Virtual Drum Scan Info

     At WGS we use the finest virtual drum scanner available: Imacon FlexColor 848. Unlike conventional drum scanners, it does not utilize mounting fluid to adhere negatives or slides to the drum. Since no liquids are used there is no risk of damaging precious negatives. Imacon uses a "virtual drum" sharing the characteristics of an ordinary drum scanner but without the nasty glass rim.

     This scanner allows for true 16 bit per channel scanning. The raw scan generates twice as much data as an ordinary scan, without "electronic" interpolation, for optimal results. Files are then transformed to 8 bit suitable for use in Photoshop and other applications.

Note to Photographers:
    This scanner is particularly valuable to photographers who need to create an optimal quality scan for an archival fine art print (giclée). The original negative or transparency is never mounted on glass, avoiding color flaring and maintaining a straight glass-free optical path, something no ordinary scanner can approach. The original is never mounted in liquid, particularly valuable with color negatives, Polaroid and other delicate media. The scan has a very wide dynamic range, with a Dmax of 4.8! All personnel at WGS are photographers, not just technicians; we share an in-depth understanding of tonality, color fidelity and film characteristics.

A Dirty word…
    Film, improperly stored or processed, may have extreme amounts of imperfections on, or beneath, the surface. Following Industry Standard Guidelines, we "spot" our scans to eliminate surface dust. Scratches and imbedded particles due to faulty
processing, drying or handling may exceed our responsibilities. Duplicate negs & slides are extremely likely to have a considerable amount of imperfections in and on the image. You may incur additional charges for cleaning duplicates and very dirty originals.

How big?
 Most printers work well at 300 dpi (dots per inch, often referred to as "ppi"; pixels per inch). Our Epson 9800 printers, utilizing Ultrachrome pigmented inks, works best at 360 dpi. You should request your file to be made so that the final image size of your file will be output at, typically, 300-360 dpi.

Too confusing?
    Just request your scans at the largest operative size within a given price range. Leave the "size" column blank, and fill in the "price" on our WGS order form.

    In addition to scanning, we can print your file using archival processes, as well as image modification, retouching and special effects.

No charge for archiving your files.

Please see our Virtual Drum Scan Prices page for further details.