Art Scanning Services

How your art is digitally captured is critical to the ultimate quality of your Giclee prints and reproductions. The art scanning services at our Seattle studio demonstrate our no compromises approach to digital equipment and service.

Better Light Digital Scanning Back

Whenever possible, we prefer to handle art scanning in our studio with our pure digital system built around our Better Light high-resolution 4x5 digital camera scanning back. Considered by museums like the Museum of Modern Art to be the finest technology available for capturing priceless works of art, the Better Light scanning back can digitally photograph the most subtle details without the extra step of shooting and processing film. Artwork in sizes up to 5'x7' are mounted in our grand format copy system and expertly lit. For works like oil paintings with high gloss we use a cross-polarization system. An art scan with our system will satisfy even the most demanding client

A Pure Capture: Film processing, film color balance, and variables that can be introduced during film scanning can all degrade the quality of the final image file. Digital art scans using our scanning back eliminate the extra steps of art photography and your artwork is captured as a pure digital master.

Laser Alignment: When we capture your original, we used sophisticated laser sighting and optical tools to ensure that the art surface is exactly parallel to the camera scanning back. Even the focusing process is done with digital feedback to guarantee perfect detail. For unframed and un-mounted artwork like drawings and pastels, we use a vacuum easel system to ensure that the art is perfectly flat during capture.

Our Equipment:

• Better Light Super6K-HS Digital Scanning Back
• Cambo Ultima 4x5 View Camera
• APO-Rodagon-N 150mm Enlarging Lens
• Schneider Super-Angulon XL 72mm Wide Angle Lens
• Zig-Align and Laser Paralleler Alignment Systems
• North Light 900 Watt HID 4200K Lights
• Cross Polarization System

Cross Polarization: For those of you who have had professional transparencies or slides made of artwork with reflective surfaces, you've undoubtedly noticed thousands of dots of reflected light. By using polarized material over our special HID lights and then a polarizing filter on the lens, we cancel the effect of the sparkles and capture the full color depth and values of the artwork. This setup is called cross-polarization and requires very powerful lights to adjust for the polarizing filtration from both sources. The result is actually better than you can see the artwork in real life display situations.

Texture Capture: We have developed and mastered texture scanning techniques that can retain the character of original artwork with strong three dimensional texture.

Protection: The design of our capture system makes it easy for us to handle framed works so you can avoid the trauma of un-framing a delicate piece of artwork. Also, our HID lighting system is specially designed to eliminate the potentially damaging ultraviolet component of light.

Cost Savings: Another advantage to using the view camera with a "Better Light" digital scanning back is that the final costs are much lower. You can have a painting digitally photographed for the same price as a film photographer would charge for a 4x5 transparency. The bottom line, is that you don't need to pay the scanning cost to digitize the film image, which is often as much (or more) than the photography. So, you save at least half.

Artwork Large and Small: We can shoot art pieces as large as 5 feet by 7 feet in a single scan. Even larger art can be scanned by capturing it in sections and then stitching them together using special software. Artwork as small as 4" across can be scanned with lots of detail to allow for dramatic enlargements.

Uncompromising Quality: Ultimately, the best reason to use the "Better Light" system is for its uncompromising quality. There is no such thing as film grain. Colors that are missed and subtleties that are lost with film are all picked up using the "Better Light" system. The art scans are breathtaking and leave you shaking your head in amazement. This is technology at its very best. There are no disappointments, only pleasant surprises, using a superior view camera with the scanning back that sports the latest technology.