I've noticed this trend sweeping the Globe...it's the popularity of drum scanners. Just wanted to post a little blurb about it. I've not been on this Forum in well over a year. I thought I'd come back and see what's up. I travel almost constantly now, serving a global community of Artists / Photographers / Museums. I'm staying very busy and have learned way more about these machines over the past few years than I ever knew before.
The most popular scanner I work with is by far, the Tango / Primescan, and I really know how to tweak them now...especially after spending a day with a brilliant man by the name of Tim Parkin, located in the UK. Together we figured out some cool stuff (like adjusting pots inside the Scan Head which the technical manual says never touch). I've now adjusted these on another scanner in Ireland with fantastic results. Working with Tim was a lot of fun and very enlightening too. Dude knows his stuff quite well indeed.
This resurgence of Analog is happening with Audio as well as Imaging. I attended my 23 year old daughter's graduation in Gainesville, FL this past summer, and when I walked into her apartment, she and her roommate were playing record albums! This kid never played a record album growing up...she was born in 1990, but even without high-end equipment, it's cool and it's 'in'. Anyone noticed there's used record stores popping up everywhere? I heard that Robbie Williams latest "album" is actually being released on vinyl too.
So back to Imaging...I also wanted to mention that I've noticed more than one of my higher-profile, overly-successful clients, who all switched to digital ten years ago, well...they are now talking about going back to shooting more film. Do you think maybe people are getting tired and worn out from everything around them being digital? One customer of mine has recently ordered a custom built 20x24 inch camera with a sky-high price tag and a very long lead time. His negatives are going to totally fill the largest drum on his Primescan D8400 (in fact he might have to trim a few millimeters off the border to get them on there).
I'm fielding more inquiries regarding the granddaddy DC3000 too. This series of scanner is poised to perhaps make an odd comeback, even with its large footprint and weight being an issue...go figure. I'm expecting to actually sell a few of them in 2014, mainly due to the smallest 80mm diameter drum capability, which can squeeze the 24,000 dpi optical resolution into a smaller circumferential area. This makes it possible to squeeze a bit more out of a single scan than what can be done with a 150 mm drum. But really...I mean enough is enough, right? Have you seen the Audiophiles who run extra thick short cables between the amp and the speakers to cut the loss of quality in the signal? Seems overkill right? But if you are really into it...you do whatever's possible to squeeze out as much as you can from the original.
I'm not saying anything negative regarding Digital photography here, I just wanted to bring up this funny trend I've noticed that seems to have some momentum right now. Digital is definitely here to stay in both Audio and Imaging because it's more portable, gives instant gratification, and is less expensive...and let's face it, the quality is pretty darn good. Oh yeah, just thought of something else I've seen...digital photos being output on a LightJet and then scanned! Love the Art World!
Karl
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