Late to the Digital Darkroom; Seeking Advice

[leicar7]

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I fought it for 20 years, but have finally thrown in the towel.

 

I bought the following equipment and software versions:

DIMAGE 5400 II w/ driver 1.02

PS 6 (belongs to daughter)

SAMSUNG Synchmaster 20" monitor

EPSON R2400 printer

 

also the Kodachrome and Ektachrome Calibration Test slides

 

I would most appreciate any and all advice, to include reference to old threads on this forum, concerning how to overcome several of the more vexing aspects of starting up, to wit:

Calibrating the scanner

Getting the printer to give the color balance and contrast evident on the monitor

What EPSON papers give the highest quality results for exhibition at 12" x 18" size?

What is the most effective color space (Adobe RGB, or some other) and is there some way within PS 6 to get all the components into this space?

 

What I hope to do standardize on full frame images at 7" x 10.5" and 12" x 18".

Thus far, the print results are not badly off. Compared to the monitor, the prints on Premium Glossy paper need a bit more contrast, about 5% more red, and about 5% less magenta.

 

I was scared of the time PS would require to learn to use, let alone master, but, the first results are almost as good a kick as getting the little boxes back and the contents onto the light table. This may be a lot more fun than I thought.

 

Most of my work has been on Kodachrome, with, more recently, a mixture of K with E100G, some Provia 100 and 400, and Velvia 100.

 

I'm interested in cleaning up and improving straight images in the manner of what could be done in a darkroom, not manipulating all or parts of them for other artistic or graphic purposes.

 

Thank you so much,

Tom Campbell

[leicar7]

From me again:

 

Also I'm using Windows XP.

 

I may not even be asking the (or all) of the best questions on this matter, so pointing in more correct directions I will also appreciate.

 

Thanks again,

Tom Campbell

[pascal_meheut]

To calibrate the scanner, you'll need some software. The common solutions are:

 

- use Vuescan as a driver. It has a good calibration option in it

- use Littlecms, a good freeware. Not available anymore but you can download it here: http://membres.lycos.fr/pmeheut/lprf109w32.zip

- buy a commercial software such as Monaco...

 

Getting the printer to give the color balance and contrast evident on the monitor is not

the best way to work. The best way is to calibrate everything and in the end, you should get printed results very close to what you see on the screen. But you cannot expect a print to look exactly alike a monitor. To calibrate your monitor, you'll need at least a $100 device.

 

"What EPSON papers give the highest quality results for exhibition at 12" x 18" size?"

The one you like. With a 2400, you should avoid using glossy papers because of bronzing and stick with Matte or Premium SemiGlossy. However, I have good results with Premium Glossy and displaying them under a glass may remove the bronzing. Just try it by yourself.

 

There is no "most effective color space". They all have their use. If you monitor is not calibrated, using sRGB is a good idea. If you want slightly better results and if you can calibrate your monitor then AdobeRGB is a good start.

 

If you calibrate your monitor and your scanner, then the process is easy: scan your slides, attach the scanner profile, process in PS and print using the correct paper profile.

However you'll need to set some parameters in Photoshop and in the various drivers to get it right. Some web sites describes this in details but PS6 is quite old now and you may need to adapt their advices and experiment.

 

Have fun

[stunsworth]

Consider upgrading to CDs, this isn't that expensive from v6 and allows more work in 16 bits per channel.

 

Scan your slides/negatives at 16 bits per channel rather than 8. This will give you files that are twice the size but can be adjusted with less posibility of introducing artifacts.

 

Fit as much memory in the PC as it will take or you can afford.

[grober]

I don't have your setup: I use a Nikon Scanner and Canon printer but I agee with the comment about PhotoShop 6.

 

Take a look at PhotoShop Elements 4. Unless you are a practicing Pro with a lot of work, Elements 4 should have everything you'll ever require. I especially like the Healing Brush and use it all the time to remove small skin problems on people pictures. I specifically upgraded from Elements 3 to get this one feature.

