Digital BW, The Print

Alan writes:

> I can't imagine the sheer processing power
> and memory requirements to handle a 4000 dpi
> 8x10 scan. My 1600 dpi 16-bit gray scans are
> large enough!

You need 3 GB just to load a 4000-dpi scan of 8x10, in B&W.  In color, you
need 8 GB.  To do anything besides load the image, you'd need 20 GB of RAM
or so.

Unfortunately, many computers are limited to far less memory than that.
Typically they accept only a few memory modules, and even with the largest
modules available, it may be impossible to get beyond 1.5-3 GB.  Worse yet,
currently available Windows systems do not support more than a few gigabytes
of RAM (the 32-bit processor architecture makes support of more than 4 GB
problematic, and most versions of Windows limit applications to half this
amount).

So it will be a while before affordable computers exist to manipulate
high-resolution scans of LF film.  It sure will be nice when it happens,
though.  Finding a way to scan the film is also a problem, and scanners,
unlike computers, do not drop in price rapidly, so even if a desktop LF
scanner becomes available, it may be unaffordable for a long time.

Note that 4000-dpi scans from 8x10 would allow prints literally the size of
a barn.  Make those Duratrans and light them from behind, and the whole
neighborhood can admire your work!