High-End Scans at low price: any interest?

[LuvEmacs]

Hi All,

I may be getting a drum scanner or high-end LeafScan 45 scanner, that can handle 35mm to 4x5 negatives and slides.

Either of the systems I am looking at will be able to deliver high quality scans. (I have been working in the printing and pre-press industry for a while so have experience with this kind of equipment). In most cases, the quality of the scans will be higher than what you can get from all but the most expensive flatbeds and the lower-end dedicated film scanners.

If I may, I would like to ask the forum if a pro-level service at a lesser price would be of interest?

I was thinking along the lines of:

4000dpi 35mm b+w scan: $2.00 each
4000dpi 35mm color (slide or negative): $5.00 each

2500dpi 120 size b+w scans: $4 each
2500dpi 120 size color (slide or negative): $7 each

1200dpi 4x5 size: $8 b+w, $12 color
2400dpi 4x5 size: $12 b+w, $17 color

no charge for CDs or DVDs used to burn the images onto disk to be sent back.

plus say $5 per order to cover mailing costs back to you.

I am not trying to start a huge business, just defray some of the costs of the equipment.

Your comments and suggestions? Would you buy this service, and if so, how many and what size negs?

[JoeFriday]

nope, no interest from me.. and I'd probably do the same thing for free for most of the people here if they asked nicely

but the same idea occurred to me when I bought my Coolscan.. a better idea might be to put up a website to add some legitimacy to the service.. then you can advertise on the usual photo sites and give a link to where all the services and pricing structure is visible

[sf]

This would be a very marketable service, given that most shops charge 10x that much at the very very least. Of course, I am using my new Multi Pro, and it is AWESOME. But, for some photogs out there, with piles of material that they don't feel like wrestling with, this would be a great opportunity to get things done at a low price. Website is a good idea, add some legitimacy.

[dazedgonebye]

I think at least you have a good place here to sound out the idea.
I could see myself using this sort of service now and again. I don't have high quality scan ability myself.

[LuvEmacs]

Originally Posted by JoeFriday

but the same idea occurred to me when I bought my Coolscan.. a better idea might be to put up a website to add some legitimacy to the service.. then you can advertise on the usual photo sites and give a link to where all the services and pricing structure is visible

Thanks for your feedback and the good idea about the website. If I go forward with the idea, it will definitely be my first priority.

I figured since the scanner is not yet in my hands, I would first do a sanity check to see if my proposed rates were out of line or not.

Cordially

Patrick

[Trius]

Patrick: I would be interested in at least trying this. I have no scanner, and I've had variable results on 35mm chromes from my local source. Especially Kodachrome seemed to be difficult for them. PM me when you get things rolling.

Earl

[jan normandale]

I just bought a scanner after Xmas. If I had orders for quality prints I'd be on this 'like a dog on a bone' prices are very good considering what I have paid for hi res scans in the past.

[billwheeler]

First of all, I am a beginner in the world of digital photography, including film scanning and saving to cd.

Now, my question: when you say $4.00 for 120, do you mean $4.00 per roll or $4.00 per frame on a roll. I contacted a local pro lab today about the cost of this service and was surprised--flabbergasted!--to learn that this particular lab charges $40.00 per roll of 120 film, if I understood the rep correctly, for processing and saving high-resolution files to compact disc. So, do you mean $4.00 per roll of 120 film for scanning and saving to cd?

Thanks.

Bill

[Trius]

Jan is my backup source if Patrick doesn't give 'er a go.

Ooops, Gene, you're tied with Jan!

Originally Posted by jan normandale

I just bought a scanner after Xmas. If I had orders for quality prints I'd be on this 'like a dog on a bone' prices are very good considering what I have paid for hi res scans in the past.

[mervynyan]

First of all, a drum is not cheap, in the ballpark from $14,000 to $65,000 if I may recall correctly. Unless you are starting a business, which will consumer a lot of time for one-man operation, it takes years to break even. Second, unless you are also able to develop negative and slides, color and b/w, i don't know if I just want to send it my developed films. Lastly, you have to get into printing services sooner or later to accomadate demands. There are just business side, for the price you are charging, it is goning be out of business.

I have a friend runing this gig and barely break-even, have to raise prices few times. But if you are doing it out of fun, I say go for it.

- mervyn

btw, if this is what you want to do, i would go for a Fuji minilab for about the same price, including scaning.

[amateriat]

From my position, this service would be of relevance largely for medium-format and above, since I'm capable of scanning 35mm at 5400 dpi (even though some have argued to me that 4000 dpi on a drum scanner might trump 5400 dpi on my dedicated 35mm desktop scanner...the jury's still out on that one). However, I think a lot of MF and 4x5 shooters could use a service like this, so having a drum scanner on hand can be a big plus - just remember what percentage of all the photographic images in the world today originated on film, and you'll understand.


- Barrett

[amateriat]

The other thing to think about is the relentless march of technology: in spite of their recent market flame-out in the photographic sector, I think Konica-Minolta (actually Minolta, prior to the "merger") capped it in the 35mm division with the DiMage Scan 5400 I and II. Meanwhile, Epson has made large strides for MF and larger with their 4990; maybe not quite up to Howtek-drum standard but getting relatively close, and for under $500 at that. I'd imagine Imacon might be sweating just a little bit at the moment - I'm not saying the 4990 is the equal of an Imacon, mind you, but the chasm is nowhere near as wide as before, and for a budget-conscious shooter, that can't be bad.


