How foil detection and foil detection settings work on the PhyzBatch 9000.
How Foil Detection Works
In order to get clear images, the PhyzBatch 9000 contains several different LED light sources and diffuser panels. Foil detection shuts all of these off and shines a single LED onto the face of the card. The camera will then look for diffraction patterns coming off of the foiling. This can have varied results depending on the cards being scanned (see Foil Calibration). Since it is an extra operation being performed, having foil detection on will decrease scanning speed from ~55-60 cards per minute to ~45 cards per minute.
Settings
Foil detection has 3 different settings:
- Detect
- Mark as _____
- Off (default)
Detect
This will actively search for foil cards using the diffraction method described above. Since this is an additional action performed on each card, it will slow down sorting.
Mark as _____
These settings will force the machine to set cards to the selection (normal or foil).
For example, if the machine is set to "Mark all as Normal", scanned cards will be set to non-foil if both foil/non-foil versions exist. In the case of a card with only foil versions available (either a misidentification or it actually is foil-only), that card will go to the Unidentified bin. This should help mitigate foil-only or promo versions of cards getting mixed into normal stacks, whether it was a misidentification or an actual foil card.
If using the "Mark as" settings, it is important that your cards conform to those settings (i.e. no foils in a "Mark as Normal" setting) as it can lead to slower scanning due to multiple checks or incorrectly identified cards.
If using "Mark as" it is recommended to pre-sort your stacks into foil/non-foil cards. For Pokemon, foils should also be separated into Holofoil/Reverse Holofoil stacks and the settings configured appropriately.
Off
This is the default setting. The foil detection action will not be performed. By default, cards will be detected as non-foil, however, they can still be detected as foil if a foil-only version of the card is identified (either correctly or a misidentification).
Foil-only misidentification primarily affects Magic: The Gathering due to the high number of reprints and reused artwork.
Foil Calibration
Each machine can have small differences in construction. This means that one setting for all machines can lead to varying identification rates. Foil calibration tunes the sensitivity of foil detection on a per-machine basis, leading to more accurate foil detection when that function is turned on.
To calibrate the machine, go to Account > Foil Calibration.
Foil calibration works by scanning 100 non-foil cards with the foil detection process, and then lowering the foil detection settings until no foils are detected. If this procedure is not run, the machine will use the default settings.
Foil settings are individual to each TCG.
Make sure to use the correct cards. Different finishes and foiling between different TCGs will lead to inaccurate results if the wrong TCG is used!
The calibration slider may be used once a calibration is run for that particular TCG. The slider increases and decreases the sensitivity of foil detection. This is useful for cards with variable foiling, especially Pokemon. For example, if you know you're scanning many dark-colored cards (which have lower reflectivity) you could increase the foil sensitivity for better accuracy.
The slider cannot be used until the foil calibration process has been run on that particular TCG.