Drum or flat scan?

[Lenny Eiger]

Hello everyone,

I'm looking to convert 4x5 to digital so I can use the large inkjet printers at school (and use photoshop as well) but my question is: Can a flatbed scanner give me high enough quality to print at 40x50? Drum scans are expensive, so I was hoping to cut down on cost, but my work is VERY texture and detailed orientated, so I don't want to lose that when I enlarge. The reason I made the digital-to-film switch was for enlargement purposes, but not sure the best way to go about it. Any advice would be great! Thanks.

Drum scans can be expensive, but if you want the detail and texture at a large size, there is no comparison.

Make friends with someone who has a drum scanner. Learn how to mount and mount for them one day a week or something for a couple of hours in exchange for free scans. That's how my intern does it. He gets free scans... buys a box of acetate every once in a while, just to be nice....

That would be my suggestion... you might even learn a lot...

Lenny

[Professional]

Send your 4x5 sheet to me and i will scan it with my digital MF, i don't know but that MF file maybe better than my V750 scanning, and it may be enough to print up to 40x50 you want, just i can't be sure DSLR or digital scanning can be better than a real scanner even flatbed, but i will not talk about a drum scanners, but in the future i will try to do a test if my digital MF can beat Nikon coolscan 9000, but i don't have that Nikon 9000 and can't find it anywhere here.

[Professional]

Usually you can't rent drum scanners since they're a tiny bit more complicated to use. But in a big city like Chicago I'd think you could rent time on an Imacon by the hour.

Is Imacon a drum scanner? I thought it is a virtual drum and not a true drum scanner

[Noah A]

Is Imacon a drum scanner? I thought it is a virtual drum and not a true drum scanner

No, the imacon is not a drum. I meant that while you usually can't rent a drum scanner, you can rent an imacon. Sorry if I ran the thoughts together.

The imacon is not a drum but it's better than a consumer flatbed so it might be a good option for scans on a budget.

[vinny]

hasn't this subject been discussed to death dozens of times in old threads since scanners were invented? he said, she said.

[Professional]

Too bad that i would like to find a drum scanner[not Imacon] that can scan up to 8x10, and they can ship it to UAE, where i can buy a drum scanner for 8x10?

[Karl Hudson]

The Heidelberg Nexscan is my favorite flatbed. It has a 5080 dpi optical res and there's no mirror in the light path. It's a larger free-standing machine which allows the lens and the 8000 pixel trilinear CCD to get pretty far away from the original and from each other, unlike a desktop flatbed. A friend of mine has a refurbished one available in Chicago. Feel free to contact me for more info...

[sanking]

Too bad that i would like to find a drum scanner[not Imacon] that can scan up to 8x10, and they can ship it to UAE, where i can buy a drum scanner for 8x10?

Here in the US it is not that hard to find high end drum scanners and professional quality flatbed scanners on the used market for far less than one would pay for a new Hasselblad/Imacon scanner. However, drum scanners and professional flatbed equipment are very large and heavy and one would have to pay a lot to ship out of the US, to say nothing of the issue of damage in transit. Even movement here in the US can run several hundred dollars to crate and ship this thpe of equipment, which typically weighs from 130 - 200 lbs at minimum.

You might contact http://www.genesis-equipment.com/whyGenesis.aspx to get a quote on purchase and shipment to your country of a drum scanner or high end flatbed. The purchase prices I have seen for good equipment are fairly reasonable, IMO, not sure what shipping costs would be.

Sandy King

[Professional]

Here in the US it is not that hard to find high end drum scanners and professional quality flatbed scanners on the used market for far less than one would pay for a new Hasselblad/Imacon scanner. However, drum scanners and professional flatbed equipment are very large and heavy and one would have to pay a lot to ship out of the US, to say nothing of the issue of damage in transit. Even movement here in the US can run several hundred dollars to crate and ship this thpe of equipment, which typically weighs from 130 - 200 lbs at minimum.

You might contact http://www.genesis-equipment.com/whyGenesis.aspx to get a quote on purchase and shipment to your country of a drum scanner or high end flatbed. The purchase prices I have seen for good equipment are fairly reasonable, IMO, not sure what shipping costs would be.

Sandy King

Thank you very much!

Yes, i am worry that i amy pay half the price of the item for the shipping, and the tax also will be added [we call it a custom duty, but it is same as tax even less in all cases].

I will give them a call or message them and see, but which scanner i should go with if i will scan up to 8x10 film?

[sanking]

Thank you very much!

Yes, i am worry that i amy pay half the price of the item for the shipping, and the tax also will be added [we call it a custom duty, but it is same as tax even less in all cases].

I will give them a call or message them and see, but which scanner i should go with if i will scan up to 8x10 film?

Three good choices would be Howtek 4500 (drum scanner), Fuji Cezanne (professional flatbed) and Creo/Kodak Eversmart Supreme (professional flatbed).

Also, contact Karl Hudson (see previous messages this thread). He may know of a Lino / Heidelberg scanner in Germany (or somewhere else in the world) that would cost less, considering shipping.

For my personal use with B&W and color negative film I would prefer the Howtek 4500 for 35mm and medium format, and the Eversmart Supreme for 8X10. For color transparency film you need a drum scanner for optimum results, regardless of format.

Sandy King