Image Capture FAQ's
If I have a transparency can you scan it?
A: Yes!
Can you produce a transparency for me?
A: Yes!
Does a good transparency yield the same quality a good direct digital art scan can?
A: No. A direct digital capture process skips two steps of translation where inevitably, information is lost. A transparency is photographically and chemically translated and then digitally generated.
Are all digital capture systems the same?
A: No. Some systems are closed systems while others are open systems. We utilize an open system, which provides more flexibility enabling the digital capture technician to obtain the texture unique to your original. In addition, many systems use differing CCD arrays, which are primarily responsible for the amount of detail that is captured. We utilize a CCD array appropriate for the fine art marketplace ensuring no detail is lost.
What is your standard turnaround time for one original?
A: Our standard turnaround is 48-hours for one original. If you require more originals to be captured in one visit, turn-around time must be quoted.
Is 40” X 60” the largest piece you can capture?
A: No. 40” X 60” is the largest capture we can obtain with one shot. If you need to capture something larger we would take multiple shots and combine them together digitally, this is called tiling. The time involved when creating a successfully tiled job varies from original to original depending on the level of detail. For this reason jobs of this type must be quoted.
Does the digital capture technician have much influence on the output?
A: Yes. People with more or less experience on equipment will utilize it differently. Our digital capture technicians have obtained thousands of high quality, extremely accurate, digital captures. Our high success rate is due in part to their experience and R&D with the equipment. This enables us to understand how to optimize our system to yield an extremely high quality scan.
Why is the capture stage so important to the rest of the reproduction stages?
A: Your digital capture is the starting point on which all future work is built upon. If you have a low quality scan (unfocused, loss of detail in shadows, ect...) no matter how much you tweak the digital file you will never be able to transform a poor quality input into a high quality output. “Garbage in” will always give you “garbage out”.
What is a high quality capture composed off?
A: Some of the basics characteristics of a high quality capture are: it is in focus through out the entire capture, it is an accurate representation of the original, it captures the color and texture unique to the original, it maintains the detail in the highlights as well as the detail in the shadows.