DustMagic doesn’t ship plugins for Photoshop or Capture One. Both apps integrate cleanly via standard external-editor file workflows — no scripts required.
Photoshop Workflow
- In Photoshop, flatten or select the layer you want to clean.
- File → Save a Copy as 16-bit TIFF (LZW compression is fine).
- Open DustMagic and import the TIFF (Ctrl+I or drag-and-drop onto the window).
- Set Film Type, choose Conservative, review with the view-mode keys (1–5), then click Export This Image.
- Place the cleaned TIFF back into your Photoshop document as a new layer.
Tip: in Photoshop, File → Place Linked keeps the cleaned TIFF as an external reference. Re-running DustMagic on the same file updates Photoshop automatically.
Capture One Workflow
- Right-click the image → Process with a 16-bit TIFF recipe.
- Open the resulting TIFF in DustMagic.
- Process the dust, export, and re-import the cleaned file as a variant in Capture One.
For batches, set the recipe output folder to a dedicated location, point DustMagic at it via Import Folder, and click Process Batch.
Recommended Workflow Order
- Dust removal (DustMagic) — clean first, on a flat 16-bit TIFF.
- Exposure and white balance.
- Colour grading and retouching.
- Output sharpening for the destination medium.
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 — DustMagic doesn’t read PSDs; flatten to TIFF first.
Common Questions
- Does DustMagic preserve EXIF? Yes — input metadata is copied to the cleaned output file.
- Does it work on Photoshop layers directly? No — 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
- Lightroom-specific workflow — 3.1: Lightroom Integration Guide.
- Output format choices — 3.3: Exporting & Saving Cleaned Images.