How big could I print a 35mm negative film image with this scanner?

Question

the EPSON Perfection V500 Photo Scanner, has good reviews for scanning 35mm slides and 35mm negatives, but how big could I print an image from a scanned 35mm negative or slide? The specs are below for the scanner.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Product.do?sku=B11B189011#product-info

Scan Specifications
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Scanner Type: Flatbed color scanner

Optical Sensor: Color Epson MatrixCCD™ 12-line sensor

Optical Resolution: 6400 dpi1

Hardware Resolution: 6400 x 9600 dpi

Maximum Resolution: 12,800 x 12,800 dpi

Effective Pixels: 54,400 x 74,880 (6400 dpi)

Color Bit Depth: 48-bit internal / external

Grayscale Bit Depth: 16-bit internal / external

Optical Density: 3.4 Dmax

Maximum Scan Area: 8.5" x 11.7"

Light Source: ReadyScan® LED technology

Scanning Speed:

High speed mode: 4800 dpi
Color: 16.98 msec / line
Monochrome: 16.98 msec / line

Transparency Adapter
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Type: 35mm Transparency Adapter

Supported Film Size:

35 mm slides (4)
35 mm negatives (12)
Medium format film 6 x 12 cm

Answer 1

The maximum OPTICAL resolution of the scanner is 6400dpi, a 35mm film is a tad under 1.5" X 1" for the image area. multiply one with the other you get an image file with 6400 * 1.5 = 9600 by 6400 * 1 = 6400, so you get an image file with 9600 pixels X 4900 pixels multiply them together it equals 61,440,000 pixels or 61.44Mp, which is huge, about the same resolution you get from a top end digital back, big enough to print on a billboard!!. The downside is your image file would be close to half a Gb! And it would take ages to scan (around 20 minutes, over an hour if you turned on ICE!!) and you need a fast computer or it will slow to a crawl.



High resolutions on a scanner mean you can pull detail from very small things such as 16mm and even 8mm film (but they don't give you the film carriers for these). Most of the time you would be using something like 2000 to 3000dpi for 35mm LESS for 645 medium format.



You set the scan resolution for your output size you want, print or screen, any more and your just generating an unnecessarily large file, most of which will be dumped by the printer driver.



The problem with all flat bed film scanners (except a few Microtek) is you can't alter focus except by using shims on a trial and error basis (you can get shim kits and adjustable film carriers), and every film you use will be different, fractions of a mm count here, time consuming but it can make a huge difference.



If you have a DSLR and a decent Macro Lens you will get results faster and just as good for normal print sizes with a home-made copy rig.



Basic idea here http://www.diyphotography.net/scanning-film-negatives-with-a-dslr/



You need to shoot in Raw to get the bit depth required and colour balance problems are tricky with colour negatives, but once you have created and saved the profile for each film in Photoshop it's very quick and gives really good results.



Chris

Answer 2

I'm a bit confused. CVS was able to actually develop the negatives, right? Just not print them? Could they not make prints at all or they just couldn't make prints with the sprocket area showing? Minilabs are only set-up to do standard 35mm and half 35mm scans/prints. You cannot get them to print the sprocket area because that would enlarge the image size and change the aspect ratio of the final image. They simply don't have the ability to do it. For printing the sprocket area you would need to have the negatives custom printed by a professional lab or you'd have to scan them yourself at home using a 120 adapter with the 35mm film, make a file, then print the file at home or at a lab (preferably at a lab!) I hope this helps! Good luck and keep enjoying film!

Answer 3

If you read the key features list, the first thing it says is:



6400 x 9600 dpi optical resolution for extraordinary enlargements from film up to 17" x 22"





Although I imagine you can probably go quite a bit bigger with some post processing. I used a Nikon Coolscan for my 35mm film and was getting great results printing 30X45" prints. For larger ones, I needed a drum scanner.

Answer 4

Depends on how you scan the negative, but you'll be able to go to 8x10 with no problems, probably bigger.

Answer 5

6400 Dpi