Digital BW, The Print

Epson's scanners and their software are good. Starting from the cheaper
flatbeds (the cheapest one with a transparency option is $129 last I
checked), on up to the 4990, the software is consistent and very usable.
I've used Microteks as well, but like them less. Niikon makes a very good
slide scanner if you have many transparencies or negatives (35mm) -- the
5000. But pricey.

You might also look into Hamrick's VueScan as stand-alone scanning software
to use with your existing scanner.

Sounds like you just need to deepen the blacks and lighten the highlights.
While there are lots of ways to do this, a Photoshop curve is the easiest.
Using Levels in Elements or Photoshop is more linear, but you can achieve
better contrast by bringing the shadow slider towards the middle to the
point where you start to see a rise in the histogram. Same with the
highlights, you can bring the highlight slider in towards the middle, to
where the curve starts to rise. That will darken the shadows and lighten the
highlights, effectively giving you more contrast. It will also spread the
histogram out, and if you are over-zealous will result in a "comb" pattern
in the histogram, which means there aren't enough values to go around. Do
this on an adjustment layer so that you can turn it on and off to see what
works.

I don't think there is a beginners FAQ in this forum. You don't say what
scanner or software you're using... Elements is well suited for learning,
and is designed for photographers. It doesn't have the prepress abilities,
but it also doesn't have the high price tag of it's bigger brother. There
are lots of books on image editing out there, with all kinds of slants. If
you have specific scanning questions, you might check out this site:

 http://www.scantips.com/

Jim


On 1/19/06 2:51 PM, "DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com"
<DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

> Subject: Re: image editing question
> 
> Bob
> Thanks for taking the time to respond to the elementary questions (for
> this forum) of a novice.  I expect, given that this is someting I
> expect to do on a regular basis, I'll have to dig deep into my wallet
> and buy a copy of Photoshop.  It certainly is the default tool in
> almost every image editing book I've seen.  And as I understand it,
> the learning curve is quite steep.
> 
> I will admit, I have wondered why the scanned negatives from what I
> understood to be a good (albeit flatbed) scanner always seems a trifle
> soft.  Could you suggest a couple of scanner brands/models to look at?
> 
> Also, do you know if there is a "beginners FAQ" or some such document
> in the group archives?  I've not found anything like that in my searching.
> 
> Thanks again,
> R.A. Paterson