Digital BW, The Print

Reading through some recent posts concerning scanning workflow, I 
find that there seems to be some disagreement or uncertainty 
regarding the merits of scanning B&W negatives in RGB mode. Has there 
been any systematic investigation of this area? In my own scanning of 
35mm negs (SS4000 12bit, to 16bit in PS) I have not seen enough of a 
difference to warrant saving and working with the larger RGB files. 
But perhaps I'm missing something.

Chris Hargens

I don't think investigation can be systematic, as there are vast 
differences in responses of scanners. With some scanners, I've 
found significant noise reduction by scanning RGB then channel 
mixing. With scanners with obvious offsets between the channels, 
this can soften an image, and it is better to use a single channel. If 
the scanner is combining the results of RGB sensors, then you 
may be better off with either of the above than scanning as 
greyscale.

Tim

> Reading through some recent posts concerning scanning workflow, I 
> find that there seems to be some disagreement or uncertainty 
> regarding the merits of scanning B&W negatives in RGB mode. Has there 
> been any systematic investigation of this area? In my own scanning of 
> 35mm negs (SS4000 12bit, to 16bit in PS) I have not seen enough of a 
> difference to warrant saving and working with the larger RGB files. 
> But perhaps I'm missing something.
> 


--
Tim Spragens
http://www.borderless-photos.com