Improve the visual quality of text
The new Preserve Text filter specializes in making small or degraded text appear sharper and more natural than existing methods. It is also the first text enhancement AI model commercially available.
Preserve Text is designed to work in combination with other AI models in Topaz Photo AI, so you should specifically select text and let other models handle non-text output. Use the Low Resolution model for small text with low pixel counts, and use Noisy/Compressed for larger text with visual quality issues.
After you enable the filter, brush to select the text youād like to enhance. If your image is mostly text (like a book page or document), you can use the āSelect Allā option. Because of the importance of selecting text correctly, Autopilot wonāt automatically enable Preserve Text.
Increase text sharpness
Default Photo AI upscaling created pretty good results in the example above, but youāll still notice some smudging around the last word. Preserve Text can help increase visual fidelity in both handwritten and printed text.
Remove AI-generated artifacts in text
Regular AI upscaling lacks an understanding of how text should look, but still attempts to generate detail and often does an unconvincing job. Preserve Text fixes incorrectly generated detail - such as around the āEā letters in the example above - and ensures that text appears natural to the human eye.
Fix issues caused by combining other models
Sometimes you may want to combine multiple AI functions to enhance an image, which can mangle text because of compounding artifacts. Preserve Text allows you to confidently stack other AI filters by maintaining the legibility of selected text.
You can read more about Preserve Text in the Topaz Photo AI docs. We hope you enjoy using this new filter, and please let us know what you think by commenting below! Weāll continue improving the feature based on your feedback.
Updated controls interface
It is now simpler and faster to view and edit the right controls panel:
The major changes from the last version include:
- You can now more easily preview and edit Crop, Subject, and Face Selection.
- The Autopilot list is hidden to increase emphasis on the filters. We will bring this back in a more space-efficient way soon.
- The former Upscale and Enhance Resolution functions have been combined into the Upscale filter. Despite the name, you can still downscale or apply a ā1x upscaleā to enhance quality without upscaling.
Weāre still very interested in hearing about any usability issues you experience with Topaz Photo AI. We will continue to improve the appās design and usability based on your feedback.
Support for Nikon Z9 / Z8 High Efficiency raw files
Topaz Photo AI now natively supports the āHigh Efficiency*ā and āHigh Efficiencyā raw formats used in Nikon Z9 and Z8 cameras. Directly import your .NEF file into Topaz Photo AI for improved raw quality:
- Standalone: drag and drop your .NEF file into the app.
-
Lightroom Classic: select your .NEF file, then go to
File ā Plug-Ins Extras ā Topaz Photo AI.
This will allow Topaz Photo AI access to more image information than importing a tiff or jpeg, which is especially useful for better noise reduction. We will also soon release a significantly improved raw noise reduction and demosaicing model that will require this workflow.
Other improvements
Since Juneās update post weāve shipped many more improvements:
- Added option to upscale by inches or centimeters in addition to pixels
- Improved preview color management and sped it up with better caching
- Updated splash screen that shows recently opened files and tutorials (standalone only)
- Face Recovery no longer only applies to half a face, modifies clothes, or changes face color
- Updated raw camera support, lens correction database, and fixed crop & orientation issues
- Added 3x and 5x default scaling options to Autopilot Configuration in Preferences
- Added upscale information to appended model names to exported files
- Fixed navigator jumping to top-left on first zoom in/out
- Photoshop plugin now correctly persists settings
- Fixed Lightroom Classic sometimes opening multiple Photo AI instances
- Computer will no longer sleep when batch processing on Windows
- Fixed various crashes, errors, and other issues
- Many minor interface and wording improvements
Read the release threads for v1.4.0, v1.3.12, v1.3.11, v1.3.9, v1.3.8, and v1.3.7 for the full change logs.
Whatās next
Weāre excited to bring the next round of improvements to you over the next few months:
- Improve RAW Remove Noise with improved demosaicing, reduced artifacts, and better handling of strong noise.
- Improve blur reduction (Sharpen) model quality.
- Allow adding back original image detail after applying Remove Noise.
- Improve the batch processing export flow, stability, and performance
- Fix occasional Face Recovery eye color and blending issues.
- Fix occasional blurry patches caused by tile depth issues.
- Add Automate plugin that allows for upscaling within Photoshop.
- (Exploratory) Generative object removal that runs on your local hardware
Please apply for our beta program if youāre interested in giving feedback on these changes before theyāre released. If youāre interested in setting up a Zoom call with us to discuss your workflow, contact us to schedule a time.
Thanks, and we hope youāve been enjoying Topaz Photo AI! Please comment below with your thoughts; we look forward to hearing from you.
