35mm slides to scans
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#1. "RE: 35mm slides to scans" | In response to Reply # 0
walkerr Registered since 05th May 2002Fri 06-Jul-12 07:49 AM | edited Fri 06-Jul-12 07:50 AM by walkerr>1) Can that file be transferred to my web page without
>enhancement through Photoshop? or, will I need to post
>process the scan?
>
If the purpose of your website is just to allow people to see your images (as opposed to selling large prints via some service), I would downsize them to something more reasonable for the web. Something like 800 or 1024 pixels wide would make sense. Also, the quality of the scan can vary quite a bit, and they may need some work before they look the way you think it should look.
>2) A large print lab in California says that the scan must
>have NO SHARPENING whatsoever...they say that will be done by
>them during the file setup. Being new to the digital workflow,
>I don't understand why they insist that the scan not be
>sharpened.
>
Some people don't know how to sharpen images well and end up with bad halos, accentuated grain, etc. that they then blame on the printer. The exact amount of output sharpening that should be used is also dependent on the device used to print and the paper type. By asking images not be sharpened, they're able to control the quality of the end product. Sharpening takes a while to learn. When film scanning was more popular, there were some tremendously horrible large prints showing up on the market. You could just look at them and say "yep, digital gone bad". I still see them in places like airports, etc.
>3) How large a high quality print can be made from that 48mb
>jpeg file?
>
It's probably not actually a 48MB jpeg, but there's no exact upper limit as it depends on how sharp your original image was, how it will be displayed and viewed and how skilled the printer is. Something in the 11x17 range is certainly achievable if the image is of good quality and viewed fairly close. If the focus is off or the film had bad curl that wasn't handled well during the scanning process, maybe less. If you're going to be viewing the print from a distance and the printer takes care to minimize grain through good post-processing techniques, you can go larger. Keep in mind that billboards were made from 35mm images and 4MP digital cameras, but they're never viewed up close. How you'll display and view them really does make a difference. The subject matter also affects things.Rick Walker
My photos:
GeoVista Photography -
#2. "RE: 35mm slides to scans" | In response to Reply # 0
esantos Nikonian since 10th Nov 2002Fri 06-Jul-12 10:21 AMJust to add to Rick's advice:
Not only do you want to keep your web images at a reasonable size you also don't want anything too large concerning the byte size. I would limit the jpegs to no more than 250 to 500 kilobytes. You also want to make sure that the jpegs be converted AND tagged to the sRGB color space. If you skip this step your images may not display correctly in regards to tone, contrast, and color.
As far as sharpening, it has been my experience that when a lab or publisher requests no sharpening they generally are a little conservative when they apply the sharpening. I'm not recommending that you go against their recommendations but I would contact them and get their policy on what happens if you are not satisfied with the sharpness of the final product. You want to stress to them that your source slide is sharp and that you expect a reasonably close reproduction of the original.Ernesto Santos
esartprints.com Ernesto Santos Photography
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#3. "RE: 35mm slides to scans" | In response to Reply # 0
volcanoblack Registered since 02nd Jul 2012Sat 28-Jul-12 08:19 PMYour scan will be a 17 megapixel image. You should be able to get a high quality 11x14 (at about 300dpi) and probably a 16x20 from it - but just having the size does not guarantee that the scan quality (or original) is good enough to be blown up that big. (as mentioned by Rick)
G
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I have Photoshop Elements 10 loaded on my computer.
First, I have found a lab in California that will scan my slides at what they call an enhanced scan of 3339x5035 pixels, which they say will open as a 48mb jpeg file.
1) Can that file be transferred to my web page without enhancement through Photoshop? or, will I need to post process the scan?
2) A large print lab in California says that the scan must have NO SHARPENING whatsoever...they say that will be done by them during the file setup. Being new to the digital workflow, I don't understand why they insist that the scan not be sharpened.
3) How large a high quality print can be made from that 48mb jpeg file?
Hope this is in the correct forum.
Thanks for your help.
Len Foster