Scanning Prints

[12pmc]

I wish to start scanning my b&w prints to post on line. I am completely new to this process and would appreciate some guidance on type of scanner to produce good quality digital reproductions of my prints. All prints 12x16 are on Ilford Fiber paper.

Next question - does a scanner reproduce the (warm / cold) tone of the print or is it necessary to use software to replicate the tone?

Thank you for any suggestions.
Peter

[RSalles]

Peter,

For that big size I would take a different approach: a good stand reproduction, a 4x5 LF camera, continuos light and a fine grain color negative film matching the color temp. of the light you intend to use.
Maybe other forum members have other ideas, but that's the way I would go,

Cheers,

Renato

[djdister]

For scanning large prints, others have suggested using a good quality digital camera instead of a flatbed scanner, assuming you use a copy stand or exercise caution to get parallelism between the camera's focal plane and the Print.

I would guess that you would need to adjust the digital image a bit to try to match a cold or warm tone, regardless of the method of digital capture.

[12pmc]

Thank you both for your suggestions.

Cheers
Peter

[Ken Lee]

http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/forum/ColorChecker-Passport-Video.jpg

This is a well-understood issue when dealing with digital capture and there are plenty of calibration tools available.

In a nutshell, we place a color calibration target inside or next to the item we are "copying". When we correct the copy to match the target, the rest of the original colors are corrected automatically.

[vinny]

Peter,

For that big size I would take a different approach: a good stand reproduction, a 4x5 LF camera, continuos light and a fine grain color negative film matching the color temp. of the light you intend to use.
Maybe other forum members have other ideas, but that's the way I would go,

Cheers,

Renato

Hahahahahah!
Overkill.

Dslr

[fishbulb]

I wish to start scanning my b&w prints to post on line. I am completely new to this process and would appreciate some guidance on type of scanner to produce good quality digital reproductions of my prints. All prints 12x16 are on Ilford Fiber paper.

If you only want to post them online at small sizes that are normally shared via email, or on forums, or on a web portfolio, then a decent quality digital camera is fine. Just make sure the print is brightly and evenly lit - this is the most crucial part. Then take a picture of it. Import into photoshop. Convert to grayscale and make any other tweaks needed. Downscale it to 1000px or whatever size you are using. 99% of the pixel-level issues with image quality (noise, blur, etc) will get washed out in the downscaling.

Now if you want really high-resolution digital copy of the print, a digital image you could make a print from, you won't be able to wash out issues by downscaling. So you'll want to follow similar steps but with more attention to detail - lighting, lens selection (something good), camera settings (base ISO, middle apertures, tripod), etc.


Next question - does a scanner reproduce the (warm / cold) tone of the print or is it necessary to use software to replicate the tone?

Thank you for any suggestions.
Peter

What your scanner, or camera, produces depends a lot on the settings of the camera or scanner. You should plan on using software to tweak the final tone, although in the case of scanning, this may be done in the scanner software.

[IanG]

Peter,

For that big size I would take a different approach: a good stand reproduction, a 4x5 LF camera, continuos light and a fine grain color negative film matching the color temp. of the light you intend to use.
Maybe other forum members have other ideas, but that's the way I would go,

Cheers,

Renato

Far better to scan the original negatives, I can match my negative scans to my darkroom prints very easily. The quality is far higher as well.

Ian

[jnantz]

it really isn't too hard to scan in pieces and stitch together ..
then desaturate, and add color to match the original,
I'm not PS expert by any means, but I have done this
a lot and it is not as difficult as some may suggest ...
that said, it is a lot easier to scan the film if you can do that ...

[jp]

I'd go the DSLR copy route as well. Set your your white balance with something like this. or shoot it, correct the white balance and apply the adjustment to the rest of the photos of your artwork.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/300868-REG/Porta_Brace_WBC_White_Balance_Card.html

For everyday web stuff, a scan of the negative adjusted to approximate the print works too.

[RSalles]

Far better to scan the original negatives, I can match my negative scans to my darkroom prints very easily. The quality is far higher as well.

Ian

iAN,

As long as you have the negatives to scan and its not equal or bigger then 8x10 - then go with flatbed or drum scan, maybe stiching with a FF digicam. As a side note I don't have many negatives of a period I lived in EU - close to 5 years - only the prints in 18X24 cm.

Cheers,