Pro scanner for under $1,000?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert Montgomery
  • Start date Start date
R

Robert Montgomery

Is there any pro-quality flatbed photo scanner and film scaner available
for under $1,000?

I want to scan four-by-five and eight-by-ten-inch transparencies and
print them up to about 22 by 32 inches with pro-quality results.

I noticed the Epson Prerfection 4990 Pro photo and film scaner, and
wonder if that would be good enough quality for high-resolution printing.

It has a resolution of 4800 by 9600.

(http://epson.ca/cgi-bin/ceStore/con...infoType=Specs&oid=49164281&category=Products)

So far I've had to go to a graphics company and get it to make drum
scans for me, which is an expensive process.

The final prints will be shown in art galleries, so the quality of the
scans has to be fine.

Robert
 
It has a resolution of 4800 by 9600.<<

That is the stated/claimed/marketing number. I would not count that number
as the true optical resolution number. Some people say it is really half
the claimed numbers. Others feel it is slightly more than half. Either
way, if you use a 2400 x 2400 rating in your calculation and that resulting
resolution will produce the size image you want at the printing resolution
your printer requires, the scanner might work for you. This situation is
not just for the 4990 - it is pretty much true for all the competing
flatbeds in that price range including the ones from Canon and Microtek.

Doug
 
Is there any pro-quality flatbed photo scanner and film scaner available
for under $1,000?

I want to scan four-by-five and eight-by-ten-inch transparencies and
print them up to about 22 by 32 inches with pro-quality results.

I noticed the Epson Prerfection 4990 Pro photo and film scaner, and
wonder if that would be good enough quality for high-resolution printing.

It has a resolution of 4800 by 9600.

(http://epson.ca/cgi-bin/ceStore/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCooki...)

So far I've had to go to a graphics company and get it to make drum
scans for me, which is an expensive process.

The final prints will be shown in art galleries, so the quality of the
scans has to be fine.

Robert
Click to expand...


The newer Epson V700 and V750 are updated and better scanners than the
4990. I do my 4x5s on a V700 and at 2400ppi and 16bit scan I get 500
mb images. So at this res an 8x10 would be 2gb. As for resolution for
4x5s 2400ppi is fine, with 35mm I find the results plateau at 3200ppi,
this is where I scan my medium format too. I like this scanner, but
it isn't a Creo or a drum but it is only 2.5% of the cost of a Creo.
If you really want the best and are technically oriented, get a used
drum scanner, a 4000 Howtek can be found for a couple of thousand.

Tom
 
- said:
That is the stated/claimed/marketing number. I would not count that number
as the true optical resolution number. Some people say it is really half
the claimed numbers. Others feel it is slightly more than half. Either
way, if you use a 2400 x 2400 rating in your calculation and that resulting
resolution will produce the size image you want at the printing resolution
your printer requires, the scanner might work for you.
Click to expand...

How would I calculate that?

Let's say that the image on my four-by-five-inch transparency is 3.5 by
4.5 inches, and I want to print the image at 628.57 percent of the size
of the image on the transparency, so that the printed image would be 22
by 28.2 inches. How would I calculate if a particular scanner would be
good enough?

I normally print at 720 dpi on my printer (an Epson 7600), but the
technician who fixed it for me told me it wouldn't print at a resolution
higher than 200 dpi, so I'm confused about that, too.

Thanks, Doug and Tomm.

Robert


This situation is
 
Robert Montgomery said:
How would I calculate that?

Let's say that the image on my four-by-five-inch transparency is 3.5 by
4.5 inches, and I want to print the image at 628.57 percent of the size of
the image on the transparency, so that the printed image would be 22 by
28.2 inches. How would I calculate if a particular scanner would be good
enough?

I normally print at 720 dpi on my printer (an Epson 7600), but the
technician who fixed it for me told me it wouldn't print at a resolution
higher than 200 dpi, so I'm confused about that, too.

Thanks, Doug and Tomm.

Robert


This situation is
Click to expand...

720 sounds like the resolution of the printer, not the resolution of the
image.

A good explanation of printing images. Read several pages, at least three.
http://www.scantips.com/basics03.html

A Printer and Scanning calculator.
http://www.scantips.com/calc.html
 
CSM1 said:
720 sounds like the resolution of the printer, not the resolution of the
image.

A good explanation of printing images. Read several pages, at least three.
http://www.scantips.com/basics03.html

A Printer and Scanning calculator.
http://www.scantips.com/calc.html
Click to expand...

Thanks, C.S.M.I.

I found the first link's information is confusing, but the second link
(leading to the Scanning and Printing Resolution Calculator) makes it
more clear when I use the Calculator.

Robert
 
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