The illusive 4990 scanner, advice...

[trink408]

I managed to find an Epson 4990 online, can't wait to get it and start scanning!!!

Any advice/suggestions for a beginner with this product?

I will be scanning slides and b&w negs.

[Bob McCarthy]

Epson has v3.0 up on their site. I would strongly suggest you get software, don't know what they've done, but my 4990 grew muscles.

Bob

[trink408]

Epson has v3.0 up on their site. I would strongly suggest you get software, don't know what they've done, but my 4990 grew muscles.

Bob

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely download the new version...

[trink408]

Any good books out there that cover the principles of scanning and the software involved?

I'm new at this stuff and would like to make sure I'm taking advantage of all the available tools for creating great scans...

Thanks

[Ted Harris]

Can't think of any books that cover the software since Epson and Microtek both have proprietary software. Silverfast does have a book you can get from them. The best book on general scaning principles is Real World Scanning and Halftones, make sure you get the latest edition. It is the only book that focuses on scaning as opposed to other aspects of digital workflow.

Of course, you could also come to our Scanning Workshop at Midwest Photo Exchange in Columbus on April 25-27. Send me a PM if you are interested.

[D. Bryant]

Any good books out there that cover the principles of scanning and the software involved?

I'm new at this stuff and would like to make sure I'm taking advantage of all the available tools for creating great scans...

Thanks
You may wish to check out Wayne Fulton's web site:

http://www.scantips.com/

He has a printed book that is a little long in the tooth but it's a good start for beginning scanner users.

Don Bryant

[Daniel_Buck]

white point and black point are important! I find that the Epson software always clips the whites and the blacks a bit. So, to combat this, I set them manually. In the levels histogram area when scanning, you'll see 3 triangles for the input. Black, Mid, and White. If you move the mid way over right, next to the white, you'll now see the image crunch up and the super white areas are easily visible. Then move your white triangle till the whites don't clip anymore. Do the same thing for the black triangle (move the mid way over to the left) to set your black point. Then move your mid back over to the middle somewhere, and you're set! Also, before I do that, I set my output to 0 and 255. Since I'm setting the black and white point manually, I'm usually quite certain that nothing is going to clip, so I just extend these all the way out.

I also don't do any sharpening on my scans, since I always sharpen on the last step, after I've sized for my print. I usually scan at 1200dpi or 2400dpi. Anything higher than 2400dpi doesn't really seem to capture any more detail, you just end up with a larger file that isn't resolving any more than the 2400dpi image did.

Good luck!

[trink408]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I can see I have some testing time on my hands. I can't wait to start scanning some slides, I have bunches from trips in the past and have always wanted to work with them...

I'm sure I will be posting some questions as I move forward...:)