|
Digital
imaging - Slide Scanners & Scanning
by
Gordon Beddis.
Reproduced
from in focus 64 (February
1999)
See
also:COMPUTERS
: FINE TUNING : GETTING
TO GRIPS WITH CONCEPTS by Gordon Beddis
and
DIGITAL
SLIDE SCANNERS & SCANNING by Brian Pitkin
So
you bought a computer and it's the best there is! When the
initial novelty or shock has worn off, you get to thinking
"what extras do I need to get into this digital imaging
(D.I.)?"
A
word of advice here, if you only want one or two prints a
year, D.I. is not cost-effective - find someone who does hand-printed
Cibachrome. If, like me, you want hundreds of prints zoomed
in, cropped, the back-scatter removed or just straight prints
for your portfolio, read on!
Extra
pieces of equipment outside the PC are called peripherals
and, yes, you wi I I need some.
A.
Slide Scanner:
This
connects to your PC SCSI card and has its own power supply.
Your 35 mm slide or negative is scanned, or read, into your
computer, enabling (via software) the images to be shown on
screen.
As
with everything you pay for what you get. A high specif ication
scanner is a peripheral you won't out?grow easily, e.g., 2700
dots per inch (dpi) resolution and 24 or 32 bit (depth of
colour).
B.
Printer:
Essential
for printing out work. It also has its own power supply and
is connected to the PC with a printer lead (not always supplied
with the printer). You will need a 'photo' quality printer
- the higher specification machines are the best, e.g., Epson's
700 series is a good bet with a maximum 1440 x 720 dpi resolution.
One
of the big drawbacks of printers claiming to produce high
dpi is that very few can do it in reality and only emulate
high figures.
On
the other hand, most produce prints of excellent quality and
in some cases competition quality prints.
Do
not forget running costs: most printers have at least 2 cartridges
and ink/toner cartridges need to be changed every 30-40 prints
depending on usage and paper (more on this at a later date).
C.
Software.
Manufacturers
provide software for printers and scanners called drivers
that usually come with the equipment when purchased.
Software
programmes are needed to use your images to the best advantage.
Adobe Photoshop 5 is the best and most complicated but it
is quite expensive at £450, well out of the range of
most people's pockets. However, most printers come with 'bundle'
software like Adobe LE (limited edition), this is a great
starter which can be up-graded later.
I
have found some cheaper alternatives: Photosuite by M6I at
£16 from Jessops is an excellent programme, LivePix
is very good at £39, and Microsoft's Picture - it is
reasonable but has no resource for saving in higher resolution
files such as TIFF (Tagged Industry File Format).
Anyway,
put it all together and you'll be producing photo prints in
no time! Sorry, it's not that easy, it's what they call a
steep learning curve.
More
on the How To Do It next time.
I'm
still at SeaScenes Scuba and can be contacted for D.I. advice
(or a chat) on 01202 535051.
See
also:COMPUTERS
: FINE TUNING : GETTING
TO GRIPS WITH CONCEPTS by Gordon Beddis
and
DIGITAL
SLIDE SCANNERS & SCANNING by Brian Pitkin |
