Printing from scanned slides

[bmicklea]

This feels like it would be a common question but in searching I couldn't find a thread about it (if there is one feel free to point me to it).

I love shooting slide film but have given it up in the last few years beacuse it's so painfully expensive to get prints from thanks to the price that must be paid for the transneg. Unfortunately the only colour prints I really like are some 16x20s I did from slides I shot in the late 90s. I've since had some c-41 shots blown up but somehow they're just not as compelling as the ones that came from slides. I'm attributing this to the higher contrast and richer colours of slides.

So, I'd like to start shooting slides again and I'm thinking of getting a decent film scanner (the Minolta seems well liked here) and good colour inkjet printer for the job. With this kind of a setup is it possible/hard/easy to get rich, beautiful prints as you would from a more traditional slide transneg? Or am I better off just scanning and taking the digital file to a good photo shop for printing? Or should I just stick with c41 and spend more time worrying about composition 😉

 

[dmr]

To an untrained eye, the prints I've been doing from scanned slides (and negatives) on photo-quality paper look quite nice in most cases. This is on an older hand-me-down HP 720 printer. Scans are on a K-M Scan Dual IV.

(Yes, I'm sure a newer printer would give me better prints - that is on the do-it list.) 🙂

I've found that the quality of the paper (I like both the Promaster brand and the Office Depot house brand "professional" paper) and attention to detail when scanning and preparing the files to be printed makes all the difference in the world.

 

[kaiyen]

You imply these are new slides you would be shooting, right?

In that case, the bottom line is that yes, you can get the results that you want, with rich, vibrant colors and a real punch to them. HOWEVER - you must be aware that, since slides are so contrasty as compared to negative film, you won't get the full range out of the scan as you would when projected on a screen.

You can combat this by shooting lower-contrast slides like Astia or Sensia. But if you are after Velvia and shoot Velvia, be prepared to lose the shadows a bit (assuming you get proper exposure for the highlights, but that's a given).

allan

 

[ronnie_retro]

I've shot slides for years because I always liked their brilliance when projected. There is no way a print (~100:1 for a really good one) will be able to reproduce the full tonal range of the transparency (>1000:1)unless the original was either very flat (overcast day) or fill flash was used. But, even if you don't have photoshop, your scanner may allow you to adjust the tonal curve to compensate for this .

That said - it really is astounding how well today's inkjet printers and scanners do. I have an Epson R-2400 using their ultrachrome K-3 pigments and the colors it produces are right up there with the best Cibachromes I've made for brilliancy and saturation. A nice surprise for me was how easy it is to make really excellent B&W prints from a color transparency. I have some desert shots for example where the colors just didn't seem work well but got some very dramatic prints by just clicking "monochrome" on the printer's software button.

 

[TimBonzi]

Slides scan great on the Canon 8400F that I use. For 4 x 6 prints I use an HP dye sublimation printer (there are other brands, too) and they print with brilliant color. For larger prints I have been very happy with Adorama's digital printing service.

 

[Ronald M]

I have tossed two inkjets because of ink clogging problems. Both were cheap.

If you will not use them frequently enough to keep the ink flowing, sample small prints need to be made. Epson says the life of ink in a cartridge is 6 months. That means new ink twice a year even if you do not use it all. I am sure some will say they use older ink, I have had problems.

Although Epson printers are nice when they work, HP has new ink nozzles built into new ink cartridges. At least the repair is only the cost of new ink.

I just bought a Kodak thermal dye set printer for pics and a lazer for documents. Neither requires ink. The Kodak only prints to 8x12.

Scanning any film seems to be a problem as there are no glass film carriers to keep the film flat. This gives out of focus corners and causes straight lines to bend. I have not experienced scanning slides in glass mounts. The best suggestion given to me has been to flatten the negs with a book right before scanning, but the issue of internal scanner heat still causes the film to expand.

The flatness problem is exactly the same as you experience in a darkroom or with slide projection. The solution is glass in both cases if you are fussy.

Color neg will make easier scanning and color saturation/contrast is easily boosted in photoshop.

Have some commercial scans done, photoshop them, write to a CD, and take them to a commercial photolab. See if you like the results. 4x6 prints will be sufficient. Make several versions for the same CD with different color/contrast and identiying print text right on the pic so you can compare results when they are printed.

PS Elements is a wonderful program with most all the manipulation you need. Cost is minimal. $100 Elements and the cost of a few scans will get you started .

 

[bmicklea]

Scanning any film seems to be a problem as there are no glass film carriers to keep the film flat. This gives out of focus corners and causes straight lines to bend. I have not experienced scanning slides in glass mounts. The best suggestion given to me has been to flatten the negs with a book right before scanning, but the issue of internal scanner heat still causes the film to expand.

I've definitely noticed this with my flatbed scanner, but I'd assumed that the holders for dedicated film scanners solved this - sounds like I was wrong. Are there any film scanners that allow the use of glass plates to keep the film flat?

Have some commercial scans done, photoshop them, write to a CD, and take them to a commercial photolab. See if you like the results. 4x6 prints will be sufficient. Make several versions for the same CD with different color/contrast and identiying print text right on the pic so you can compare results when they are printed.

Great idea, I'll give this a shot before blowing a ton of cash on a good film scanner and printer.

 

[bmicklea]

the bottom line is that yes, you can get the results that you want, with rich, vibrant colors and a real punch to them. HOWEVER - you must be aware that, since slides are so contrasty as compared to negative film, you won't get the full range out of the scan as you would when projected on a screen.

You can combat this by shooting lower-contrast slides like Astia or Sensia. But if you are after Velvia and shoot Velvia, be prepared to lose the shadows a bit (assuming you get proper exposure for the highlights, but that's a given).

I tend to shoot either Sensia or Kodak E200 pushed to 400 - neither seems as saturated as what I recall of Velvia. Has anyone tried scanning a single shot twice - once optimized for highlights and once for shadows and then combining them?

 

[ronnie_retro]

Are there any film scanners that allow the use of glass plates to keep the film flat?

Yes, the Nikon Coolscan 9000 has an accessory glass plate bed that uses a special fluid that presumably matches the index of refraction of the film base and won't damage the dyes. Pricey, though - this extra is about $500.

The 9000 itself does a fairly good job on its own. The carriers have a tensioning system to stretch the film across the width (120 size) and this is pretty good at keeping the film plane flat. Myself I have not had any problems with 35 if I'm willing to crop out the small amount of area at the extreme edges, < 10%.
This too is a pricey scanner - $2000 - but I suppose the cost must be compared to conventional darkroom equipment, and it will handle roll film sizes as well as 35.

 

[rpsawin]

It's my understanding that almost all pro processing labs print everything digitally and wet processed prints are no longer available. That's what I've been told by the labs here in the Seattle area.

Scanning your slides and then printing them yourself is the logical, and based on volume, cost effective way to go.

Bob

 

[Jamie123]

Are there any film scanners that allow the use of glass plates to keep the film flat?

If you buy a flatbed scanner you can get a filmholder from betterscanning.com along with one of their glass inserts. However, this is only for medium format film.

 

[mervynyan]

Don't print all slides, I assume you have a loupe, pick the best ones. Scanning using home version flatbed, which I have one, losses the very details and color of the slides.