A hybrid photography workflow at a high level

Given a basic hybrid photo workflow, we start with inspiration, select equipment that has some synergy with the burning thought and capture the image to film. We make some more decisions about the analog to digital conversion – selecting a film developer to which settings to apply while scanning. Finally we manage the new asset and export it for the web or print. Its this last step that I have been so dull on.

Photo technique magazine has had a great series of articles that got me thinking about how part of the hybrid photo journey is going to have to deal with the print – and there are so many options! There is everything from turning the digital image into a negative and doing traditional wet prints, to alternative processes to digital chromogenic prints to inkjet. Then you realize on the last one – inkjet – there are even more ways to craft the print!

The Modern Alchemist: Collodio-Chloride Printing-Out Paper, Bill Westheimer, November/December 2011

The Artisan Approach to Inkjet Printing, Wendy Erickson, January/February 2011

Creating Digital Paper Negatives by Chris Woodhouse, March/April 2010

Chromoskedasic Printing by Christina Z. Anderson, May/June 2010

There is of course the injet substrate decision – is it going to be a canvas or Hahnemühle photo rag or some other destination? Are you printing or are you sending it out to someone else? Good printers can be expensive, not to mention the inks and papers and the likely spoilage of these consumables. If you send it out will they get what you are looking to do or is it fire and forget.

The November / December 2011 issue of View Camera showcases an article by Jon Cone, The State of the Art in Black and White Inkjet Printing. A form of that content appears to also be available at The Agnostic Print. What you learn is that Piezography K7 rocks Epson’s Ultrachrome K3 inks. Its not even a close call. So those photo finishing houses offering you an expensive black and white print on Hahnemuhle are giving you less than your image could be. It is true that the printer manufacturers need to contend with creating amazing color prints and to that they focus. However, if you want the best in black and white printing and thought the latest Epson did the trick you have some work ahead of you. The good news is that Piezography has done most of the work for you. What is clear to me is that going down this path is a rabbit hole I may not emerge from. Consider all the work it takes to just create the image, add the hybrid photo approach and now print making to the process. How can you not want to be the print maker when it has so much to contribute to the end product?

Regardless of  how the print is made, it seems to me that part of closing the loop of hybrid photography is getting the image out of the machine and into the world. The journey expands to what it takes to gain satisfaction from the print.

The back story

On your search for the best scan quality you will run across Doug Fisher over at Better Scanning. He makes a variable height mounting system that addresses focus plane issues found in flatbed scanners. While you visit his site encouraging yourself to buy his product you will also find his DIY wet mounting on the cheap page, where apparently for $60 you can be up and running.

Along the way it is impossible to overlook Julio Fernandez at ScanScience. At the core of his product line is Lumina scanning fluid, around which various kits are assembled to help get the best from your scanner. He sells a variety of other cleaners and equipment to deliver a one stop shop experience. You quickly find that $60 is not what you are spending. Nothing Julio is selling inhibits also buying Doug Fisher’s variable mounting system, likely the ultimate setup for flatbeds.

My primary scanner for medium-format and smaller is the Nikon Coolscan 9000. It is a fantastic machine offering among other things, a variable focus lens which means even if there was such a thing as Doug Fisher’s variable height mounting system, it would be a waste on a Nikon Coolscan 9000. As part of your scan, the Nikon Coolscan 9000 will either auto-focus or allow you to select the focus point. This is the scanner I was using almost exclusively at the end of 2009 and my wet scanning adventure led me to try ScanScience.

Earlier in the year I picked up an Epson Perfection V750-M Pro to scan my large format photography. This is where I would be excited to try the Better Scanning system. As you will see, it is clearly superior to the variable focus solution from ScanScience.

Opening the box

I live in Brooklyn, New York USA. ScanScience ships from Orangeville, Ontario Canada. Having purchased twice I know for certain it takes longer than all the estimates suggest. Likely the shipment sits in customs and with all the heightened security gets delayed on its ground journey. So, by the time you get your ScanScience kit you are delighted because you forgot when it was supposed to arrive.

Opening the box the first time informs you of three key things.

• First, all the items scream exactness. The thin scientific glass, precut overlays and the careful packaging all speak to the time dedicated to sourcing and assembling the kit.
• Second, some of the products you purchased you could have found elsewhere, possibly for cheaper, for example, the lint-free gloves or the squeegee. For that matter, you could probably buy all of it if you knew what you were looking for.
• Third, the Lumina fluid is the star of the show – standing out as the one product you won’t buy somewhere else. Second place goes to the ultra-thin beveled-edge scientific glass.

Everything is perfectly assembled and while obviously hand crafted is appreciated and valued.

A ScanScience kit for 35mm and medium-format film. I ordered two bottles of Lumina and an extra glass plate for each format.

