Any experience with this scanner?

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jim_p

jim_p

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Apr 8, 2007
Posts
2,151
Loc
Natick, MA
Our tabloid-sized flatbed scanner is getting a little long in the tooth, so we've been looking for a replacement. Our primary use is scanning artwork for giclee reproduction. As I was shopping around I came across this overhead scanner from Fujitsu. Does anybody have any experience with anything like this? It certainly looks like it will be easier to use than a flatbed!

(Yes, if I hit the Powerball then I'd buy the Cruse scanner I've been drooling over, along with a bigger building to put it in, but that's not likely to happen for a while...)
 
It seems to be primarily a document scanner, usually a bit contrasty, hopefully it will allow yo to use it without it's software active, this bit would concern me.
#The Versatile Imaging (VI) technology allows the scanner to minimize the unevenness in image quality and generate a smooth, uniform digital image that looks natural to the reader’s eye.

I really like the contact less operation though, would be great for pastels.
 
David, going all out for drum scanner (we sold our Howtek 4500 drum scanner for a fraction of its original price and were glad to get that) wouldn't come close to getting the capabilities of a Cruse scanner. By coming close, I mean the Cruse would be a difference in kind rather than degree. Anything you'd want to scan on a drum scanner would have to fit on the drum. In the case of our Howtek, that would be 8x10 positive and negative. The only advantage a drum scanner has over a high quality ccd scanner is the ability to wet mount transparencies and most high end flat bed ccd scanners can do that. Our Epson 750 can and it can also scan with infrared light to remove dust and scratches. Purists will argue that drum scanners can capture more detail in shadows scanning color transparencies than can ccd scanners but I honestly can't see it. In art reproduction, the Cruse Table scanner has no equal. There are a lot of drum scanners out there that you can buy for a small fraction of their original cost but you'd be buying a headache . Just read the posts in Yahoo's High End Scanners forum.

Jim, the advertisement says the scanner is a document scanner. The lens has to be able to image the entire bed and that's a prescription for chromatic distortions and vignetting. And you can bet it's a cheap lens. Look for a used Epson 1460 pro. Or a gently used Better Light scan back. High end art reproduction (the definition of a giclee) requires high end capture.
 
Warren Tucker said:
Jim, the advertisement says the scanner is a document scanner. The lens has to be able to image the entire bed and that's a prescription for chromatic distortions and vignetting. And you can bet it's a cheap lens. Look for a used Epson 1460 pro. Or a gently used Better Light scan back. High end art reproduction (the definition of a giclee) requires high end capture.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I kind of figured... "too good to be true" and all that.

Do you mean Epson 1640? What's your opinion of its current replacement, the Epson Expression 11000XL? That might be the direction I go in... it's about the same as I spent on my current scanner (Microtek 9800XL), guess I need to bite the bullet and all that...
 
jim_p said:
Yeah, I kind of figured... "too good to be true" and all that.

Do you mean Epson 1640? What's your opinion of its current replacement, the Epson Expression 11000XL? That might be the direction I go in... it's about the same as I spent on my current scanner (Microtek 9800XL), guess I need to bite the bullet and all that...
Click to expand...


yes, I meant the 1640. The 11000XL would be a good scanner, just expensive. Compared to a used 1640. We've had a 1640 for over 10 years and it's an excellent scanner. If our 1640 packed up, I'd buy the 11000 to replace it.
 
Warren Tucker said:
Or a gently used Better Light scan back. High end art reproduction (the definition of a giclee) requires high end capture.
Click to expand...


Too bad I'm still using mine!! :thumbsup:

There are a couple on ebay and the better of the 2 is a Super 6k HS going for around $7.5K or obo. This is about half the new price.

I got mine used and then upgraded to a Super8K HS and switched the scsi to USB2.
Seriously, this is THE thing to use for accurate, HIGH quality scans of any size artwork.
I have shot 2x8 ft "art" rugs, and a 4x5 ft piece of 1/4" luan painted with the art among other "normal' stuff.

Large pieces can be shot in sections and then merged in PS. My last big one was 64x66 inches and took 6 shots and when merged made a file over 1.2 gb.

You would still need a good 4x5 camera with a Cambo stand ( I have an extra one) and some really nice lights and then you need lenses for that 4x5... Go to the Betterlight site and check out the system and while there, take a look at the Northlights they offer in the product section.

