Old beginner needs help

[Soldier]

Hi.
I wonder if you can assist me in my choice. I am a beginner at scanning always used Film, however during the last year I cannot find anyone to regularly print top grade prints.
I tried the Digital route and that was also dissapointing. I have seen stupendous results from Pos film prints. I used to use them exclusively 40 years ago when there were reliable printers.
I run a vista 32 and have bought the Minolta Dimage scan elite 5400. however it will not work with Vista, and silverfast has a much better reputation anyway.
I expect to produce up to 40 high qualty prints a month, mainly A3 and A4 with a few at A2.
I am not sure wether Ai or Ai studio would best suit me, speed is not a priority but quality is. ease of operating would be of some help.
I do not have photoshop or a twain loaded (i Think) so presumeably the stand alone would be better?
The downloaded trial would perhaps show only a limited number of choices but could be worth a go!

I look forward to your help

MH Haynes

[LSI_Heidorn]

Dear Mr. Haynes,
as you pointed out that you are into quality, not into speed or productivity, i would not consider a flatbed scanner with Transparency option.
This either does not result in good-enough quality or is really extraordinary expensive...
The best Quality for film scanning can be achieved with a dedicated film scanner or a drum scanner, so your Minolta was a good start.
You could of course always use XP and use the XP Minolta drivers together with SilverFast !
Another alternative would be to get a Nikon LS-5000 ( 35 mm ) or Nikon LS 9000 ( 35 mm and Medium format ) !
Those not only offer a good quality, they also have means to eliminate dust & scratches assisted by Hardware ( if you don't know the concept: it would be using ICE technology on windows or iSRD on Mac, basically it uses an infrared light source to produce a "map" where it sees problems on the film surface and then uses Software to care for those areas ).

Another more expensive route would be to lookout for a good bargain to buy a Heidelberg Drum scanner ( Tango or Primescan plus SilverFast).
That would cost a serious amount of money and there is no Hardware assisted scratch & dust removal but it is simply the best in terms of resolution and tonal range.

Again, if you consider to buy a flatbed scanner that "can do it all" you also have to buy a top notch model to get at least close to the result of dedicated film scanners ( maybe even a Heidelberg NexScan or Topaz ).

As for your question about the version(s):
if you buy SilverFast you always get TWAIN and Photoshop and Standalone version for one price, so no need to worry.
And if you decide on the Ai there is always an upgrade path to the Studio and/or the IT8 version.

best regards,

Nils Heidorn

[CanoMan]

I've decided to bump this old thread since it's about helping to choose the right equipment. And it mentions drum scanners.

Recently I got interested in drum scanners and now I try to collect some more information. What especially cought my attention is Heidelberg's PrimeScan 7100. Maybe someone can help me and answer a few questions...?

1) I presume that PrimeScan is the most advanced scanner in Heidelbergs lineup. Is this correct? I'm looking for a scanner that will deliver the best scan quality possible. Unfortunately, there is really not much information on drum scanners on the net (I guess they're pretty rare considering their huge cost). From the limited resources I found it seems that PrimeScan delivers impressive resolution and density. Are there any scanners that are equal/better in this regard?

2) Is the difference in scan quality between dedicated film scanners (such as Nikon 9000) and drum scanners (such as PrimeScan 7100) significant?

3) Where to look for such a scanner? As I said before, they seem to be very rare.

...and one more thing. What price is to be expected for PrimeScan 7100?

Best regards,
CanoMan

[LSI_Ketelhohn]

Dear customer,

I would like to direct you to one of our partners.
http://www.brakensiek.com/

They are specialists in Heidelberg drum scanners and can answeremany questions regarding these devices.
Including availability and prices.

Drum scanners are of cause professional equipment and therefor deliver a high quality.
They however do require more maintenance and care than for example a Nikon scanner would.

kind regards,
Arne Ketelhohn.

[CanoMan]

Thanks a lot for your answer.

I have one quesion, though.

Does such scanners (as PrimeScan), when used via SCSI, require any drivers for operating system? Or is the scanning software the only thing that is required?

Best regards,
Mike

[LSI_Moeller]

Dear Mike,

other drivers are not needed. Only the scan software must be installed and the driver of the SCSI controller.

Best regards
Artur Möller

[CanoMan]

Thanks!