My second order to supply the Epson Perfection V750-M Pro was a similar experience. The biggest difference in the kit was the solution to the variable height mounting solution which is a set of “shims” to raise or lower the film plane. I actually own a micrometer so finding and assembling the various shims wouldn’t have been too challenging, but it would take time and that I have little of. What is more, I have trouble seeing a remarkable difference between many of the adjustments in height. I have used the default Epson dry adapter, Epson’s wet scanning tray and ScanScience shims and while I have settled on a height, it was a challenging activity worthy of its own post.

A ScanSCience kit for 4x5 large format with the optional film cleaner and power pump.

Thoughts

In practice it takes some time to get the proper technique in assembling clean and bubble free wet mounts. That said this is probably true for most setups.

While there is no obvious deception, initially you have the feeling like you overpaid for the “kit”. I mean the kit comes with Bounty sheets. It says so. So, what is the surprise when you get a wad of towel paper? Similarly, the microfiber cloth, what did you expect? At the end of the day, you are paying for shopping services, because while you could have purchased these things on your own, it takes time to conceive and assemble a kit. If you do not know what you are looking for, ScanScience delivers the single point of purchase experience. Technically anyone could source the components, but why? You pay with time or money, so get over the fact that you could have done it on your own and focus on the fact that you didn’t have to. More importantly, the items that matter are really of excellent quality – clearly demonstrating someone who knows more than you did their job.

I haven’t used other wet mounting fluids but Lumina seems to do the trick. If you buy into the safety claims, Lumina is a better substance to be working with. It goes on wet like an oil and stays with you throughout the scan. When you disassemble the mount it will evaporate. You film usually dries unaffected and while this could be true for the glass and overlays, I clean everything between mounts.

If you are using a Nikon Coolscan 9000 you will have to modify your film holder. ScanScience does not offer instructions on how to do it, so it is DIY activity. You can see how I did it in a previous post.

As you start working through your technique you will find that dust is everywhere. You need compressed air or an anti-static brush or both. I use the tried and true Staticmaster brush and Pec-Pad wipes.

You need a clean and flat work area. I use a quarter-inch glass plate, but look forward to using a nicer larger light box. Consider what you have as the distance between a perfect mount and your scanner is filled with dust.

ScanScience offers a solid service and high-quality products. The kits and digital manual get you up and running quickly. Julio is quick to offer help and support as you work through your purchasing decisions and mounting technique. Remarkable results are possible.

If you are the kind of person that happily assembles the DIY kit for projects then get only the items you don’t think you can easily source on your own. If you are happy to pay for this kind of service, know that you will. The resulting quality of my wet mount scans is worth every penny. I would definitely buy from ScanScience again.

If I missed something in this review or simply didn’t answer your burning question, ask! There was nothing worse than searching and not finding an answer. I’ll tell you what I know and share my experiences.

Scanner research began the minute I purchased my Mamiya. I knew I could get the local mini-lab work done, but it would cost and the result would not be very high quality. To really get the benefits of shooting film, a great scanner is required.

Drum scans are expensive. I am sure the quality is great, but I can’t justify spending the money on such high quality scans if I am not also making some money with my craft. This also means buying a drum scanner is out, even if its used. First, I live in a coop apartment where a drum scanner could fit, but it would have to also serve the role of sculpture. Second, from what I could read, they are extremely expensive to repair.

Flatbed scanners seem to be an option, certainly for those that shoot larger than medium-format. I even considered the Epson Perfection v750-M Pro as a relatively affordable high-quality machine. Almost all the forum posts I read said it was great, but not as satisfying as a dedicated film scanner.

Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED is almost the only game in town for medium-format film scanning. They fetch $500 over list on Ebay, because they are hard to come by. From what I can gather, the other scanners in the Nikon line are well liked. Buying this model means there is the Nikon service and support available to keep the unit humming. Relatively speaking, this will be far cheaper than drum scanner service and for those that are trying to find the older Minolta scanners, it means actually having a product that is not discontinued. This scanner is almost twice the price of the Epson, but is much cheaper than the other alternatives.

If you are looking at the Nikon 9000ED then you have done a search on Ebay for used Imacon scanners. Imacon was purchased by Hasselblad a while back and are considered the best of the best. Unfortunately they cost as much as cars. Even ten year old models run over $3000 USD. I guess if money was no object then I would either have enough room for a drum scanner or a new Hasselblad scanner. Either way, today, these options are too rich for my blood.

Net: Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED is the highest quality, supported film scanner at the $2000 price point. Do not spend a lot of time debating flatbed vs. dedicated. I have seen images from the Nikon compared to the Imacon, where folks debate the differences. No one debates the Epson v750M Pro against either. It is a great scanner – I believe that – but it is not a fair comparison.