Hi-End flatbeds, Iqsmart, Plateau, Cezanne, Lanovia,etc...

[SURF]

However, I've been talking to some long time pro shooters here in Los Angeles, some that used to shoot 11x14 back in the day(some up into the late 90s)! ALL have been interested in having me do scans for them once I'm up and running, primarily for archival purposes, or for printing of their work for gallery/personal use.
...
Getting it right in the scan is my goal, as much as possible.

"Printing of their work for gallery/personal use" and "getting it right in the scan is my goal, as much as possible" are different.

Do not forget to look here about some unknown aspects of "getting it right" in the real world. Owning myself Eversmart pro it do not make me think that Eversmarts, Screens, Imacons, IQsmarts are great for getting it right.

All info is here:
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ad.php?t=79256

For getting it right I use Scitex Smart 342. It's not great in terms of resolution but it scans right. The sad thing you can not get high resolution for 8x10 even stitching. Only up to 5x7.

For "printing of their work for gallery use" all that scanners are good. Nobody will notice if the faces had changed.

[Daniel Stone]

Hi Surf(I really prefer REAL names, but oh well),

I understand where you're coming from. Yes, it would be terrific if all scanners could be PERFECT, but the fact of the matter is, all are not. I'm not reproducing maps here, or doing exact scale work where very minor distortion is absolutely unforgiveable.

I'm just looking for the BEST, most cost effective option in the long run that will allow me to wet mount, scan up to 11x14 transparent materials, and lastly, is pretty quick. I'm planning on wet-mounting the majority of film to be scanned, and taping the overlay material down to the bed(glass platen).

Lastly, I'm not NASA or building macroscopic motors here , but I do require the best results possible, and preferably, with a somewhat ready supply of parts and/or service available for my chosen equipment.

-Dan

[SURF]

I understand where you're coming from.

Nope Dan. You don't. Just happened that I have noticed that while scanning the negatives with dear faces. OK-OK. I see your point. Having good drum scanner by hand you always can scan right those dear faces. But I had no such then and it was not a great situation.

Have a look at the video. The girl is doing what you want to offer to your clients. It can be any Eversmart BTW, not only Jazz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvXW7ZG2b6o

Regards
Al

PS. Otherwise I found Eversmarts perfect.

[Daniel Stone]

Hi Al(Surf),

Sorry, I miss spoke . Yes, I DID NOT know where you're coming from. I'm no engineer, just a photographer(and budding businessman I guess as well )

What she is doing is approximately what I'm looking to do. I do like her(their) masking technique to speed up production, very ingenious! Is this something that Creo/Kodak made, or was it made by them? Anyhow, I've bookmarked that video for future reference, I appreciate your sharing.

Many of the people I'm looking to scan for are fashion/lifestlyle/people photographers. So I don't think many of those faces are "dear", but nonetheless, very important to get fine details such as hair, clothing details, etc... bang on from the start. Fluid mounting was my way of helping to keep things from moving around. I noticed that the young woman in the video taped each frame down to the bed, I'd imagine that'd keep it from moving during the scanning process? Well, it would help keep it from spinning in the fluid.

They have a FEW scanners it seems, but then again, they're a museum . I'd be just a smaller personal 1-on-1 service bureau of sorts... So less "volume", where every frame wouldn't be scanned, but who knows?

-Dan

[sanking]

What she is doing is approximately what I'm looking to do. I do like her(their) masking technique to speed up production, very ingenious! Is this something that Creo/Kodak made, or was it made by them? Anyhow, I've bookmarked that video for future reference, I appreciate your sharing

-Dan

Scitex/Creo/Kodak did market masks for the Eversmart scanners. Some of these came pre-cut for specific formats, others were plain and cut be cut by the user to mask any format desired. The masks fit over registration pins and most of the ones I have seen were also marked with lines that correspond to the cm lines on the scanner glass.

One of the advantage of scanners like the Eversmart and IQ is that they have an XY stitcher that automatically combines scan strips. The scanner itself works like a lawn mower, scanning in rows, then the program stitches the scan. This allows you to scan any size original at full scanner resolution. Of course, in practice it takes a huge amount of processing power to scan a 11X14 negative at 5200 dpi.

Sandy

[SURF]

Is this something that Creo/Kodak made, or was it made by them?

Hi Dan,

Yes Scitex/Creo/Kodak made oil mounting stations. Good news are that Eversmarts do not need oil mount. Nobody knows why. Except the film is scratched. Jazz scanner is different. It owns different bottom glass.

Best luck
Al

[SergeyT]

Good news are that Eversmarts do not need oil mount. Nobody knows why.

They just were sold with black-bordered base glass. But it does not mean oil mounting won't be beneficial.
Oil mounting stations came with the purple-bordered glass. So with the station (and hence, two different base glasses) one has the flexibility of using a more optically clear black-bordered glass for dry mounted material or scratch and chemistry resistant purple-bordered base glass for oil-mounted material.

Jazz scanner is different. It owns different bottom glass.

True and apparently due to cost reduction considerations. Black-bordered base glass is ~2x more expensive than a purple-bordered one.

[sanking]

They just were sold with black-bordered base glass. But it does not mean oil mounting won't be beneficial.
Oil mounting stations came with the purple-bordered glass. So with the station (and hence, two different base glasses) one has the flexibility of using a more optically clear black-bordered glass for dry mounted material or scratch and chemistry resistant purple-bordered base glass for oil-mounted material.

True and apparently due to cost reduction considerations. Black-bordered base glass is ~2x more expensive than a purple-bordered one.

The black-bordered glass that came as original equipment on all Eversmart scanners except for the Jazz has an anti-reflection coating, like on lenses. You can fluid mount directly on the surface of this glass but you may scratch the coating with clean-up if you are not careful. The Jazz has a simple glass with no coating so there is less risk with fluid mounting as there is no coating to scratch.

I bought an oil mounting station for the Eversmart that came with a base glass. The coating was a bit scratched but this makes no difference if you are fluid mounting because the fluid fills in the scratch. I don't use the station much, instead I have taped litho tape on the bottom of the glass and fluid mount with that reference. Saves a lot of time compared to using the oil station.

Is there an increase in scan quality when fluid mounting with an Eversmart? Yes, but unless you plan to make very big enlargements I don't think you gain very much sheet film. With the Eversmart the scan quality is improved by the anti-reflection coating, and the top glass is spring loaded so it holds the film flat, so if your focus system is working well you should get excellent sharpness over the entire area of the scan.

The Eversmarts are superb scanners with results pretty much on par with drum scanners for B&W and color negative film, assuming you compare IQ at the same resolution.

Sandy

[Evanjoe610]

Hi Sandy,

What is a fair price for one to pay for the SCITEX/CREO Oil Mounting Kit?

I will be visiting one of my friend who is liquidating his PrePress shop and he has some leftover items for their Eversmart Supreme and Pro II.

I'm hoping to pick up whatever s still available...

Evan

[sanking]

Hi Sandy,

What is a fair price for one to pay for the SCITEX/CREO Oil Mounting Kit?

I will be visiting one of my friend who is liquidating his PrePress shop and he has some leftover items for their Eversmart Supreme and Pro II.

I'm hoping to pick up whatever s still available...

Evan

I paid about $500 for my Scitex/Creo mounting station, which came with a second base glass that has some scratching of the anti-reflection coating. One in perfect condition might be worth up twice that.

The mounting station is not absolutely ecessary for fluid mounting, but a second base glass would definitely be useful as the clean-up after fluid mounting will eventually scratch the glass.

Sandy