The TLR Professional Mask Toolkit is a useful set of JavaScripts for automating Adobe® Photoshop® CS/CS2/CS3/CS4 to generate edge masks and surface masks.

There are separate user interfaces for Adobe® Photoshop® CS, CS2, and CS3. Adobe® added more support for screen widgets in Photoshop® CS2 and CS3. So, the Photoshop® CS2 and CS3 versions have interfaces with more visual appeal. The capabilities of the JavaScripts are the same.

The masking features can be combined. You can, for example, specify "Reds" for the color range, "Midtones" for the tonal range, and "Edges" for the mask type. The result will be a single channel that masks red highlight edges.

You can make edge masks, surfaces masks, a pair of edge and surface masks, or even masks that capture a range of tone or colors without regard for edges or surfaces. You just select a mask type, (for edge or surface masks) a width for the edges, a tone range, and a color range. The will then generate an alpha channel that can be used as a layer mask for sharpening, removing noise, or adjusting tone and color.

You should see performance improvements compared to the TLR Edge & Surface Masks action set and the mask generation in the TLR Professional Sharpening Toolkit. These scripts work on duplicates that are converted to 8-bits per channel and to grayscale at the earliest possible moment.

Luminosity Masks v. Enhanced Masks

One of the unique features of TLR actions and scripts for masking, noise reduction, and sharpening is the availability of enhanced masks for edges and surfaces.

Luminosity masks are customary and used by nearly every Photoshop® action, add-in, or script for sharpening images. Enhanced masks start with a luminosity mask. A second mask is generated, one that is sensitive to color boundaries, not just differences in luminosity. This makes a mask with better edge definition. The downside to enhanced masks is added generation time and extra RAM resources. The scripts generate two masks and blend them together for an enhanced mask.

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