[filmscanners] Re: Work flow for Nikon 4000

["Doug Franklin" <franklin@shootingshark.com>]

Hi Paul,

On Thu, 07 Aug 2003 00:12:22 +0000, pkohl@gol.com wrote:

> I am in search of suggestions for going from a 4000 dpi scan to a
> print size file. I am printing to an Epson 7000 at 360 ppi. The
> size will be about 20 inches in the long dimension.

My experience has been that I get better prints from my 820 when I give
the printer more data, up until 720 ppi of incoming image.  The
differences are small between a 360 ppi original going to the printer
and a 720.  But I can't see the differences, even under a "loupe"
(reversed 50mm lens for 35mm format) after I go above 720 ppi.

So, using that logic, I'd like 14,400 pixels in the long direction, if
my 820 would do prints wide enough to go with a 20" length.

A 4k ppi scan, however, is only going to come up with a bit less than
half that. On my Canon CanoScan FS4000, the long edge of a 35mm
negative scan is around 6k pixels (actually 5,950 or so).

So, assuming you're talking about a 35mm frame, you're going to come in
a little under the 360 figure in the raw scan.  You can always resample
the image in Photoshop or a similar tool, though.

Using the rounded off figure of 6k pixels, scanning at a full 4k ppi,
you'll have 300 ppi of image data at 20" length.  That should do well,
I'd think, but I'd resample to 360 dpi in Photoshop rather than letting
the printer or printer driver do it.

> If I scanner default is best, what process gets me to the printer
> settings with the highest quality file? Resample, don't resample?
> Change in 10% increments?

I'm not sure which scanner default you're referring to.  If you're
talking about the resolution, see above.  Scan at 4k ppi to get 300 dpi
at the size you want. Then resample up twice, about 10% at a time, to
get to 360 dpi (6,000 pixels to 7,200 pixels).

> Besides the print, I want to archive a copy of the image on a CD. What
> version do I archive?

Me, I archive the raw scan, in a lossless format like lossless JPG
(hard to find), PNG, uncompressed TIFF, or LZW compressed TIFF.  Some
people use JPG.  Everyone makes their own choice on those tradeoffs.
For snapshots and other stuff that you'll never print larger than 4" x
6", my method is probably overkill.  I work on the assumption that any
shot might get enlarged later.

Oh, and play around with the Unsharp Mask (USM).  Most scanned images
can use a small shot of USM to recover the sharpness that's lost in the
scanning process. Just make it the last step in the process, after all
resizing and color adjustment and everything else has already been
done.


TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ


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