Re: [Leica] Polaroid SprintScan Question

[Rmusacchio@aol.com]

It sounds like the calibration that you are using is a bit off.  Are you 
using the setting for raw E-6, or one for the particular film that you are 
scanning?

These preset calibrations are software filters designed to compensate for 
peculiarities of individual film types.  Your best be might be to adjust the 
scan window curves for the initial scans so that you get as much detail as 
possible in the file and then use levels and curves in PhotoShop to finish 
the picture.  A great first step in PhotoShop is to open levels and adjust 
the end points so that the long flat lines of the of the histogram are 
removed.  Then open curves and adjust the midtones and colors.  

DO NOT USE THE SET BLACK IN CURVES, LEVELS OR THE AUTOMATIC LEVELS OPTIONS. 
The tend to throw out too much data and result in odd looking images. Be sure 
to use the info pallet readout rather than eyeballing the image on the screen 
when making corrections.  Subtle differences are very difficult to judge and 
when you take into account aging computer screens then you've really got 
trouble. 

I make all of my corrections in the RGB mode, but set the info panel options 
for CMYK readout.  The exact numbers that you'll look for in the info box 
will change depending on your intended output and the lighting conditions of 
the original image, but you should typically look for a highlight caucasian 
skin tone with less than 15% cyan, and the yellow value about 3~6 points 
higher than the magenta value.  For darker skin, the cyan tends to run higher 
increasing the total ink value, but the M and Y values tend to hold the same 
relationship.  You should cross check a neutral tone where the CMYK values 
are the same.

The way to learn all of this is to study a scan that you like and works well 
for the ultimate output that you have in mind.  Use the info pallet set as 
above, use the eyedropper tool with the option set for a 5 x 5 sample, and 
pick the image apart.  Study skin tones, neutrals and shadows, making notes 
on what looks good and what doesn't, and apply those general thresholds to 
future scans.  The more that you study, the better the end results will be.

Rick