Digital BW, The Print

> Have you scanned B&W negs with an Imacon (I have the 646) and can offer any 
> experience/tips?


Dave,

I have used the Precision III and 848 with no problems as far as dynamic range goes.
Focus and curl are another story. I think for curly negs - or curly ends of 35mm strips -
you can't beat a good drum scan. Generally these scanners do their best for medium
and large format. I have no complaints from 35mm bw, but (a) you can't scan all the
way to the edge as you would in a drum and (b) supporting end-frames is a hassle.
In the non-autofocus models (P III etc), focus is also an issue. 
That said, I find that the vast majority of bw negs will do well on the imacons
with no need for the expense and wear and tear of going through oil mounting
for a drum scan. 

I prefer to scan in grayscale, high bit (if needed for the specific image) and reverse
in the imacon software (i.e. get a positive preview and scan). I recommend you be careful
not to clip either end of the scale, which means you will waste a few bits for safety
and fix later in PS. Also, I wouldn't apply too steep a contrast curve, allowing room
for work later. At the same time, you want to come as close to your final print 
as you can, overall. That is, get a preview that looks as if you printed it at the
right contrast and exposure - just not with dodge and burns yet. If you do that
well, you can scan in 8bit and save time and space. If not, 16bit scans will
help you down the line.
 
Beware of USM issues, especially with bw high speed negs. Start from -120 and 
keep increasing until it just compensates for the CCD softness. Do the rest in
Photoshop (or whatever editing s/w you use).

I assume you are aware of the imacon forum (on yahoo). If you need the link let me know.

Antonis