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The DOI for all versions of this document (.zip) is10.5281/zenodo.3607301 Difference between version 1.1.0 (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4548090) & version 1.1.1 Typos and orthography Adding technical information to the filters section. Renumbering figures after adding diagram to filters section This document was created to provide an insight in and review on the technical infrastructure in use for the Narrow Band Multi-Spectral Imaging (NBMSI) system of the 3Pi Project (Book Heritage Lab, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven), operated in the Imaging Lab of the KU Leuven Libraries. At KU Leuven this narrow band multi-spectral imaging infrastructure has been obtained and is being operated within the framework of this 3Pi Project (Diagnosis of Papyrus-Paper-Parchment manuscripts through advanced Imaging, AKUL/17/001, FWO: I009918N, Mid-scale Research Infrastructure). This NBMSI system was created by R.B. Toth and Associates LLC, in association with Equipose Imaging LLC and Phase One A/S and their local partners; the acquisition software of the system is Spectral XV. The technical infrastructure acquired by the 3Pi Project is part of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. Promotor-spokesman is prof. dr. Johan Leemans; coordinator is prof. dr. Lieve Watteeuw (Head Book Heritage Lab); implementation of the NBMSI system by Bruno Vandermeulen (Head Imaging Lab) & Hendrik Hameeuw (Advanced Imaging, Imaging Lab). The NBMSI system at KU Leuven consists of: Phase one XF IQ4150MP AchromaticCamera System (light sensor) Schneider Kreuznach 120mm LS f/4.0 Macro (lens) Filter wheel with band pass and long pass filters 2 Eureka light panels TX Transmitting Module Kaiser rePRO RSP (copystand) Spectral XV software

Heritage artefacts and collections are crossroads where historical context, materiality, content and technology join. In the field of heritage science, scholars deploy methodologies from the humanities and applied sciences to increase the understanding of heritage artefacts and collections through the use of advanced technology and infrastructure. Within VIEW, KU Leuven Core Facility for Heritage Science and Digitisation Technologies, several labs have joined their expertise and infrastructure. VIEW deploys digitisation technologies and techniques such as advanced imaging, high-end digitisation and data extraction to create rich datasets, provide new insights and facilitate cutting edge research of documentary heritage, heritage collections and heritage materials in a nondestructive way. The focused use of such infrastructure and technology represents an important accelerator in conservation science projects for documents on papyrus, parchment and paper.

Interactive Pixel Based file formats have been produced over the course of the last two decades by many stakeholders active in the Heritage sector. It is a global story. Its use has facilitated research and dissemination strategies for vast numbers of artefacts, conservation interactions and scientific studies. The technology has been explored and elaborated via varying technical strategies; each one of them delivering specific results with visual benefits and paths for computational research. This situation is also reflected in the many naming conventions used for this technology: Relightable Images, Multi-Light Image Collections, Reflectance Transformation Imaging, Multi-Light Images, Multi-Light Reflectance, … . It has been the aim of the pixel+ project to bring the existing spectrum of these technologies closer together, by A. creating a universal web interface for its most popular processed output formats (objective 1), B. finding solutions to store and disseminate these type of multi-layered datasets in a new open, web optimize file format (objective 2), C. providing a conversion tool allowing stakeholders to optimize their existing datasets into the new file format (objective 2). Throughout the pixel+ project the general collective term for the targeted technology is Single Camera Multi-Light (SCML), the newly proposed file format: .scml. SCML techniques have been used extensively to study objects under varying light conditions. Intuitively, we humans perform this technique to study local surface detail, the shape of an object or reflectance properties, e.g. by using a flash light at raking angles to reveal the tiny surface details. These visual cues that change under varying light conditions are captured with cameras and serve as input for various algorithms that model this light dependent pixel intensity (i.e. formulate the final pixel color as a function of the light direction) or even learn surface and material properties from these cues. Two major SCML approaches lay in the scope of the pixel+ project. On the one hand the Belgian system of the Portable Light Dome (PLD) and on the other hand the US solution with Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI); sometimes also known as Polynomial Texture Mapping (PTM), piloted by Cultural Heritage Imaging (CHI, San Francisco). The latter includes the axe expanded by mainly ISTI/CNR researchers in Italy. Both approaches have proven their added value over the last 20 years for the visual documenting, study and multi-layered digital preservation of heritage objects. In the meantime countless past and ongoing research and imaging projects, initiated and funded all over the world, illustrate this clearly. For all these projects and their outcomes pixel+ has provided new solutions. Both platforms have been developed by separate research groups, with a different focus. This resulted in dissimilar interactive pixel based file formats, making it challenging to interchange the information processed and stored in their respective output datasets. Therefore, the pixel+ project aimed to merge the technologies of both approaches into a single consultation platform that will be capable of displaying all existing interactive pixel based file formats with their respective viewing modes and metadata. This viewer has the ability to illuminate the virtual model of the heritage object and consult the processed datasets with visual styles developed within the research spheres of both platforms. Moreover, as both methods are alike in terms of required input and processed output, pixel+ focusses on other types of integration, resulting in new additional visual styles for processed data, as well as a novel reprocessing pipeline for existing source image sets. Because RTI and PLD are still relatively young technologies, knowledge of their technicalities and wide range of potential benefits is still sub-par. A new dissemination website has been launched which explains these technologies and their derivatives. It contains best practices and use cases, and shares community updates. As it's in the interest of the whole community, the website doesn’t shy away from discussing other future computational photography techniques to further elaborate viewing, processing and/or digital preserving interactive pixel based file formats. The source codes of both the pixel+ viewer and this companion website are on GitHub. ispartof: BRAIN-be Pioneer Projects pages:1-51 status: Published online

