- Joined
- Jan 9, 2005
- Location
- Livonia, MI
I just purchased an Epson 3490 photo scanner (3200x6400 dpi max), and I have some questions about scanning prints made from film.
1) How much detail can I get out of a 4x6 print in terms of resolution? I realize that the actual resolution in the print is limited only by the microstructure of the film that was used to originally capture the image and the print surface itself, but is there an accepted "standard" resolution for digital conversion beyond which no extra detail is captured? 300 dpi yields an image of 1600x1200, which is okay for reprinting 4x6's, but not good enough for larger prints. If I scan at a higher resolution, say 360 or 720 dpi, am I actually capturing more photo detail so that I could make new prints that are larger than the original print, and still contain sufficient detail? I am wondering if the very large file size is justified, or whether I should just use 300 dpi for all my 4x6 scans.
2) Color depth: 24-bit vs. 48-bit. I understand the meaning of these terms, but my eyes cannot detect the difference between two scans of the same print, each using a different color resolution. Is 24-bit plenty for any amateur photo project?
3) Is there an easy way to scan multiple prints simultaneously and have any cropping/rotating operations performed automatically? I dread the idea of scanning hundreds of prints, and having to crop and rotate them one at a time in Photoshop?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
1) How much detail can I get out of a 4x6 print in terms of resolution? I realize that the actual resolution in the print is limited only by the microstructure of the film that was used to originally capture the image and the print surface itself, but is there an accepted "standard" resolution for digital conversion beyond which no extra detail is captured? 300 dpi yields an image of 1600x1200, which is okay for reprinting 4x6's, but not good enough for larger prints. If I scan at a higher resolution, say 360 or 720 dpi, am I actually capturing more photo detail so that I could make new prints that are larger than the original print, and still contain sufficient detail? I am wondering if the very large file size is justified, or whether I should just use 300 dpi for all my 4x6 scans.
2) Color depth: 24-bit vs. 48-bit. I understand the meaning of these terms, but my eyes cannot detect the difference between two scans of the same print, each using a different color resolution. Is 24-bit plenty for any amateur photo project?
3) Is there an easy way to scan multiple prints simultaneously and have any cropping/rotating operations performed automatically? I dread the idea of scanning hundreds of prints, and having to crop and rotate them one at a time in Photoshop?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.