 

Also, invest in some way to monthly calibrate your monitor. I use the very simple ColorPlus sensor + software combination. There are other solutions as well. You'll find that any and all monitors drift and need to be corrected routinely. The high cost of ink will drive you to calibrate your monitor because of wasted prints that don't look anything like what you saw on the screen.

 

Finally, consider taking a PhotoShop course at a local community college. The basic concepts are important to learn no matter what specific version of their s/w you use.

 

Have some fun too and don't be afraid to do some zany things with that scanner. I have discovered that 127 color print film can be purchased on the internet and that most instant labs can load it up for their processing machine in a dark changing bag. This has given life to some old but still usable cameras that take 127 film. You then carefully cut down the negative of images that look good on your lightbox and insert it in the negative carrier of your scanner. I have also sandwiched together two 110 negatives our family's archives with some interesting and rewarding results.

 

-g

[wda]

Tom,

 

It would be worth posting your queries in the DIGITAL forum; not all digital only contributors read this forum.

 

There is no quick route to mastery of digital processing. I have invested time in courses, books and time participating in threads like this one. There are many resources available.

 

Do search the old Digital Forum where many users, myself included, obtained most helpful advice on calibrating printers and profiling papers.

 

David

[leicar7]

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Thank you for this help. Vuescan and a monitor calibration package are in the budgeting stage.

 

One thing I noticed in trying to search the old forum archives, is that hitting the link on this site does not obviously, to me, get me to the old forum. The results of a search are all recent enough to have been posted on this new site. I know there are several lengthy threads about some of these issues going back at least two years.

 

I'll also repeat this thread on the digital forum.

 

I appreciate your time to help me out.

 

TC

[salred]

If, and I stress *if*, you do not have a lot invested in climbing the PhotoShop learning curve, then I would suggest looking at Picture Window (Digital Light & Color ).

 

I have used it since my first forays into the digital darkroom and it is an excellent product fully dedicated to a photographer's needs. The support forum is active and the product developer, Jonathan Sachs, regularly contributes: Topics - Digital Light & Color Message Boards

 

Finally, I also bought their calibration tool, Profile Mechanic, which works quite well (as always, IMHO).

 

The other components of my work flow:

 

M6 (Ektachrome / Tri-X)) --> Minolta Scan Elite II + VueScan --> Picture Window --> Epson 2200

For black & white printing add Quadtone RIP between PW and the Epson.

 

Steve A.

(Who someday hopes to use his 1948 35mm Summaron on an digital M)

[wide.angle]

I am in the same boat, so to speak. My workflow follows: film -> Minolta ScanDual III + Vuescan -> PS CS2 (on a MacBook Pro) -> Multiple outputs.

 

I have calibrated my monitor on the laptop using something called Spyder.

 

Now, I would like to calibrate my scanner. Can someone point me to an easy to follow reference on how to do this or explain it here? I am aware that I need to have a reference slide to scan. Can I just make one myself or are those from Wolf Faust (for example) better?

 

If I use my own, how can I make it and how can I "tell" Vuescan how to interpret it?

 

Sorry, but I'm a bit confused.

[wda]

I calibrated my flatbed scanner using Monaco software and the supplied colour print with patches. I also used this setup to calibrate my printer. I do intend getting a calibration target for my Nikon film scanner and completing the loop.

 

David

[cbretteville]

Now, I would like to calibrate my scanner. Can someone point me to an easy to follow reference on how to do this or explain it here? I am aware that I need to have a reference slide to scan. Can I just make one myself or are those from Wolf Faust (for example) better?

 

If I use my own, how can I make it and how can I "tell" Vuescan how to interpret it?

I guess you can make your own, but Wolf Faust's (The color tools site (CMS, ICC,...).) targets are really reasonably priced. For €70 (+€10 shipping) I got a full set of stuff, both for flatbes and my KM 5400II. A very plesant experience it was too, dealing with him. Ordered via his website, had them in my hand three days later.

What you also need is a data file that tells Vuescan which colors are where. Getting that information correct is crucial, and I certaily wouldn't know how. These files are part of the package you get from Herr Faust.