[Leica] [leica] digital printing - scan negs or prints?

[FSilberman@aol.com]

Hi:
I've been reading this thread with interest.

I don't do digital printing, per se ,but do scan with slide scanners & 
flatbed scanners for off set printing. 

My experience with B&W is that it is far simpler to work from a print than it 
is to scan a b&w neg. the file is smaller & the quality is better. Most 
printers I know work from prints as well.

My experience with color is a diff matter. II'm still experimenting in this 
area, since I want to be able to do more work in house. Right now I get my 
transparencies drum scanned & color corrected ( which I guide them with) by 
the color separation house. Drum scans offer the best dynamic range out 
there, but flatbeds are fast approaching on their heels. Most medium print 
highend printers scan transaprencies on flatbed scanners today. They are 
taking this work away from the traditional sphere of the cololr separators 
because for most purposes the work is good. Keep in mind the printed page 
(offset printing) has a narrower range (I've been told it's about 4 stops) 
than film. The paper it's printed on has an impact on this has well, just 
look at those expensive special edition photobooks on coated paper vs. 
uncoated paper for example. 

Anyway, to keep things short, transparencies vs. prints do offer beeter 
results. But from what I've been told from my separator is that if you have a 
nice print & it is about the size it will be printed from they will make a 
nice drum scan from it. They aslo noted it was easier for them to get the 
scan right the first time with little tweeking. It seems the narrower dynamic 
range is an advantage in this respect. This is why I'm experimenting with 
color prints on my flatbed now. The narrower range makes it easier for the 
falt bed to capture the info & for amny applications the info you can 
digitize is enough to get great results.

Cheers,

Frederic