Developments over the last decennium in the field of nondestructive art technical research have provided new possibilities for examining the current condition of the Codex Eyckensis and exploring the materials used by the illuminator and scribe. By comparing and combining the results of macro x-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) and Raman spectroscopy analysis with the images taken by multispectral microdome (MSLD) (photometric stereo), the composition of the parchment, ink, and paint layers could be characterized and visualized. ispartof: ICOM-CC 19th Triennial Conference Preprints, Beijing, 17–21 May 2021 ispartof: Transcending Boundaries: Integrated Approaches to Conservation. location:Beijng date:17 May - 21 May 2021 status: published

The DOI for all version of this standard is10.5281/zenodo.3607363 Reasons for update from version 1 (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3607364): ● All NBMSI metadata entries received an unique ID. ● Extra insight into the management and handling of the metadata have been added. ● The update provides better tools to allow machine readability of the documented metadata. ● Examples of implementation strings into the EXIF Image Description field. ● Small clarifications and corrections. A. The objective of the KU Leuven NBMSI Metadata Standard, developed within the framework of the 3Pi project,is to define the required or relevant metadata elements and their parameters for image captures created with a photographic Narrow Band Multi-Spectral Imaging (NBMSI) technology. The determined and selected metadata fields provide information necessary to outline the creation environment and technical infrastructure used in the production of the images. These are not standard included in the basic EXIF or IPTC fields embedded in the image derived from the camera system itself. As such this is metadata pertaining to the image dataset and not to the object being imaged. The KU Leuven NBMSI Metadata Standard is intended to provide definitions and conventions, allowing users to access documentation for images stemming from a common set of terminology. This will therefore provide a level of consistency for the metadata information. Therefore, the primary functions of this document are: Providing users of the images with information about the creation environment of narrow band multi-spectral images. Defining standard metadata fields that can be embedded to a multitude of images for consistency and clarity. Outlining the values of these standardized metadata fields; how to measure and enter them. Allowing independent and long-term interpretation of the images. B. The scope of this standard is in the first place aimed at providing coverage to any objects that may be imaged by the narrow band multi-spectral imaging infrastructure deployed by the Imaging Lab at KU Leuven Libraries. This includes the collection held by the University Libraries, as well as collections brought in by external institutions or researchers. Secondly, the standard has also been constructed in the interest of having usability for other institutions, using similar narrow band multi-spectral imaging technology, inside or outside of KU Leuven. C. Related Standards: This standard was developed with direct reference to the Archimedes Palimpsest Metadata Standard. The Archimedes Palimpsest Metadata Standard originally draws from such standards including: Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Element Set (ISO Standard 15836) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Data (FGDS-STD-001-1998) Art Museum Image Consortium (AMICO) &nbsp

Difference between version 1.0 (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3675269) & version 1.1 Typos and orthography. Finetuning of capture settings of some captures in KULBMSS. Expanding the KULBMSS with recordings made with the TX module (NB backlight). Adding info and documentation on the use of the TX module (NB backlight) This document was created to provide an insight on the basic acquisition sequence applied with the Narrow Band Multi-Spectral Imaging (NBMSI) system used at the KU Leuven (for the document on that systems’ hardware, see https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3607302). It also provides information on the automated file naming (nomenclature) of the captures with that NBMSI system when the Spectral XV software interface for capture and (pre-)processing is used. At KU Leuven this NBMSI infrastructure has been obtained and is being operated within the framework of this 3Pi Project (Diagnosis of Papyrus-Paper-Parchment manuscripts through advanced Imaging, AKUL/17/001, FWO: I009918N). This NBMSI system was created by R.B. Toth and Associates LLC, in association with Equipose Imaging LLC and Phase One A/S and their local partners; the acquisition software of the system is Spectral XV.

