I have been given numerous very old family photos, and wish to get a
scanner and photo printer to copy and archive them.  Although I
understand rasterization from an electronics viewpoint,  I don't fully
understand all I feel I need to know about image resolution, sizing,
etc.  I want to keep full photographic quality of the original images,
but don't want to end up with gigantic files, and don't want to spend
tons of $ on hardware that will do more than I will ever need to do.
Can someone point me to a good beginners guide on image formats,
resolution, scaling, etc.?  Just what kind of resolution do I need to
keep visible pixelation out of the image?  What's the best trade-off
for quality vs cost?  Presently I am looking at the Epson Perfection
3170 at 3200x6400 and the Epson Stylus Photo Printer R300 at
1440x5760.   Suggestions greatly appreciated.

Hal

Anything most human eyes are going to be able to see can be captured at
300dpi. If you are talking about scanning prints, then spend a decent amount
of the flatbed scanner. I would aim for at least $150 or more on one. The
sub $100 ones are pretty crappy in quality and software.

If your dealing with slides or film scanning then plan to spend at least
$500 of dedicated film scanner and not a flatbed with an adapter. I would
also recommend one with digital ice so you don't have to worry about
clearing up and dust or scratches that will be on the film.

A good video editing program is also going to be important spend a decent
amount on the scanner and you should get Adobe Photoshop Elements which
should provide you with about everything you need in that department.

A CD burner is going to be a requirement for archiving your scans. Use good
quality CDs.

As for printing... companies like Epson claim on some of their printers to
be long lasting. I don't by this because all of their tests are done in
museum conditions which isn't something that most people have. I would find
a good quality Epson, HP or Cannon printer that offers at least 6 colors. I
would not spend the extra for the supposedly archival crap. The cost isn't
worth it. When they shift color or fade simply reprint. If you store your
prints in photo albums these problems will be reduced considerably.

Jerry

In article <0l3vb05upe95tu2uv88gj2c7c9tj73vk3g@4ax.com>, hal@nospam.com
says...
> I have been given numerous very old family photos, and wish to get a
> scanner and photo printer to copy and archive them.  Although I
> understand rasterization from an electronics viewpoint,  I don't fully
> understand all I feel I need to know about image resolution, sizing,
> etc.  I want to keep full photographic quality of the original images,
> but don't want to end up with gigantic files, and don't want to spend
> tons of $ on hardware that will do more than I will ever need to do.
> Can someone point me to a good beginners guide on image formats,
> resolution, scaling, etc.?  Just what kind of resolution do I need to
> keep visible pixelation out of the image?  What's the best trade-off
> for quality vs cost?  Presently I am looking at the Epson Perfection
> 3170 at 3200x6400 and the Epson Stylus Photo Printer R300 at
> 1440x5760.   Suggestions greatly appreciated.
>
> Hal
>
Go to scantip.com for a good introduction.

--
Robert D Feinman
Landscapes, Cityscapes and Panoramic Photographs
http://robertdfeinman.com
mail: robertdfeinman@netscape.net

<hal@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:0l3vb05upe95tu2uv88gj2c7c9tj73vk3g@4ax.com...
> I have been given numerous very old family photos, and wish to get a
> scanner and photo printer to copy and archive them.  Although I
> understand rasterization from an electronics viewpoint,  I don't fully
> understand all I feel I need to know about image resolution, sizing,
> etc.  I want to keep full photographic quality of the original images,
> but don't want to end up with gigantic files, and don't want to spend
> tons of $ on hardware that will do more than I will ever need to do.
> Can someone point me to a good beginners guide on image formats,
> resolution, scaling, etc.?  Just what kind of resolution do I need to
> keep visible pixelation out of the image?  What's the best trade-off
> for quality vs cost?  Presently I am looking at the Epson Perfection
> 3170 at 3200x6400 and the Epson Stylus Photo Printer R300 at
> 1440x5760.   Suggestions greatly appreciated.
>
I recently bought the Epson R200, which is the little brother of the R300.
It doesn't have all the memory card inputs and no display, but the printing
quality is the same. And that quality is great, although I must say that I
get the best results when I print on Epson paper. I always thought those
were fairytails, but I was really amazed about the quality of the pic's on
Epson paper. Just like the real thing. But...pretty expensive :o)