4x10 scanning on Epson v750 or 10000xl

[Kimberly Anderson]

Hey gang,

I have scanned with a V750 for several years now, but have really been dissatisfied with the ability to scan an entire 4x10 or 8x10 negative, including a little bit of wiggle room for a border.

I have made custom anti-newton glass holders for the 750, and although I am extremely happy with how they work for the smaller negatives, it just doesn't give me the entire scanning area I want.

Yeah, I know it's an 8x10 scanning bed with the little guide area thingie, which makes it really more like a 7.5x9.5 scanning area.

I now have access to a 10000xl and am scanning on it for the first time today. I have yet to look carefully at any of the scans from it.

I am wondering if there is a way to squeeze the maximum area out of that v750 and really truly get an 8x10 scanning area with it?

[pdmoylan]

Speaking solely of the relative scan quality and my limited experience in testing the 10000xl, I found scans from this commercial scanner woefully inferior to the v750 from a test last summer. A professional lab I work with, who has a drum scanner and the xl, told me that I would be very unhappy with the 10000xl. I tried it nevertheless prior to purchasing the v750. The color, noise and resolution of the xl are poor for large sized prints.

I have pushed v750 scans to 24x30 after working out operator bugs (it took a month to get the workflow and settings correct). Though prints from the v750 do not compare to good drum scans, they were far superior to the xl. Again, this is based upon very limited experience and no hands on with the xl.