The Checklist for the digitisation of manuscripts is a tool to support safe digitisation of manuscripts in heritage collections. The instrument aims to give guidance to conservator-restorers, librarians, collection-care and digitisation professionals. https://www.metamorfoze.nl/sites/default/files/publicatie_documenten/Checklist%20for%20the%20digitisation%20of%20manuscripts%20-%202.0%20-%20Ilse%20Korthagen%2C%20Femke%20Prinsen%2C%20Lieve%20Watteeuw%20and%20Bruno%20Vandermeulen%20-%202019.pdf ispartof: Metamorfoze Nieuws vol:2019 pages:1-61 status: published

In recent years more advanced imaging techniques have been introduced to study, document, curate and preserve our heritage. Pixel+ focuses on two of them: Reflectance Transformation Imaging/Polynomial Texture Mapping and the Portable Light Dome.

The Egyptian collection of the RMAH comprises about one hundred execration figurines made of unbaked clay, bearing curses written in hieratic script (a cursive writing system related to hieroglyphs) and dating to the Middle Kingdom (c. 1850 BC). These represent captured (foreign) enemies and were buried ritually in order to symbolically neutralise foreign and domestic enemies and general threats. Nearly 90 years after their discovery, the red and black pigments used to inscribe these four millennia old objects are now faded or damaged. The Execration texts on these figurines are regarded as one of the most renowned collections of written sources for ancient Near Eastern studies, Egyptian history and Biblical studies for the early 2nd millennium BCE. When it comes to documenting every characteristic of an object in a highly detailed way, clay artefacts inscribed with ink and other pigments, such as the aforementioned figurines, pose a particular challenge. These three-dimensional media with curved surfaces hold traces of writing that, in some cases, have faded or have disappeared completely. The study of these objects is generally hampered by their poor state of conservation, any handling can result in a considerable loss of material (and therefore also valuable information). The EES project aimed to develop new imaging techniques (using interactive 2D, 3D and multispectral images) that can improve the legibility of faded inscriptions and enhance the decorations on clay objects. Combining 3D digitisation and multispectral imaging in a userfriendly and transportable system, that is also manageable by curators, conservators, researchers and other stakeholders in the museum, is a truly pioneering project. It must facilitate the management of recorded collections and offer numerous possibilities for historical and art-technical studies on these objects, while the future handling is limited to a minimum, thus ensuring their sustainability. nrpages: 66 status: published

When heritage objects are being transformed into digital representations, the loss of information is inevitable. The challenge lies in developing integrated systems able to minimize this loss and bring together as many different kinds of recordable characteristics as possible of one and the same object. This contribution presents an approach that combines the detection of colour, surface shape and the reflective characteristics of surfaces by using a selection of IR, Red, Green, Blue and UV light spectra and applying them on 3D models. A multispectral, multi-directional, portable and dome-shaped recording tool has been developed to this end. With the associated software, virtual relighting and enhancements can be applied in an interactive manner based on the principles of photometric stereo: this allows alternating in real time between computations with IR, R, G, B, and UV light spectra. Throughout the testing phases, this non-invasive registration and documentation technique has been applied to monitor and study a vast number of heritage objects, varying from 19th c. BCE Egyptian inscribed clay figurines to medieval illuminations. ispartof: pages:163-192 ispartof: Lights On … Cultural Heritage and Museums! pages:163-192 ispartof: Lights On … Cultural Heritage and Museums! location:Porto date:20 Jul - 22 Jul 2015 status: published

