LaserSoft Imaging

Having acquired an Epson V750 PRO, I wish to digitize my 35 MM transparencies and all my 35 MM negatives (color and black & white).

Similarly, I wish to digitize all the black and white pictures that inherited from our family for which there are no negatives.

My questions are:
What is the optimum DPI for 35 MM transparencies?
What is the optimum DPI for 35 MM black and white negatives?
What is the optimum DPI for 35 MM color negatives?
What is the optimum DPI for 3 x 5, 4 x 6 color prints?
What is the optimum DPI for 3 x 5, 4 x 6 black and white prints?
For prints is there a difference if the original has a glossy vs. matte finish?

I believe that I can go to 12,800 DPI on the Epson (I?m still playing it with it hence my questions).

And what is optimum file mode to save the images, e.g.: TIFF, JPEG, BMP, etc.

Later I will be burning DVD?s with the pictures.

And space on my desktop is not an issue.

Thanks.

TedT,

The short answer to all of your questions is that you should use your scanners maximum "Optical" scanning resolution.

Your maximum optical scanning resolution is 6400 dpi. However, depending on your originals (film speed, grain size, etc.) you may not need this much. I scan color negatives at 2400 because I get no more detail at 4800 with the 4870 scanner. Make some scans and compare 1600, 3200, and 6400 at high magnification.

For archiving your images, save as tiffs. If you are distributing the images on disks for the family to enjoy, high-quality jpgs will probably do.

--Russell