Digital BW, The Print

I currently have a good film scanner but not a flatbed. I'm
considering buying a 1200 dpi flatbed to make contact sheets of 35mm
b&w negs. My thinking is that since I'm not resizing the scan and 1200
dpi is already greater than the Epson driver native resolution,
nothing would be gained by a higher rez scanner. I'll just invert the
scan in Photoshop and output to my 1280 or 890. 

Could I expect to get any useful detail in a contact sheet just by
ordinary frontlighting the negs in a cheap flatbed?

Any other suggestions for bridging this weak link in my process?

Bob Michaels

"bob_michaels"  wrote:
> I currently have a good film scanner but not a flatbed. I'm
> considering buying a 1200 dpi flatbed to make contact sheets of 35mm
> b&w negs. >

You might want to check this out:

http://bigscanner.com/

Also if you can find one I have a old Linotype-Hell Jade2 that scans perfect contacts at 600 spi max. Check eBay.

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "John Vitollo" <jvlist@c...> wrote:
> "bob_michaels"  wrote:
> > I currently have a good film scanner but not a flatbed. I'm
> > considering buying a 1200 dpi flatbed to make contact sheets of 35mm
> > b&w negs. >
> 
> You might want to check this out:
> 
> http://bigscanner.com/
> 
> Also if you can find one I have a old Linotype-Hell Jade2 that scans perfect contacts at 600 spi max. Check eBay.

Just checked eBay out of curiousity:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3411241457&category=11207

The Saphir scans letter size - not legal like my Jade2 but still a great deal at $135.

I have no connection with the seller.

> The Saphir scans letter size - not legal like my Jade2


John,

consider that the "letter size" spec doesn't apply to the transparency area (at 
least on my Saphir Ultra). It's more like 8x10. Basically it breaks down to 
either using one of these scanners with the inconvenience of scanning twice 
for contact sheets or buying a tab size behemoth with trannie adapter (over 
$3000 for current Epsons). 

Because of how nicely Lino Elite works (passpartout setups etc), one can set it 
up to be efficient enough for the double scans needed to cover a 35mm roll. 
But for dedicated  and efficient use, I am sure the Tabloid size would be a 
dream.

Antonis

I use an Epson 1680 Pro model (full bed transparency lid--1600ppi) for 
contacts. For 35mm negs the PrintFile 6H-B sleeves fit with just a little 
cutoff on either side. 120 and 4x5 sleeves fit with room to spare. I 
think the 1680 Pro is $1400 new.

Amadou Diallo

Here's a little trick to make a contact sheet I learned from a 
popular photo web site. Scans your negatives with or without the 
PrintFile plastic page on a regular flatbed scanner without 
transparency adapter.

In Photoshop go to Levels and take the middle (gamma) slider all the 
way to the right. Then print. It will look even better printed. Then 
you can also double the size of your contact sheet image and print. 
(Of course, only half of the negatives will then fit on an 8.5 x 11 
sheet of paper).
Cheers,
Andre


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "bob_michaels" 
<bob@b...> wrote:
> I currently have a good film scanner but not a flatbed. I'm
> considering buying a 1200 dpi flatbed to make contact sheets of 35mm
> b&w negs. My thinking is that since I'm not resizing the scan and 
1200
> dpi is already greater than the Epson driver native resolution,
> nothing would be gained by a higher rez scanner. I'll just invert 
the

> scan in Photoshop and output to my 1280 or 890. 
> 
> Could I expect to get any useful detail in a contact sheet just by
> ordinary frontlighting the negs in a cheap flatbed?
> 
> Any other suggestions for bridging this weak link in my process?
> 
> Bob Michaels