If this system is something you might be interested in, I'd be happy to show you my studio. Natick isn't THAT far from Bar Harbor!! :shutup:
 
Framah, how long did it take you to scan that 64x66 piece including stitching? How much did you charge? I don't think there can be any moderator challenge about prices. I think the largest canvas we've scanned was 64x 96 and we charged $150.00. It was a heck of a deal. We did it at 300ppi, the lowest resolution we can scan at without turning off parts of the Kodak 14,400 tri linear sensor. I remember seeing pictures of your studio and being very impressed. It took Herman Cruse a while to realize that moving the subject would be a big improvement. The table scanner moves the subject, the sensor remains static and the subject moves under it between two light banks.

Was the 64x66 camera ready when you got it? Big pieces rarely are.
 
Warren,
Including the 15 minute warm up time for the Northlights and getting it all set up on the wall... about an hour. Then about a half hour on the computer.

I set it so I was shooting one horizontal half in 3 sections and turning it 180º and shooting the other half. I placed some painters tape to locate the corners so when we flipped it, we put it back in the exact same place so there was no resetting of the camera.
That's is what is SOO nice about having the wall move!!! The camera and lights stay in place and the art moves. The vacuum in the wall helps alot, also.

The piece at that size was the third step in my job for her. I first shot her original and enlarged it to about 36x36 and then she worked that and I scanned and enlarged to 48x48 and then she worked THAT and I shot and enlarged it to the final 64x66 size.. and then she worked on THAT and I did the final 64x66 piece for a finished file of the work. It was almost all B&W ink work with a couple of color bits hidden in. Very abstract.

I charge her around $200 for that final size as I had to have a friend help me move it and set it in place on the wall and I had to take her out to dinner for helping me!!
It was all Epson enhanced matte paper.
Each scan and print was a separate charge so I made a small boatload on that job!! :shutup:

In my setup, the art doesn't move in front of the lens, the sensor moves across the image coming into the lens and then I move the wall to the next section to scan.
I think that way there is no chance of getting movement artifacts in the file from minute movements of the art as it passes by the sensor.

I remember in my first attempt to set this system up, I had it in my house and the furnace coming on would make zig zaggy lines in the scan... my cat walking past the leg of the tripod would do it... me moving would do it. Apparently, an 1841 cape isn't as stable as a nice concrete floor for stopping movements.

Strangely enough, for the last 6 months, I have only had small stuff in for scanning and haven't been to the studio for any of it. I'm just using my Epson 10000XL.
 
Hey Ralph, can you post a link to your vacuum wall that you had posted before?
 
After poking around in my computer, I can't find the file that had shots of the wall set up. Not sure what happened to it.:shrug:

I did move my studio to larger spaces a while back so this weekend, I'll go over and take some shots in the new place. It is also easier to get shots of the back of the wall in the new place. Alot more room there.

I'll try to post them over the weekend.
 
I'm trying to recall what you used for the backing board. Did you use peg board or drill holes in another type of board for the vacuum set up?
 
I used 1/4" luan and then drilled holes. I thought if I used peg board, I would actually have too many holes and would need a larger vacuum to pull that much air. The area with the holes is 32x40 in the middle of the wall.

As it is, when I shoot small stuff, I need to block off the extra holes with wide painters tape.

Also, with the luan, I can still use push pins where the pegboard would be harder to push into.

I also painted the whole wall black so there would be no color pollution into the art from the surrounding materials of the wall. I know, picky, picky!:shutup:
 
How far apart did you drill the holes in the luan and is it just a shop vac providing the suction or did you need something larger?
 
1/8" holes drilled 1" apart. It is actually just a one gallon shop vac. A really small thing.

After I drilled the holes, i built a 1x4 box onto the back of the wall and used a pvc sink drain pipe attachment into the box as the vac hose fit nicely onto it.

What came with the vac was too short so I went next door to the vacuum place and got longer hose so the wall can move its full run and still be hooked to the vac.
 
framah said:
I also painted the whole wall black so there would be no color pollution into the art from the surrounding materials of the wall. I know, picky, picky!:shutup:
Click to expand...

Good thinking on the black wall. I am going to build one for a friend and was thinking of making it white but there are so many shades of white that I didn't know how that would effect the color balance. Also good to know the one gallon shop vac is all that is needed since sucking to much can be a bad thing in this case. :shutup:

Did you hang yours on pulleys so it can slide left and right?
 
Painting it white will also reflect light back onto the art which can also effect the color of the piece. Like you said, there are alot of different "Whites" out there and they aren't pure white by any means.

Nope, the wall rolls on 2" PVC pipe using skateboard wheels.

All will be revealed this weekend with those photos.:thumbsup:

I'm probably going to just email you the photos as it will be WAAAY easier than posting them here thru photobucket.
 
Thanks Ralph. I won't be working on it before then so that works out great.
 
Jeff, did you check your emails??:thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the photos Ralph. I saw them come in but won't have time to look at them till later this afternoon. :thumbsup:
 
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