Very basic scanning questions

[tonyowen]

I've gotten myself very confused.
When scanning 4x5 B&W negatives do I:-
scan as greyscale
OR
scan as color?
Scanning as greyscale leaves me with an indexed color scan.
Indexed color (tiff) images (seem to) have limited image adjustments available under photoshop & gimp compared with color (tiff) images.
If I convert the indexed color to greyscale then I have full image adjustment options.
With a color (tiff) image I have a number of modes under which it can be process -
rgb, cmyk, lab, multichannel, 8bit , 16bit
but which do I choose?
Any and all help would be most welcome
regards
Tony

[djdister]

See http://www.kenleegallery.com/html/tech/scanning.php

[Jim Jones]

The Ken Lee link has great information. Once the image is scanned and saved as a high resolution 16 bit TIFF file, keep that file in its unaltered version. When you downsize, edit, and sharpen it for printing, you can file it as a JPEG to save disc space. Repeat the process for different print sizes or different editing, saving these versions as JPEGs so they can be instantly printed at any time.

[tonyowen]

The Ken Lee link has great information. .
Thank you both, Jim and ddjdister; however, the Ken Lee is a pre-scanning not post-scanning process.
Are you or anyone aware of link that gives 'idiot-proof' details of handling a digital image AFTER it has been scanned from a negative.
regards
Tony

[Preston]

Tony,

My general workflow is the following:

*Scan in RGB, 16 bit TIFF (Note: I use Photo Shop for editing, so I scan in Adobe RGB using VueScan)
*Duplicate the scan file--this becomes my 'Master File' for editing in PS (Note: I save the Master File as a PSD File)
*Tweak the Master File to suit
*From my Master File I can create files for printing at different sizes, or as JPEGs for the Web.

I find the best flexibility is attained scanning in RGB-16 bit.

--P

[koraks]

Thank you both, Jim and ddjdister; however, the Ken Lee is a pre-scanning not post-scanning process.
I don't follow; what do you mean by this?



Are you or anyone aware of link that gives 'idiot-proof' details of handling a digital image AFTER it has been scanned from a negative.
regards
Tony
Scan in 16 bit mode b&w if it's b&w or 48 bit color (so 16 bit per channel). Save as TIFF. Use that file for further processing. Leave your editing program in 16 bit mode unless there's a very good reason to go to 8 bit (e.g. to make a Web jpg version of an image). I always leave photoshop in 16 bit per channel color mode when editing files, whether they are b&w or not. Some filters do require you work in color mode (e.g. lens correction filters in PS). Some antiquated filters won't work in 16 bit mode and require you to work in 8 bit, but I never run into situations where I need to go back to 8 bit for this reason.

You may have to read up on color profiles if you want to optimize how your images turn out in different publication channels (Web viewing, digital print etc.)

[jp]

I scan in 16 bit-per-channel color to a tiff file. In the epson software, it's pretty close to what Ken has done for adjustments. I select B&W negative as the film type and color as the file type. Yeh, it's bigger than a 16 bit grayscale, but I think it's potentially smoother, just like an engine with more cylinders can be smoother.

[tonyowen]

Thank you all
After all of your postings I can now see my way forward.
regards
Tony