I just purchased a Scitex Eversmart Pro scanner for ULF scanning this past weekend and I am curious if there are any other users here that have this or a similar scanner. Mine is actually not in full operational condition right now and I am in the process of troubleshooting it with Michael Streeter but hope to have it working very soon.
I am hoping that there are other users here so I can ask questions on the workflow and get tips on how to use this scanner to it's ability.
Pali
Pali, I just picked up one of these scanners, and it comes with everything needed to use it right away.
It should get here within the next two weeks, so if you need some software or anything, I apparently will have a complete and fully-functional system.
I have a Creo Eversmart Supreme , may not be exact but basically same workflow
I wonder if anyone has heard of a high plastic vacumn system that could be put over transparancys or negatives that would suction down the image to the glass, it would have to have good optical features
and as well allow a tube to come into the glass area to work??
I do have a wet mount platform for this but with client film and old film I am hesitant to use the feature.
Originally Posted by Pali K
Huge thank you to Michael Streeter from Genesis Equipment for helping me bring my scanner to life again! What a great man - so kind and generous with his time to help.
I have only made some quick test so far and am already impressed with how well this scanner does. Here are my 1st two test scans. The 1st is from a 4x5 Velvia 100 and the 2nd is from a 11x14 HP5. I am sure I'll be able to bring more detail out once I figure out the software better.
http://imgur.com/a/BGAtY
Congrats Ari! You'll absolutely love it especially since I think you are upgrading from an Epson V750. The quality from this is at another level
Bob, does your scanner have the top glass that is spring action like mine? If so, doesn't it do a good job at putting pressure on the negative and hold it flat? I do have wet mounting setup for my drum scanner and I'll try to do a wet scan soon and see how much the quality improves. I have done quite a bit of wet mounting now and some of the newer mounting fluids are so easy to work with that I don't really think you'll be risking much with old negatives. Look into mounting fluids from Scanscience of Kami which evaporate very clean. The only thing to watch out is that you use mounting fluid safe tape so the adhesive doesn't make a mess on your negatives.
You may also want to check out this Youtube video that shows oil mounting on your scanner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvXW7ZG2b6o
Fantastic scans, Pali, and it's good to know that these were done dry.
I had been told that this scanner performs best when wet-mounted, but your results are certainly quite acceptable!
Pali
Over time I have felt a nagging suspicion that the spring action is actually not enough pressure to give great contact...I would like to be proven wrong.
I agree about Micheal Streeter as a great guy as I bought mine from him as well.
I really have a clientele that would be extremely resistant to me putting any fluid on the original negatives. This has cropped up many times and the
overall consensuses is to not wet mount no matter what we feel that the results would be fine. I can test this wet mount system of mine on my own work
as I am confident but trying to convince an estate gallery or photographer with over 300 key images to do so is really not in the cards.
I have kept my Imocan for this very reason even though I like the Eversmart just as much and its much easier to work with.
Sandy King may have sparked an idea so I do not want to take credit but what if there was a clear neoprene flat pancake type of plastic or rubber attached to a thin suction hose
and small pump. You would place your negatives anywhere in a group on the flat bed, lay the optical clear rubber over top and turn on the pump.. the neoprane would suction down to the glass
therefore bringing the film into direct contact... If thin enough and optically clear enough on the top of the backside of neg or trans I think this would work very well... any thoughts , concerns , ideas about this type of idea.
Bob
Bob,
Thanks for explaining the idea a little bit more. It sounds really interesting actually but I wonder how well it will do with filling in emulsion pores and any fine scratches. Having no experience with it, its hard to say exactly how well it will work but I have a general feeling that getting it perfect might end up be the same amount of work as wet mounting. I would be curious to know the results if someone tries this method.
I do however understand your position where your clients may not be comfortable with mounting fluids. I had the same general fear when I got started with it last year and was hesitant to fluid mount some of my best slides and negatives. After doing it for a few times, I realized that the process actually cleans my negatives and haven't really worried much at all.
Regards,
Pali
Hi Pali
I understand the process but clients are not so worldly when it comes to someone else handling their work.
the vacuum would be on the base side and would hold for sure, I did a lot of this work with oversize film over smaller frame with a vacumn frame
the secret would be getting the hose in
Bob
More of a general question than a specific one about the Eversmart:
Those of you with high-end scanners (flatbed or drum), do you use the scanner for almost everything (LF, MF, 35mm, good & so-so negs)?
Or do you use the scanner for your best negs only, saving the scanner and its components from faster wear because of a scarcity of available parts?
I know the Eversmart was a workhorse in its day, meant for high-volume scanning, but replacement lamps aren't cheap, and they're probably the least expensive things to replace on a scanner like this.
And I'm also wondering if keeping a v750 around is worth it or not.
Thanks in advance.
Good question!!! As you know, I have an IQsmart 2 coming in a few weeks but they're both pretty heavy duty machines so my thinking is to use the IQsmart for everything and replace the Coolscan as well as the 750 because from talking with Michael at Genesis I think the workflow will be much better. Right now I have to re-position the film for each frame and it's more "fiddly" than it should be with the Coolscan. What he told me was that I can make a mask for a couple of rolls of film and predefine all the individual photo locations and make a template for it so each time I load a few strips I just have to slightly move the marquees to adjust for spacing differences or delete some of them and then let it scan all the photos while I go do something else. I'm not sure if the Eversmart has the same capability or not, but that's my thinking. At nearly 76, the remaining service life of the scanner operator is a bigger question mark than the remaining service life of the scanner!
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