MAGING WITH PHOTOMETRIC STEREO FOR MANUSCRIPT & CONSERVATION RESEARCH To document surface characteristics of illuminations, supports and pictorial layers, a Microdome was developed in at Leuven University (Belgium). A camera of 28 million pixels is digitizing the objects with omnimulti-directional lighting and export the result to 2D+. The technique is based on polynomial texture mapping, or Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), a method of imaging and interactively displaying objects under varying lighting conditions to reveal surface phenomena. The underlying processing is based on the extraction of surface characteristics using methodologies such as photometric stereo and BRDF analysis (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function). The module is a hemi-spherical structure with a single downward looking video camera. The object to be captured (maximum 180 to 120 mm) lies in the center and is illuminated from computer-controllable lighting directions, through the subsequent activation of multiple white LEDs (260). The different angles that illuminate the surface of the artifacts are revealing extreme details. The Microdome has a diameter of 30 cm. The Microdome is used for examination and identification of the production of scripts, miniatures, gold tooling, embossing, stamps on paper and parchment, For changes in their structures (ea. cockling, tractions, folds, lacunas, retouching, scratches, abrasion) the imaging tool proved to be an extremely accurate. Complementary, RICH is useful to monitor and measure the conservation and preservation status of an object before and after treatment, transport or exhibition. The implementation of a scaling and measuring tool with grid (1 mm) in the software enables the researcher – conservator to export graphically the dimensions and changes of topographic characteristics until 10 microns. Dome for digitizing with omnimulti-directional lighting and export the result to 2D+ For book conservation reasons, a slice of the Microdome is removed, allowing the tool to monitor in 150 degrees. The micro-dome is mounted on a special designed book conservation cradle designed by the university of Graz in Austria, so imaging can be done inside fragile manuscripts with delicate historic bindings, without risk to stress or damage. Light suction on a bar is flattening gently the paper or parchment folio's during the four minutes of imaging. The shape of the micro-dome allows to visualize into the gathering fold. ispartof: pages:103-103 ispartof: Science and Engineering in Arts, Heritage and Archaeology, book of abstracts vol:1 pages:103-103 ispartof: International Conference on Science and Engineering in Arts, Heritage and Archaeology (SEAHA) location:London date:Jul - Jul 2015 status: published

Photography has, right from the beginning, a close relationship with archaeology. Although primarily used as a scientific recording tool, photography can bring much more to archaeology. “(in)site Sagalassos”, a practice based research project, tries to broaden the archaeological practice based on a new lecture of the early photographic heritage. Archives can, in that sense, act as a bridge between past and present. Résumé La photographie a, dès ses origines, eu des rapports privilégiés avec l’archéologie. Sa fonction archéologique ne peut être réduite à celle d’enregistrement et de documentation. Le présent article se propose de discuter les enjeux d’un projet artistique dans le domaine de la photographie archéologique : « (in)site Sagalassos ». Un des traits spécifiques de ce projet est le dialogue créateur avec la photographie ancienne et la reconceptualisation de l’archive comme passerelle entre passé et présent. ispartof: Image and Narrative vol:15 issue:4 pages:30-39 status: published

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From the 16th to the 19th century, illuminated manuscripts were acquired by the great printer-publisher Christophe Plantin and his Moretus successors and descendants. Ranging in date from the 9th to the mid-16th centuries, the manuscripts come from all over Europe, chiefly from the Southern Netherlands and France with a significant representation of 15th-century illumination from the Northern Netherlands. More surprisingly, about a quarter of the collection comes from England: manuscripts of the 10th to 15th centuries that left the country with Catholic refugees. Alongside the acknowledged masterpieces and rarities are volumes that have remained virtually unknown, their aesthetic appeal and historical or textual interest often passing unnoticed in the absence of published reproductions. In this beautifully produced catalogue, each of the 102 volumes is illustrated in colour, with more extensive coverage of the 55 volumes with the most rewarding illumination. For the first time it is possible to gauge the extent and nature of this small but important collection. Initially obtained for their texts to inform the editions printed by the Plantin-Moretus press, the manuscripts came to be valued for their illumination and status as historical artefacts, the motivations behind a renewed phase of collecting in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Together they form a fascinating and under-explored collection, still housed in the building on the Vrijdagmarkt in Antwerp to which Plantin moved his famous sign of the Golden Compasses in 1576. To mark the publication of this catalogue the Museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp, and Illuminare (KU Leuven)presented the exhibition Magnificent Middle Ages. The Museum Plantin-Moretus’ Finest Manuscripts, 2 February – 5 May 2013 ispartof: Corpus of Illuminated Manuscripts, Low Countries Series 15, Illuminare Centre for the Study of Medieval Art, KU Leuven vol:20 nrpages: 303 status: published

In archaeology, photography is mainly used as a technique for gathering data and evidence. Within the framework of the research project '(in)site, site-specific photography revised' the relationship between photography and archaeology, or broader, history is explored. How do photographers visualize history? What is the importance of place, particularly the place that remains after the event took place? How do photographers or artists use photography to depict the past, when time has become 'past time'? These articles and portfolios explore, both on practical and theoretical level, how history can be captured.The research project is an attempt to redefine the traditional relationship between archaeology and photography in order to produce new forms of image making more adapted to contemporary visual culture. The project considers photography as a 'mode of engagement', a practice in which a picture is shaped and constructed by the photographer, not a practice in which a picture is mechanically taken. Thanks to this shift it becomes possible to take artistic input into account, for archaeological photography will be able to establish a dialogue with new forms of presentation and interpretation, and make them beneficial for both art and science.