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Thread: How long does it take you to scan ?

  1. #1
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    This is a survey on how long it takes you to scan one transparency or negative on your scanner of choice, from start to finish. If your scanner allows you to scan several transparencies at a time, use the largest batch, and divide the time by the number of images in the batch. This would include any cleaning of the transparency, mounting, pre-scanning, scanner adjustments, cleaning up the scan of dust spots, re-cleaning up the transparency (if applicable), and maybe an initial rough matching of the color of the file to the transparency. What would be excluded is time spent waiting while the scanner does the final scan (since you can do something else), and the time to prepare a ready-to-print master file. Indicate your scanner, the total time, and if you wish, a break-up of time in different categories such as scanner adjustments, dusting, etc...

  2. #2
    Daniel Geiger
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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    for 4x5 color trans on an epson 4990:
    Cleaning trans: 4 seconds with canned air. I usually scan the image when it comes back from the lab, so little built up of grime.

    Mounting in Epson holder: 10-15 seconds. Prescan: about 20-30 seconds (guesstimate). Rough scan adjusts (cropping, black-white points; usually no color correction, never any sharpening of any sort): about 30 seconds (guess); scan an approximately 800 MB file in 16bit RGB: 1-2 minutes + 1 minute saving (guess).

    I do not do anything on the computer while the scanner is scanning. I noticed that the probability of scanning errors is greater if I do PS work while scanning.

    Usually I scan in a bunch, and in a second step do the PS work. Opening file: 2 minute (Mac G5 dual 200 MHz with 3.5GB RAM and PS CS1; have to upgrade to CS2 for better large file handling). Spotting is painfully slowly in 16 bit using 9-13 pixel 75% feathered brushes with cloning tool and healing brush, usually about 10 minutes with a Wacom graphire tablet; the 30 inch screen reduces scrolling significantly, but the response time of the healing brush in particular is agonizingly slow in 16bit.

    Global and local color adjustments take longest and ist most variable. I do it on a calibrated monitor (Monaco system). For a quicky, it may be 5 minutes of fiddling in curves, but I may spend a couple of hours. If I would have to spend more time on it, I consider the primary shot of insufficient quality. My style is "documentary", so combining images etc. is out of the question for me. Saving the master file also takes long (3-5 minutes). Then I reduce them to 8bit RGB 200 MB tif for submission to stock agency.

    Unsharp for printing is done later and only takes 1-2 minutes, softproofing usually is quick (1 minute), setting up all the printing dialogs/color spaces/output papers/color sync etc for a Epson R1800 about 2 minutes, printing a 13x19 inch takes about 10-15 minutes.

    Just got Dan Margulis' book on Lab color and will experiment a bit with that and see what it does to accellerate PS color operations. looks promising.

    The above is a rough approximation with lots of variation, of course. Hope it provides you with the what you need. otherwise contact me offline.

  3. #3
    Donald Qualls's Avatar
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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    I don't really have it broken down this way, since my scanner doesn't take long enough for the final scan to let me leave and do something else, but: I have to scan each frame individually; my scanner doesn't support batching other than a 35 mm strip, and the autoexposure isn't really sophisticated enough to get good images on a whole strip (especially given that scanning a strip will include the unexposed interframe areas). However, a 9x12 cm negative in my drop-in adapter to the 4x5 scanning opening will take me about 7-8 minutes from taking it off the drying clip to finished image ready to spot; spotting runs anywhere from zero (extremely lucky, or image is such I don't bother to spot) to 45 minutes. This is for B&W; I haven't shot color in large format, but in smaller sizes (like 6x9 cm) color images take about twice as long for the actual scan pass, but less time to adjust exposure (because I'm much more likely to leave it on "auto"); probably similar total time. In both cases, I'm scanning at 16 bits per channel (actual scanner range is 14 bits per channel, internally promoted).

    My scanner is a vintage 1996 Agfa Arcus 1200 (flatbed with glassless film adapters), SCSI with Adaptec 2910 internal SCSI adapter; scanning at 2400 ppi (which interpolates 2 for 1 in the scanner-horizontal dimension -- optical limit is 1200 ppi, with microstepping to give 2400 ppi vertical) yields approximately 88 megapixels from a 9x12 cm negative. My cost was $135, shipped, plus SCSI card and cable. I love eBay...
    If a contact print at arm's length is too small to see, you need a bigger camera. :D

  4. #4

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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    On my Epson flatbed I only spend about ten minutes per 4x5, although sometimes I will scan it twice or rescan it again months later. I used to do scanning for my business and can dustbust pretty quickly. If you don't count waiting for the scanner and I/O on the computer, it isn't very much time. But the total time required to do a batch of scans means that I usually save them up and edit myself harshly before starting.

