Scanning & PPI?

[karlheinz]

I’m new to film and I am getting a Plustek Opticfilm 8100 which I understand can achieve an effective resolution of 3600ppi when scanned at the full 7200ppi.

 

This produces large files with double or triple pixels so I’ve read it’s recommended to downsize.

How do I downsize the 7200ppi scan to 3600ppi without losing much or any real information or quality.

 

Do I need Photoshop for this or is Lightroom enough? I’m unsure of which editing softwares I need for tweaking my scans.

 

Previously I’ve only been working with RAW in Lightroom mobile.

 

Thanks for any recommendations!

[digitaldog]

You can scan at the exact resolution you desire in the scanning software.

You can scan at the highest optical resolution, save and resample down to what you desire later using Lightroom but it's kind of an indirect method (Import, resize at export). LR can do this, you'll set the resolution you desire in the Export dialog.

How to Properly Resize Images in Lightroom

[rodeo_joe1]

Almost any trivial image editor will do resizing (resampling). The free Irfanview for example.

 

A better option would be the free GIMP, which has a sharpening filter that's usually necessary after a down-sample. It also gives a choice of re-sampling algorithm.

 

"I’m new to film and I am getting a Plustek Opticfilm 8100..."

 

- Oh dear! One of the worst scanners I've ever used. Almost any of the Pacific Image/Primefilm/Reflekta models would be a better choice. You shouldn't have to scan at 7200 ppi to get 3600 ppi's worth of resolution.

Edited March 7, 2019 by rodeo_joe|1

[digitaldog]

Not all interpretation algorithms are created equally!

[karlheinz]

Thanks for your replies!

I’ve seen good and bad results with Plustek 8100, to my eyes at least, matching the quality of Reflecta CrystalScan 7200’s bad and good results respectively.

 

I think I’ll be using Vuescan and just skip Silverfast.

 

Plustek 8100 is 170$ cheaper than Reflecta CrystalScan 7200 in and around Sweden it seems.

[digitaldog]

SilverFast is a very comprehensive, complex, powerful scanning interface. I suggest you go over to the Luminous Landscape forums and ask about this option for scanning software and get the attention of Mark Segal who posts there all the time and wrote a very good book on the product (SilverFast).

[daniel_tomasini]

If you're using vuescan, in the output tab you can select file size reduction for the file format you're using (I use raw dng). If you set this to 2 while scanning at 7200 it will output a file at 3600.