Printing and framers

[stcstc]

bigger than a3 gets very expensive as a scanner, better off setting up a studio type space to photograph them in

[Framerpicture]

We have an A3+ scanner - Fuji Finescan 2750 but unfortunately its no longer manufactured-
I'm certain you can get other makes of A3+ scanners from other manufacturers but its a long time since I've looked at this market and technology marches on, so couldn't reccommend a particular one but perhaps the company your buying your printer from could.

[FrameOn]

bigger than a3 gets very expensive as a scanner, better off setting up a studio type space to photograph them in

I use photo stitching software: PTgui. You can use a small scanner to create the image in sections and then stitch them together on the computer.
Save scanned images as TIFF files, set the PTgui parameters to 50mm normal lens and stitch together to create a photoshop output.
Doing it this way means that the scanner profile provides consistency whereas to ensure accurate lighting conditions for a consistent camera profile is more difficult.

I have always had good results with this software - far superior to photoshop inbuilt stitching IMO.

Check it out at: http://www.ptgui.com

Richard

[stcstc]

PTgui rocks, i use it for stiching VR shots etc

the main issue with stiching work thats scanned is more to do with the mechanicals of scanning, and keeping things square etc.
oh and making sure the scanning software doesnt use some kind og auto exposure

controling light and colour in a studio type setup is actually quite easy with the right tools

for colour i use one of the xrite colour passport devices.
for lighting i use elinchrom ranger quadras + 2 dlite4 heads. it means i can light the piece so there is no abient light being used and i polarise the lights and the camera, which kills any specular hightlights

[kev@frames]

I was right with you all the way up to the words "for colour I use", after which it turned into Klingon for me. I just got reminded why I leave printing to the experts

[IFGL]

Photo merge on photoshop is a good tool used with a A3 scanner, we copy work up to 24 x 36" this way.

[DCS]

We run a photo studio and printing service and now have ventured into the framing side too.

Now anyone who has a portrait photographed ends up with one of our frames too.
We too also have the Epson V750 Pro scanner which gets a lot of work and most of the jobs end up in one of our frames.

[IFGL]

I use a i1 pro to profile our scanner ,screen ,and printer along with shiraz rip software . very little colour adjustment is required quite often our customers think they are looking at their original not our print .

[Nypro]

What setup does everyone use to photograph larger than A3?

I have tried this in the past and found lighting to be a problem.

Chris

[JamesC]

Natural light is very good, especially for anything with a varnish on. We have frosted skylights upstairs and they are very good nice flood of even light. I play with f stop and shutter speed until I am happy. Too slow on the shutter and you can get noise/spots.

I have a fairly inexpensive lighting set up (3 lights with softboxes etc) but prefer to use daylight. We have the camera hooked up to a computer so we can see the results instantly - that helps a lot as the preview screen I don't find so great on our slr - spacebar to shoot.

Large flatbed scanners are really needed for art and they are massively expensive + hard to justify, but there is an architect shop in York we can make the trip to also - £30 a scan maybe.

We print btw to go back to topic. I came from litho printing in marketing/estimating, to setting up in digital printing, then framing when the only nearby contract framer went bust. I'm not a studio photgrapher by any means but we can do a decent reproduction when it makes sense. We too use photomerge in photoshop - you just need to remember to only merge in one direction at once. I have merged up to 9 photos 3 x3 but it does require some manual intervention at times - patching over sections.

My next latest/greatest camera will probably be at least a squillion megapixels so merging will hopefully not be as necessary in the future.

A bit like stepping back in time going from printing to framing, but in many ways I prefer the framing industry. Especially when the customers appreciate the costs.

[IFGL]

I am about to scan a a 30 x 20 canvas with my A3 epson scanner bought reconditioned on ebay for £285, and calibrated with my I1 proof.

[IFGL]

the 4 scans, scanned at 300 dpi, we can go much higher if necessary. I will chuck these in photo shop now.

[IFGL]

so have put then in photo shop, I have photo merge set as a action because I use it a lot, you need so leave about a 2" overlap on the scans and the must all be scanned straight.

[carter2]

Hey thank you for the info

[DCS]

We also have the Epson V750 scanner and use the Silverfast 64bit scanner software , fantastic results.
From there we print on an Epson 7900 printer using either Epson or Ilford 310 gsm paper.

[chris62]

We opened our gallery & framers in 1997 & started scanning & printing 1998. the printer is running every day we use a Fuji Lanovia 550 sprint for scanning