4. Choose dark or light dust, choose Conservative, review with the view-mode keys (1–5), then click Export This Image.
5. Place the cleaned TIFF from the cleaned/ subfolder back into your Photoshop document as a new layer.

Tip: in Photoshop, File → Place Linked keeps the cleaned TIFF as an external reference.

Other Editors — TIFF Export and Import

Any editor that can export and import TIFF or JPEG files works with DustMagic. Capture One is the example here; other editors have equivalent commands.

1. Export the images as 16-bit TIFF (in Capture One: right-click → Process with a 16-bit TIFF recipe).
2. Open the TIFFs in DustMagic, clean them, and export.
3. Import the cleaned files from the cleaned/ subfolder back into your editor (in Capture One, as a variant).

For batches, export to a dedicated folder (in Capture One, set the recipe’s output folder), point DustMagic at it via Import Images (Ctrl+I), and click Process Batch.

When to Clean

You can clean before, during or after editing. Cleaning the flat 16-bit scan before you edit is the simplest route for batches; the Photoshop script lets you clean during editing, one image or all open images at a time.

File Format Notes

• TIFF 16-bit — recommended. Lossless, preserves dynamic range.
• TIFF 8-bit — fine for sharing, smaller files.
• JPEG — works, but stacking Lightroom/Capture One processing on JPEGs is best avoided.
• PSD — the DustMagic app doesn’t open PSD files. Use the Photoshop script, which cleans them inside Photoshop and keeps their layers, or save a flattened TIFF first.
• RAW (NEF, ARW, CRW and similar) — develop and save as TIFF or JPEG first.

Common Questions

• Does DustMagic preserve metadata? Yes — metadata and the ICC profile are copied to the cleaned file, which keeps the original file name.
• Does it work on Photoshop layers directly? The script cleans a flattened copy of the visible image and adds the result as a new layer, so your existing layers stay intact. For the file workflow, flatten the relevant layers to a TIFF first.
• Smart Objects? Place the cleaned TIFF as a Smart Object in Photoshop to keep non-destructive edits available.

Next Steps

• Photoshop actions, batch cleaning and layers in detail — 3.4: Photoshop: Batch Cleaning, Actions and Layers.
• Lightroom-specific workflow — 3.1: Lightroom Integration Guide.
• Output format choices — 3.3: Exporting & Saving Cleaned Images.