Which is better scanner - flatbed or drum

[bahmed22]

Hi,

 

I was told that drum scanners always do better qaulity scanning than

flatbed and if I awant to scan pictures for printing, I should

always use drum scaner.

 

Is the above statement correct? As I intend to scan some pictures

and after some editing, print them in a digitil lab. Should I use a

drum scanner?

[roger krueger]

There's also an in-between--a dedicted fillm scanner, The Konica-Minolta 5400 is the

current cream of the crop, with with Nikon Coolscan 5000 and Coolscan V offering great

quality in a more affordable range. If you're enlarging past 12x or have slides or B&W negs

with really dense areas a drum scan will look a little better, but for most people not

enough better to justify the cost.

 

(Confession: I have an old drum scanner sitting in my living room where a couch ought to

be, a source of constant irritation for my wife, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Do as I

say, not as I do :)

[leo_maniace2]

There is no flatbed scanner that can match a drum scanner(assuming the drum scanner is a good quality scanner) Indepent researchers rated drum scanners from Heidelberg and ICG as the highest quality.

Used drum scanners can be had for much less that their original price, but still are much more expensive that desktop scanners. For most consumers printing 11X14 or smaller and high quality desktop film scanner can yeild excellent results. The big problem however are scan times, which can be quite long depending on the scanning features used.

[bruce watson]

The statement may be technically correct. But that may not have any bearing your printing. Not every print needs the ultimate quality scan, and scan quality is a nebulous thing anyway. It depends on the image itself, and what you plan on doing with it.

 

It also depends on the scanner operator. A good operator can get a surprisingly good scan from a cheap flatbed, while a poor operator can get a surprisingly bad scan from a high-end drum scanner.

 

Drum scans are generally indicated when your image has lots of detail (think trees in landscapes), when it's very dense (chromes), or when your print size is much larger than your film size.

 

Otherwise, you can do very well with scans from flatbeds and dedicated film scanners (medium and small formats).

 

Whether you should use a drum scanner or not is a judgement call. Clearly, YMMV.

[larry_menzin]

A Creo Scitex flatbed can get results comparable to a drum scan.

[roger krueger]

<i>A Creo Scitex flatbed can get results comparable to a drum scan.</i>

<br><br>

Yeah a $20,000 flatbed can get very close to drum scanner quality, but these creatures are

not what 99.99% of people are thinking of when they say flatbed. And really, if you're not

trying to crank out dozens of scans a day it's a waste of money; an old drum scanner is a

MUCH better deal for equivalent or better quality.<br><br>

But the vast majority of people will find a dedicated film scanner gives them better results

than a consumer flatbed. They'll also find that a drum scanner doesn't give them any

benefit on "normal" images--ISO 400 and a consumer zoom. 12x prints from Velvia or

TMX and a top-notch prime? Maybe then a drum makes sense, but a decent dedicated film

scanner will keep an awful lot of people perfectly happy.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Will a drum scan make the women folk happier? :) :)<BR><BR>Flatbed; Epson 2450; "2400dpi" scan; 6x7 Ektachrome transparency<BR><BR><IMG SRC=http://www.ezshots.com/members/tripods/images/tripods-505.jpg><BR><BR><b>Melody Shepherd</b><BR><BR><IMG SRC=http://www.ezshots.com/members/tripods/images/tripods-506.jpg><BR><BR><b>Tess O Brien</b><BR><BR><IMG SRC=http://www.ezshots.com/members/tripods/images/tripods-507.jpg>

[bahmed22]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

But there are some things I want to add to my original question:

 

1. I have lost the negatives of the pictures that I am scanning.

2. The pictures are mostly landscapes with lots of details in 6x4 inches prints.I intend to enlarge themto 10x12 inches (or a little larger)

3. I will be using a drum scanner of the local printer who will be charging me per scan basis ( so i am not planning on buying one). But with this arrangment I have no control over the brand of scanner or quality of the operator.

 

Any comments are welcome.

 

Thanx

[kelly_flanigan1]

I am not sure if they will drum scan a print. Prints ; if detailed; scan ok from about 300 to 600 dpi/ppi. But; the shadow detail and highlights are often abit lost in a scan of a print. Here we scan prints for court cases; making giant posters. Almost never does a prints require above a 600 dpi/ppi scan; because little if any more detail is really picked up. A flatbed scanner of 1200 dpi/ppi is all that is required to scan prints; and Epson unit has a decent Dmax. I thought you wanted negatives to be scanned; instead of prints. Scanning prints is not the best thing to do; but often the only thing one has to work with; in court case images.