- Barrett

[shaaktiman]

I have a need to get drum scans all the time for work. (TV and entertainment graphic design.) I think that that's where most pre-press businesses draw their clients from; other businesses with clients, as opposed to amateurs making their own work.

For my own personal work I rarely need the detail that a drum scan provides compared to the expense and hassle required to get one. Mailing my negs out sounds like a pain and any shot that I like enough to drum scan is probably a shot that I'd rather not send through the post. On the rare occasion I love something of my own enough to blow it up I would probably just go to Coloredge for the convenience and eat the extra $20-25 cost.

That said, if my firm spends $10,000 on a shoot they aren't going to want to mail the negatives out and wait to get them back to save a few of their client's dollars. They don't care about relatively minor costs like that which is the reason pro drum scanning is so expensive, it can be.

HOWEVER... let me know if you do this. I have been thinking of making one of those books from Lulu.com for friends and family and would be into fedexing you a pack of negs for the better scans at the lower cost. It's just that something like that would be a one time/two time thing for me and probably not something you should base a business model on.

[shaaktiman]

I contacted a local pro lab today about the cost of this service and was surprised--flabbergasted!--to learn that this particular lab charges $40.00 per roll of 120 film, if I understood the rep correctly, for processing and saving high-resolution files to compact disc.

Flabbergasted good or flabbergasted bad?

I usually pay a little less than $30 a pop for each individual hi-res drum scan I do. That is to say, $30 for each frame, which is pretty normal.

If he's charging these prices per roll he's going to starve. But I would send him a lot of business.

[sf]

Ha ha. You think THAT is high.

Try $200 PER FRAME at Samy's Cameras in Los Angeles for "high res" scans. Perhaps they are using a drum scanner of massive power, but give me a break. For the cost of 6 scans, I bought my Multi Pro.

If you were local, and I didn't have a scanner, I'd certainly take you up on the offer, and hand you a pile of negs and slides to wrestle with.

I think, if you tried, you might be able to set up an online mail order business where you offer discounted scanning for people with lots to scan, no time, and no access to a good local scanning job. You might do well.

[ClaremontPhoto]

People are guessing what to charge for scanning, and testing the water.

One place locally (Fuji) used to charge €2 for a midres 135-36 scan, 30 minutes turnaround, and another lab right next door (Kodak) charged €36 for the same scan but '29 minute turnaround'.

[sf]

I know that The Icon in Los Angeles (Best lab in the world - and I mean that sincerely and through years of experience with other labs) does decent 6 MP scans of 645 frames for $3 per scan. Nice clean scans. Ivey in Seattle wants two or three times that much - or more.

[dgray]

I'd send you some 120 6x7 Velvia. If I knew such a service for such a cost was readily and consistently available, I'd even shoot with my medium format equipment a lot more often instead of my digital. If you decide to go this route, make sure you let us know with a big announcement. Good luck.

[LuvEmacs]

Originally Posted by Trius

Patrick: I would be interested in at least trying this. I have no scanner, and I've had variable results on 35mm chromes from my local source. Especially Kodachrome seemed to be difficult for them. PM me when you get things rolling.

Earl

Hi Earl,

Thanks for your feedback!

According to the research I have been doing, it seems that Kodachrome is "easy" to scan on these older but highend devices, possibly because Kodachrome was used for so long in commercial advertising and other places (think of all those National Geographic issues that had the photographer using K64).

Off Topic, but I really miss shooting Kodachrome. It is a great film.

[LuvEmacs]

Originally Posted by amateriat

From my position, this service would be of relevance largely for medium-format and above, since I'm capable of scanning 35mm at 5400 dpi (even though some have argued to me that 4000 dpi on a drum scanner might trump 5400 dpi on my dedicated 35mm desktop scanner...the jury's still out on that one). However, I think a lot of MF and 4x5 shooters could use a service like this, so having a drum scanner on hand can be a big plus - just remember what percentage of all the photographic images in the world today originated on film, and you'll understand.


- Barrett

Hi Barrett,

Thanks for your feedback! It does seem like MF and 4x5 would address more of the "unmet needs", as a few people have 35mm-capable film scanners. And quite frankly, I always liked MF and wish I had got into it sooner.

Cordially, Patrick

[anandi]

Personally I would try this for work. I did a medium format photoshoot for a backdrop (my company's a startup, so we're doing tradeshows as parsimoniously as possible) and got a scan done for about $100CDN, so with your pricing I'd still spend that but have more digital files to choose from (though we had at least 4000 dpi from the medium format negative done). As a hobbiyist I'd give this service a try to save me the time and expense of buying a high-end dedicated film and/or medium format scanner.

As far as a confidence level for the service, I would probably be more likely to use your service if it's modelled after Gordy's camera straps - a great product that's not enough of a business to retire on, but has lots of satisfied customers due to his support of RFF.

My 0.02, Cheers.