film pictures of Chamonix Mont Blanc

[Yardbent]

i have several 8x10 prints from my week there some 40 years ago

but no negatives

is there a lab who could digitalize them for me in order to obtain larger prints...? thanks

 

[ChrisR]

Have you tried just scanning them on a flatbed? An ordinary all-in-one printer/scanner might do a surprisingly satisfying job....

Alternatively, I did try photographing some prints from an old book. I was just using my Fuji X10 in 6 mpixel mode, but I was surprised how much detail there was. You could try this with a better digital camera, either hand-held or using a tripod/copystand...

 

[Yardbent]

Have you tried just scanning them on a flatbed? An ordinary all-in-one printer/scanner might do a surprisingly satisfying job....

Alternatively, I did try photographing some prints from an old book. I was just using my Fuji X10 in 6 mpixel mode, but I was surprised how much detail there was. You could try this with a better digital camera, either hand-held or using a tripod/copystand....................

thanks - I'll try both methods

 

[ChrisR]

If you want to double the linear dimensions of the print, scan at 600 spi; if you want to quadruple, scan at 1200 spi. I think my Canon MG5250 all in one will do either...

 

[Yardbent]

If you want to double the linear dimensions of the print, scan at 600 spi;
if you want to quadruple, scan at 1200 spi. I think my Canon MG5250 all in one will do either...

my printer is only A4. The scan would be a digital file - so I could send this to (Peak.?) for a large print..?

I know zilch about scans and dpi..............

 

[4wd]

Worth trying the carefully focused and lit re-photograph idea, I did some for facebook from an old school mag which wasn't even all that well printed but they looked very acceptable as digital images.
It's a bit like looking at a print with a magnifying glass there is more to see than you first notice.
Professional scanning can't pull detail that's not there.

 

[ChrisR]

my printer is only A4. The scan would be a digital file - so I could send this to (Peak.?) for a large print..?

I know zilch about scans and dpi..............

8x10 prints fit within the A4 size. The scan software for my printer allows me to scan to JPEG, so you could indeed send that to Peak, DSCL etc to print larger. You're best just experimenting a bit, and see how it comes out.

It might be worth looking up the scanner specs for your printer. For my Canon MG5250 (quite a few years old), the specs say the scanner resolution is 2400x4800 dpi (dots per inch... I usually say samples per inch for scanning, but the distinction is unimportant here). I think this would be pretty typical.

If you remember that most print shops like to print at 300 dpi, if you had scanned at 2400 dpi, potentially you could print 8 times larger. In practice you'd see a lot of defects and junk picked up in the scan, and have a gynormous file size as well, so if you can cut the scanning resolution down to 600 dpi, you might well get a decent print at 16x20 inches.

 

[Yardbent]

, so if you can cut the scanning resolution down to 600 dpi, you might well get a decent print at 16x20 inches..............

online spec are max
Scan. Optical Resolution. 1,200 DPI x 2,400 DPI (Horizontal x Vertical)

I'll look into setting 600dpi.............................thanks

 

[Asha]

A suggetsion,

Send one print that you have to someone on here who has a decent flatbed scanner ( that's most of us in f&c i think , ask them to scan and print ( if possible) to a size that you hope to achieve then view the result to see if viable for the other images that you have available assuming they scan at a similer quality.

A large scan could be sent to you to preview but I can tell ya that often the printed result looks a million times better than the onscreen version of any scan!

I'm glad to do the above for you but you will have to post out to France
Nonetheless if its an option for you then simply ask

 

[excalibur2]

online spec are max
Scan. Optical Resolution. 1,200 DPI x 2,400 DPI (Horizontal x Vertical)

I'll look into setting 600dpi.............................thanks

Something wrong here as the better the scanner dpi, the bettter the jpg, the better the detail\quality and better the print, if I'm wrong what's the point in having the max dpi scan at the lab at higher prices. Anyway I know having a low scan to produce 1800pixels X about 1200pixels jpg, you can just get away with an A4 print.as I've done a few quick prints on my home inkjet.
If you could set a digi camera for 1800px X 1200px and much higher pixel shots and have a home printer..... maybe you could see the difference doing a few prints.

 

[StephenM]

In round figures, and as a reasonable approximation, the best prints (in terms of detail recorded) are on glossy paper, and have a resolution about 1/4 that of a black and white film (rather less with some films). Hence scanning resolution matters more with film than prints. If the print is on matt paper, the recorded detail is less.

There will be a quality drop with a larger print made by scanning and enlarging, the only question being if it will be perceived in the sbsence of a larger print made from the negative to compare it with.