Betterscanning film holder

**Chris Strobel** · 1-Feb-2008, 16:18

Originally Posted by D. Bryant

Chris,

the Better Scanning wet plate adapter is a much better than the Scanmax product.

Don Bryant

Maybe the Better Scanning wet plate adapter is better for 4x5 or 5x7, but at this point it looks like the Scanmax is clearly superior for full 8x10 negs

**sanking** · 2-Feb-2008, 14:38

Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings

The flatbeds like the Epson have their place in my workflow for quicky magazine work where I need Digital Ice. I also use it for proofing, before going through the trouble of a wet scan on the Eversmart or sending it off to Ted. It is very useful. A few years ago I even did many small exhibition prints on them which were very well received, but wouldn't hold up to my standards above 11x14. The amount of work that I put into a file requires that I start with a scan that will give me a larger quality print. Many people find the output of these machines adequate for their printing standards.

Like Kirk, I own both an Epson flatbed (4990) and a Creo EverSmart Pro. I use the 4990 for all of my proofing because it is fast and is connected to an Intel Mac running the penultimate version of MAC OSX. I have also been very satisfied with the 4990 in terms of its ability to make high quality prints up to about 14X20 from scans of 5X7" original negatives. But the 3X magnification is as far as I would go with the 4990, though one could fudge with 5X7 negatives with good interpolation up and appropriate use of unsharp masking.

For anything other than 5X7" (for example, 6X7cm and 6X9cm formats where magnification of the original up to about 6X - 8X is expected) the EverSmart Pro is much superior to the 4990. By much superior, I mean that the effective resolution of the EverSmart Pro is almost twice what I am able to get with the 4990. I also use the EverSmart Pro for scanning ULF film in 7X17 and 12X20 size.

To get the optimum results from one of the Epson prosumer scanners I strongly recommend 1) fluid mounting, and 2) tests to make sure that the material to be scanned is at the optimum distance from the CCD. A good fluid mounting station that allows one to optimize focal distance can give a significant boost to scanning results. This has been widely documented by folks with a lot of experience and knowledge, Ctein for example in a recent issue of Photo Techniques.

Sandy King