Do
you really need a $32,000
flatbed scanner?
An
economical Umax PowerLook III flatbed can enlarge a 6x6 cm, 4x5
inch, or 8x10 transparency to fill the wide-format print pictured
here; a Nikon or Polaroid slide scanner can enlarge a 35mm slide
to fill a wide-format Encad print up to 24 inches wide. The new
Polaroid
SprintScan 4000 35mm slide scanner enables you to enlarge a
35mm slide up to 36 inches wide.
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The
poster above resulted from an 8x10 chrome scanned on a UMAX
PowerLook. How can an economical UMAX scanner do all this?
It's all in the software. If you get good software you can
do wonders with a cost-effective scanner. If you upgrade to
LinoColor
software from Heidelberg CPS (Linotype-Hell)
you can get even better color management.
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all
kinds of information on flatbed scanners
from www.flatbed-scanner-review.org
A
basic desktop flatbed scanner costing less than $2,000 can enlarge
a transparency to create a huge poster, and still have dpi to spare.
FLAAR can document this because our wide-format ENCAD printer routinely
creates impressive large-size posters from transparencies, as seen
here.
The
scanner that did this is a UMAX PowerLook, not a $32,000
scanner!
Admittedly
this is not a $250 model, but $4,000 is a lot less than $32,000
for a low-end drum scanner or high-end flatbed. Besides, the price
of this Umax scanner is now only about a thousand dollars and change.
 To get this quality in the
color enlargement, you need a good quality printer and a hardware
RIP server. We have good experience with the EFI Fiery RIP and recommend
it. Our EFI Fiery RIP always functions, never failed.
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| Wide
format media by American Inkjet Company |
But
again, don't try to produce exhibit quality with a cheap low end
scanner.
We
have also scanned 35mm color slides with dedicated Nikon 35mm slide
scanners and enlarged the resulting prints to 24 inches in size
with the ENCAD
wide-format printer.
All
this said and done, after we scanned a wide variety of 35mm, 2 1/4
inch, and 4x5 chromes on a Fuji
C-550 Lanovia flatbed scanner, the quality of these Fuji scans
left a lasting impression. These scans were simply superior in all
respects to scans from any lesser scanner. In other words, you get
what you pay for.
Most
active digital offices have one of each, a dedicated slide scanner
and also a flatbed. A prepress shop should also have a drum scanner.
Wide format media comes from American
Ink Jet Company. Many people prefer the Matte. Others prefer
photo glossy. American Ink Jet sells all of the above, and much
more.
Reviews
of a professional flatbed scanner, the Fuji C-550 Lanovia, on www.flatbed-scanner-review.org
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FLAAR offers for you more information about this subject |
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