Scanning 4x5 with a flatbed...

[Stephanie Brim]

...not made for scanning 4x5.

I have a small, annoying problem.

I'm not going to have the funds for a proper scanner for a while. I can't really do drum scans right now either, and, to tell you the truth, they're way too large for my needs. I don't plan on printing from scans, they're just going to be used as web copies. Is there a way that I could use, say, an Epson 4490 to scan 4x5 negatives? Should I just make contact prints?

[Ron Marshall]

If it can scan in transparency mode, as opposed to reflective, then it can be used.

The results will be good enough to post on the web. Tonal range will probably be more of a problem than resolution.

[Walter Calahan]

I use to have an Epson 1680 that made fine scans of 4x5 for the web.

All you need is 72 ppi! Usually one doesn't make web images all that large.

Just try it. If you don't like it, find a better scanner that's not expensive.

[Jon Shiu]

If you have a digital camera you can place the neg on a light box and photograph it. Then invert in photoshop (or other photo editing software).

Jon

[Ken Lee]

Of course you can use it. There has been a lot of discussion on this site, about how much enlargement we can expect from consumer-grade scanners like the Epson 4990.

The conventional wisdom is that the 4990, when set to 2400 spi (samples per inch) delivers somewhere around 2100 - and that even when you set it to 3200, you get very little more in the way of usable data... only a larger file.

If you want to print out at somewhere between 300 and 400 dpi (dots per inch), this means you can make a critically sharp enlargement, up to around 5 or 6 X. This limit applies, whatever you are scanning, be it 35mm, Medium Format, or even 8x10 film.

Thus, a 4 X enlargement is well within range. You should be able to make very nice prints from 4x5, up to around 16x20 inches in size. That's what I do, and many others on this site, for whom the routine use of a true high-end scanner is... out of reach.

[Stephanie Brim]

I won't be printing these. It'll just be for web use.

[Joanna Carter]

I used to use a 4870 for 4x5, it comes with holder built for the job; so does the 4990.

I have exhibited 40"x32" prints made from such scans; it will certainly cope with small web scans.

[Jon Shiu]

The original question was about the Epson 4490, which is only made to scan up to medium format and costs about $100. Maybe someone has scanned in two pieces and stitched?

Jon

[jnantz]

stephanie

i used a umax2100U to make web-scans for about 5 years.
in a pinch, if the film is thin enough, and you don't have a film-lid
you can put a piece of white paper behind the negative and scan it.
i did this for years with 5x7 film before i got a 4870.
and even though the 4870 can light up a sheet of 5x7 film
sometimes i scan with a piece of paper for laughs

have fun !

john

[Stephanie Brim]

I just wanted to know how much I should consider spending. I'm looking at the 4870 more closely now. If the Epson store wasn't out of refurbished 4990's, that's the route I'd go. I may not even have that, though...dunno yet. All I know is that I'll be printing in a darkroom, with an enlarger.