filmscanners: Ilfochrome vs Imacon + Crystal

["David Lewiston" <dlewistn@maui.net>]

For the past decade my key images have been printed on Ilfochrome by Rob at
the Lightroom in Berkeley.

Just spent a few weeks there. Rob persuaded me to make a comparison,
printing one image on Ilfochrome and then scanning the same image on his
Imacon Flextight II (5600 dpi) with the print made on Crystal.

What a revelation! I had been more than happy with the Ilfochrome prints of
this subject, a marble image of Avalokiteshvara from Lahul (Indian Tibet),
shot in the early '80s on Kodachrome 25 using a Canon 50mm macro on a Canon
F. But the Crystal print is in another league altogether. Placed side by
side with the Ilfochrome print, the Crystal version gives the impression
that a heavy layer of grime has been removed from the image.

Resolution is excellent : Rob and I agree that this scan would print well at
the next size up, 23" x 17" on his Giclee printer.

The only drawback: Expense. $75 for scan and 11"x 14" giclee proof.

Something I hadn't expected: Using Photoshop 5LE, I opened the TIFF file on
my computer, which has a 15" Trinitron monitor. Setting the Photoshop
display to 100%, resolution was *dreadful*. But it doesn't seem to matter,
since the print is just fine.

Salutations, David L