Exceptional Reflective Scanners

[v3cron]

I think I know the answer, but want to confirm - are there any scanners in the sub-$2000 price range that stand out in terms of silver gelatin print scanning? I am using a rental Creo right now, which is AMAZING, but the price per hour and general awfulness of the experience (slow, weird software) make me want to find out if there is an alternative. I have a couple of Epsons (including one of the big 10000xls), and they do not touch the Creo. Probably due to the optics (Rodenstock?) among other things.

Has anyone found a good solution for press quality print scanning now that real flatbed scanners are long since extinct? I am not willing to go back to scanning film. Refurb'd and warrantied Creos start at around $5k.

 

[x-ray]

I owned a Fuji Lanovia Quattro that was Fuji's answer to the Eversmart. They're scarce machines and no parts and support for them now unfortunately. They're the ssd of a Creo Scitex Eversmart and weigh 150pounds. They scan faster than any other flatbed and a true optical 5000 dpi with Dmax in excess of 4. Unfortunately they run on old OS's like XP or OS9 or fort gen OS X. They require specific dongles with multiple passcodes. Only Fuji software will run them. They're XY axis scanning so the entire platter is the sweet spot. They have 4 of Fujis best Apo process lenses in them and autofocus up to a depth of 10mm. They were IMO better than the Eversmart machines but the Eversmart is no slouch. The differences are more in operation and speed than quality. They were actually Crossfield machines.

The Cezanne is also top notch and compare with the Creo and fuji but too suffer from lack of parts and old software / os comparability.

I agree there's nothing on the market short of the Kodak IQ smart that even gets close.

 

[v3cron]

I've heard great things about the Fuji, but as you said, they are rare and inconvenient. The Creos are available used and can run on Snow Leopard though firewire, so it's not THAT bad. I just don't see myself spending the money in the near future.

I wonder if i could just starting printing 12x16" in the darkroom instead of my usual 8x10 and make do with the Epson, letting the extra size make up for some of the quality loss.