The Best Drum Scans

Not all drum scanners are created equal, and the Screen SG 8060P is one of the best ever made. Original prints and negatives up to 20x24 inches can be scanned at up to 12,000 samples per inch in 16-bits per channel.

As good as the scanner is, it is only as good as the operator. Scanning negatives is a particular challenge on drum scanner and their dedicated software originally designed for scanning positive transparencies and prints. I've found that the plug-ins that were developed for scanning negatives are unreliable and don't do as good of a job as manual set-up, inversion, and contrast correction. I have created custom profiles and input curves for black and white negatives with various density and contrast ranges. I also perform individual set-ups and a low-resolution scan at 150-300SPI to proof the initial inversion and contrast correction before starting the full resolution scan.

Scanning Resolution and Pricing

8000 to 12,000 SPI is usually overkill for anything larger than medium-format films, but I can accommodate large and ultra large-format negatives and unmounted prints.

Depending on the size of the original and the largest expected print size you will need35mm and Medium Format films are scanned between 4000-12000 SPI. Large-format negatives will be generally be scanned at 1200-4800 SPI (or larger if needed).

Prices

Pricing is determined by the size of the original and the input resolution, and includes initial contrast adjustment and basic dust removal. Additional retouching and restoration work will be quoted on an individual basis. Final scans are delivered via Dropbox, WeTransfer as soon as they are completed (large scanning projects of several negatives might need to be delivered on a USB3 drive when returning the originals).

High-End Flatbed Scans

In cases where drum scans are not possible the next best option is the Screen Cézanne Elite FTS-5500. Whether they are 100+ year old glass plates, mounted fine art prints, or fragile prints from family albums the Screen Cézanne, with its 17x22-inch bed and 5500SPI resolution, can handle it. As with drum scans, every scan is treated with the utmost care and attention to detail. Pricing for flatbed reflective scans use in fine-art books and reproduction without any retouching or tonal corrections is $45 per scan. All other work is done on a flat rate of $125 per hour

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