OFF TOPIC - RE: [Leica] Scanning tutorials

["Austin Franklin" <austin@darkroom.com>]

First, I would recommend getting the scan correct from the scanning
software, and not doing any major corrections in any image editing program.
If you try, you will drop codes...which means you will get
posterization...gaps in the continuity of the tones.

http://www.scantips.com

is a good start IMO.

I'll give you a few tips here:

1) ALWAYS scan at the optical resolution of your scanner
2) NEVER re-sample in PS, unless your output resolution falls below 240DPI
3) When re-sizing an image, aside from not resampling, let your resolution
fall where it may...there are NO magic numbers for ink jet printers when
printing grayscale or color images.

For most of what you probably want to do, PSLE is probably fine.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Peter A.
> Klein
> Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 7:42 PM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: [Leica] Scanning tutorials
>
>
> Can anybody recommend a good book or online tutorial on scanning and the
> use of image editors?
>
> Having just made some B&W scans that are noticeably worse than the 4x6
> lab prints that they came from, I'd like to improve my technique.
> You'll see what I mean if you look at the pictures at
>
> 	http://www.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/maratango.html
>
> The pictures are dark and difficult, but nothing that #4 paper or double
> printing with VC paper, plus a little dodging couldn't cure in a wet
> darkroom.  I'm sure there are ways to avoid the digital jaggies in the
> cellist's face, but I'm a complete novice at scanning.
>
> At the moment I can only scan prints using equipment at work.
> Eventually I'll probably want ot film/slide scanner, but not quite yet.
> I'm sure there's some trick to scanning prints at a certain number of
> dpi, and how one edits the size, brightness, contrast, gamma, etc.  I
> have years of experience (though not recent) in a wet B&W darkroom, and
> would like to learn how to do the analogous things digitally.
>
> Also, is there a consensus on good alternatives to Adobe Photo$$$hop?
> For what I want to do, Photoshop seems like very expensive overkill.
> How much does one lose using Photoshop's "Lite Edition." If I went with
> another program, would I be depriving myself of the vast knowledge pool
> regarding Photoshop?
>
> --Peter Klein
> Seattle, WA