Help with glass plates?

[rbiemer]

A friend of mine has recently inherited some glass plate negatives and isn't having much luck getting them printed or scanned locally to him.
He lives in Buffalo, NY USA.
He tells me that some local camera store--not a lab--quoted him $40 each for prints. No scans, just prints.

So, my question to y'all:
Does anyone have a good recommendation for a pro lab in or near Buffalo, NY that could possibly deal with these?

He is not keen on the idea of mailing the plates to a lab and would like to find someone local.

Thanks, every one!
Rob

 

[Mackinaw]

Your friend may try what I did. Place the glass plate negatives on a light table and take a picture of each one using a digital camera (in macro mode). Then import the image into Photoshop, invert the negative to a positive, and adjust for contrast and brightness. Works very well. I did this to over 25 4X5 glass plate negatives that had been in my family for about 100 years. Everybody was amazed at the results.

Jim B.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I've successfully scanned 'em with a standard scanner with a light hood (transparency adapter): currently an Epson 1680, formerly an Agfa Snapscan 600, so anything will do. A while back we scanned some 1920s plates belonging to our next-door neighbours and they were knocked out: they'd never seen prints, just the negs. Protect the glass of the scanner with a sheet of acetate and check the focus. With the Epson software I use you can gang the scans: line 'em up, press the button and forget 'em. Then do another batch.

Cheers,

R.