scanning negs and prints for dummies

oh well, this seems to be something that people would want, it's odd
there's no product for it. thanks for the suggestion about sending them
out, i'll look into that. someone suggested the HP S20, do you know
anything about that?
 >> Stay informed about: scanning negs and prints for dummies 

Aren't there some flatbed scanners that will scan negs? If so, you
can place multiple prints/negs on a flatbed and Photoshop products
will separate them and create individual files for each print/neg.
 >> Stay informed about: scanning negs and prints for dummies 

You'd think there's be a market solution for this, wouldn't you? I'm
the fellow who posed the 'batch scanning' question. There must be a
million people out there who'd like to scan in a few thousand prints
and negatives; few have the time to spare. Outsourcing options seem
fewer than expected, and who dares part with these images anyway?

Sometimes markets are slow to put things together. It's not a technical
challenge -- it's a packaging and pricing problem.

There are some Epson flat beds that will allow you to lay out 4 35mm
strips on the glass and scan them en-masse. This requires less operator
attention than the Nikon film scanner I have. I believe the results are
inferior to the Nikon, but they're pretty darned good. Most peoples
home prints aren't superb anyway (mine aren't -- I used to use a crummy
camera).

Epson has also introduced, very recently, a flat bed scanner that will
handle film strips similarly to a dedicated negative scanner, so
there's a negative/single print solution.

What you most want, though, is what I asked for. A dedicated print
scanner with a reliable 4x6 sheet feeder. HP has one but it's a mess --
Amazon reviews are awful. Epson had one a few months ago but it's off
the market.

I suspect something will come along. I'd love to see a vendor put
together a compact form factor device that could batch scan prints, and
they might as well add a negative scanner to broaden the commercial
appeal.

Two caveats:

1. Reliable sheet feeders aren't cheap. They seem to be tough to make.
The sheet feeder may be much more costly to manufacture than the rest
of the scanner.

2. Scanning images used to be a real black art -- especially slides and
negatives. It's way trickier than I ever imagined. Things do seem to be
getting more automated; there's an impressive amount of 'AI' in the
newest products.

So, bottom line, no solution on the market today. I wouldn't be
shocked, however, if something appears in time for the holiday shopping
season.

jfaughnan.TakeThisOut@spamcop.net
meta: jfaughnan, jgfaughnan, print scanner, automated, batch, low
maintenance
 >> Stay informed about: scanning negs and prints for dummies 

In article <1126208580.947964.231120 DeleteThis @o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
moochachanyc DeleteThis @mac.com wrote:

> my sister wants to scan all of her 35mm negs and prints (3x5, 4x6
> mostly). she would need the easiest possible solution as she doesn't
> have tons of time for this project and she's not the most computer
> savvy person. i'm wondering if there's something out there that
> literally lets you feed negative strips in and you hit a button and it
> scans it for you. and also lets you do prints as well. does this exist?
> does it cost one million dollars?


Most flat-top scanners will take A4 prints meaning you could scan 2 or 4
prints at a time, however you'll have to digitally cut them up later.

Most film scanners allow you to scan a strip of 6 at one time.

Scanning negs and prints is a time-consuming operation unless you pay
someone else to do this and as it's a repeat-repeat operation no PC
savviness is required.

Get her to sort through her collection first and divide everything into
Essential, Good, If-I-have-time and junk piles. This is much faster than
simply starting from A and working through to Z. Making notes of what
you've done and haven't done while the scanner is doing its job should
remove the desire to keep hitting that pot of coffee downstairs.
 >> Stay informed about: scanning negs and prints for dummies 

<moochachanyc DeleteThis @mac.com> schreef in bericht
news:1126208580.947964.231120@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> my sister wants to scan all of her 35mm negs and prints (3x5, 4x6
> mostly). she would need the easiest possible solution as she doesn't
> have tons of time for this project and she's not the most computer
> savvy person. i'm wondering if there's something out there that
> literally lets you feed negative strips in and you hit a button and it
> scans it for you. and also lets you do prints as well. does this exist?
> does it cost one million dollars?
>
> thanks!
>

another option; project them on a good screen, take your digital camera and
.....click, zooof, click, zooof, click, zooof....
Aad
 >> Stay informed about: scanning negs and prints for dummies 

<jfaughnan.TakeThisOut@spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:1126234544.263920.97450@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> You'd think there's be a market solution for this, wouldn't you? I'm
> the fellow who posed the 'batch scanning' question. There must be a
> million people out there who'd like to scan in a few thousand prints
> and negatives; few have the time to spare.

The determining factor is what level of quality you require.

If you are scanning your film for archival reasons, those cheap scanners are
going to yield inferior quality image files.

Even with an excellent scanner, one needs to put in time and skill to get
the desired results. The notion that one can simply pile a bunch of negs or
slides into a feeder, and come back an hour later to find the job all done,
is fantasy.

And, if you want all that, and at a cheap price too, it becomes impossible.
Everything has its price.
 >> Stay informed about: scanning negs and prints for dummies 

I bought the Epson 4180. It's a doddle to use and good quailty at a
resolution that will blow your grandma away!
Mine was $600 Aussie dollars but I think there is a cheaper version plus the
Canon models might be cheaper too.
Getting a company to scan them for you is expensive here. But some have
computers you can used for an hourly rate of about $40 and you can scan as
much as you can fit into the time you can afford. It all depends on how many
prints and slides you have to do.
My choice was the most cost efficient for me for the long term.

<moochachanyc DeleteThis @mac.com> wrote in message
news:1126208580.947964.231120@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> my sister wants to scan all of her 35mm negs and prints (3x5, 4x6
> mostly). she would need the easiest possible solution as she doesn't
> have tons of time for this project and she's not the most computer
> savvy person. i'm wondering if there's something out there that
> literally lets you feed negative strips in and you hit a button and it
> scans it for you. and also lets you do prints as well. does this exist?
> does it cost one million dollars?
>
> thanks!
>
 >> Stay informed about: scanning negs and prints for dummies