Scanning/printing LF

[drew bedo]

Took the Plunge into Digi-Darkroom. I work in 4x5 and 8x10 and have been

getting my work scanned and printed by others. Now I will be getting an Epson

V750 scanner and an Epson R2400 printer. I know verryn little. How may I

educate myself on the basics? Please be gentle and keep it asimple.

 

Regards,

 

Drew Bedo

www.quietlightphoto.com

[sattler123]

http://www.scantips.com/

 

Also, check over at the Large Format Photography Forum - Ted Harris always offers scanning workshops at very reasoanble prices - that's how I learned the basics. The trick with scanning is to let the scanner do as little as possible - just the RAW scan with the exception of the white and black points definition. There are also tons of books out there, but I found most of them too generic to be of much use.

 

In the end, a lot of it is trial and error until you get the hang of it.

[eric_brody]

I agree with Juergen. Certainly with black and white images, mucking aound a lot in scanner software is more likely to make a mess than result in a superior imageh. I scan only 4x5 and medium format and only black and white. I use Nikon scan with my Nikon 9000 and Silverfast Ai with my Microtek 1800f. Both are overkill for my purposes. I own but have never been comfortable with vuescan which some seem to love.

 

Set the white and black points, and get into Photoshop.

 

You will have a very capable scanner and printer. Look at and search on the Large format forum. There is lots of good advice there, much better than the usual internet garbage.

 

Good luck.

 

Eric

[john_shriver]

For a lot more resolution, get this:

 

http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/mstation.html

 

Then, start studying up on the digital darkroom. See the forum here.

 

Don't try color until you get a monitor calibrator. Absolutely necessary if you don't want to go mad.

[Kent Shafer]

Yes, definitely get the betterscanning.com holder. It'll take an hour or two fussing with the height adjustment to get it right on, but the results are worth it.

 

Of course, you'll also need image editing software. Photoshop CS3 is the standard but expensive. You're clearly serious about this stuff, so I wouldn't suggest messing around with anything less.

 

Have fun!

 

Kent

[jimsimmons]

I concur, get the Betterscanning holder for medium format, plus the anti-newton ring glass for it. I find that the Epson 4x5 holder is adequate, but MF needs the betterscanning holder.

 

If you are truly new to digital scanning and printing, get the book Real World Colour Management and devour it. It will give you the foundation you need to colour right quickly because you'll understand all the issues, not just set the setting at what others tell you to set them at.

 

Another book to consider is either Mastering Digital Black and White by Amadou Diallo or Master Digital Printing by Harald Johnson. These are both beginner to intermediate level books.

[profhlynnjones]

We use lots of Epsons and love them.

 

Lynn

[drew bedo]

My thanks to all...Drew Bedo