    If you don't count the time that you could be multitasking, it really isn't too bad, but you need a nicely set up to take advantage of multitasking. I used to have a swivel/caster chair and two tables that I would sit inbetween, about 4 feet apart. It was a simple matter to swing between the scanning workstation on one and the imaging workstation on the opposite. It impressed the clients too.

    My friend takes forever with his Imacon; another can cruise with her vintage Howtek (still run by a PowerMac 9500 604 processor!)

  5. #5
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    It takes me forever (for a good scan). I haven't timed it since I upgraded computers (finally let go of my slow, 6-year old mac, and replaced it with a pretty speedy 5-year old mac ... if that makes any sense).

    It takes me about 15 to 20 minutes get the neg completely dust free, wet mounted on float glass, all the little bubbles gone, all the streaks from spilled scanning fluid gone. Then about a minute to get it positioned properly on the scanner (a 4870) and any new dust blown off.

    On the old computer it took about ten minutes for the scanner to scan the neg at full optical resolution), and then about 40 minutes for the VueScan to to process it (downsample, adjust the curves, etc.)

    All told, I budgeted an hour and a half per scan, to include set up and clean up.

    I'm hoping the new computer will cut the processing time down to 15 minutes or so, but it's still a big project.

    Low res scans take hardly any time at all. I recently scanned 25 prints for the web in less time that it takes to do a single wet mounted neg.

  6. #6

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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    22-26 minutes on 9950f with Vuewscan at 4800 dpi optical, downsampled by Vuescan t0 24oo for noise reduction. The scan time is limited by the data transmission - at 2400 it is much faster.

    I scan directly after drying the neg so cleaning is not a big problem, I do a preview to adjust cropping to fit the negative and to make sure everything is OK, then scan. Iwill do low CPU/memory intensive stuff like word processing while the scanning is going on. I scan for maxium data and do not do any indivdual tweaking in Vuescan. It runs into time - last shoot was 40 sheets, so with processing 6 at a pop in a 3006, then scanning, then tweaking and doing a small jpg for filing, it adds up.

  7. #7

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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    I'm using an Imacon 646 and a Dell Precision 670 single processor with 2 gigs of ram. For a 4x5 scan for a 300-400mb TIFF file it takes about 5 minutes start to finish. I clean the film with air only, and the Imacon doesn't have any glass to film contact. This duration is IF the exposure is good and the scene or how I visualized the scene didn't require backflips. If it is a tricky shot, then it might take 20 minutes--because then I like to load the shot into photoshop, mess with it with some preliminary adjustment layers to see if the file will give me what I want. Based on this trial, I might rescan the film. The 20 minutes includes the trial photoshop work. I've done some 2 1/4 and 35mm scans for other photographers and it only saves a couple minutes based on smaller file sizes. I suppose if I was batching multiple frames it would be faster.

  8. #8
    Geos
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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    16-bit color MF (6x7) 3200 DPI on an Imacon 343 takes about 15 minutes total from initial mount to completion of final scan.

    16-bit color LF (4x5 or larger) 2540 DPI or less (approximately 1GB file size) on a Creo IQSmart2 with oil mounting and platen instalation = about 3o minutes.

  9. #9
    Moderator Ralph Barker's Avatar
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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    I probably average about 30 minutes per image for the whole process.

  10. #10
    Kirk Gittings's Avatar
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    How long does it take you to scan ?

    I recently had to prepare a "work in progress" portfolio for the Eliot Porter Award that I was up for (which I didn't get--I lost to Sam Abel). So I had to scan some new work related to a book project that is scheduled for publication in 2008. I needed to scan 7 new images and get them as far as high level "working" prints, B&W, unmatted. That was 5.5 long days for me and two regular days for my assistant (mainly spotting the scans). So It is about 1 long day per image to "working" print level. Then I sit with the print for awhile and do some final tweaking (that may be as much as another full day) or perhaps start over completely. Two of these images I will start over completely on.
    Thanks,
    Kirk

    at age 73:
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep"

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