Looking for Advice!!! Picking a Scanner, Scanning, Post-Processing... All of it!

[BurninFilm]

Hello,
What can I say, I need some advice! I've kinda been going blind with this whole film scanning thing, but I keep thinking there's gotta be something more to all of this. I've kinda bounced around, fiddling and wasting time till I found things that'll work to get some halfway acceptable output. Still, I know my methods need improvement, and I have SOOO many questions! So, let's start from scratch now, shall we?

Here's my equipment:
Scanner: Epson Perfection 4990 Photo
Scanner Software: Epson Scan
Post-Processing Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0

Now, knowing this, let's just start with my workflow. Please, no laughing... I've basically had to figure out everything myself! I'll give an example of my process for 35mm. Here goes:

1. Load the film holder. This part sucks, because the holder sucks! My self-developed B&W films have some gnarly longitudinal curl to them, which the holder isn't able to manage. I usually end up taping the covers down to the holder, and using toothpicks against the scanner glass, under the film between frames, to keep the film strip flat. If I simply turn the film strip the other way so it curls away from the glass, you can see some very obvious scan defects. Usually there is some distorion along the edges, as well as the edges being lighter in exposure than the middle of the frame.
2. Scan film with Epson Scan, saving files as a TIFF. Usually, I save these as 8-bit grayscale or 24-bit color because Photoshop Elements 2.0 says it doesn't support the "color depth" of 16-bit grayscale or 48-bit color. I don't apply any editing other than "autoexposure" from Epson Scan. Resolution is set at 400 and target size as 8"X12".
3. Open files I want to edit in Photoshop. If I'm going to post them here, I resize them to 800 X 533 pixels. Then I apply sharpening using the "Sharpen" tool. Sometimes if I feel the sharpening was too harsh, I use "Unsharp Mask."
4. If I want a border, I "select all" and then go to "Stroke" under the Edit menu. Set the width of border I want and the color, and then apply. Done!

Sounds fun, huh? It's frustrating, and time-consuming, and the results really aren't good enough for me to feel like the effort was worth it. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing an old camera produce good results, but I DON'T love what is basically a "sacrifice" to get those results! So, here's some basic questions:

1. What would a better scanner do for me? Let's say, hypothetically, I get a Nikon Coolscan 5000. I'm REALLY wanting my 35mm scans to be better. Would I see a great improvement with the dedicated 35mm film scanner from Nikon, versus the multi-purpose flatbed from Epson? Would the scan times be better? What makes the Nikon scanner $1000 versus the $400 the Epson cost when new? Why does the 35mm Epson holder suck so bad?
2. Is there better scanning software out there? If so, what makes it better? What are scanning "profiles"?
3. I'd love to shoot more color negative, but color balance always seems wonky with my current setup. Am I doing something wrong? What's the simplest way to correct color balance? What's the best way?
4. Would a more updated version of editing software help me? For instance, will Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 provide me with any more beneficial tools compared to Version 2.0? If so, what? What other programs might be better?
5. Photoshop Elements has alot of junk I don't really understand. For instance, levels. And curves. And how the heck do ya "read" a histogram?
6. Batch editing. Is there some way to do this? Up to this point, I've been editing each image one by one. Resize an image. Tweak the contrast on that image. Sharpen the image. Save it. Open the next image. Resize the image. Tweak the contrast on that image. Sharpen the Image. Open the next image........

I just want to finally make this whole process as pleasant as I think it should be. I'll be honest... scanning, fixing dust spots, loading film into the holder, waiting for 18 35mm frame scans to go through and then editing them one by one... what I'm doing now is taking the fun out of it. I KNOW I'm doing things wrong here, so I'm asking for all of your help to straighten me out! Show me where I'm making mistakes, show me what tools will help me out.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and all help is appreciated! :p

[P C Headland]

Ahh yes, the scanning road is long and windy.  Worth the journey though.

A dedicated film scanner, like a Nikon, Minolta, Microtek, etc., will do a better job than the 4990.  However, the 4990 should be more than adequate for 8x10s (inches) and for web posting.

To get your negatives to lie flat, go to a framing shop, and get them to cut some anti-reflective glass so that it will fit in your film holders.  Lay the film in the film holder channel, then lay the AR glass down on top of the negative, rough side down.  This'll keep the negatives nice and flat.  Either than, or buy some better holders from betterscanning.com.

Scan at the best resolution your scanner can handle, ignoring input and output sizes.  For the 4990, 2400 dpi is about as much as the scanner can really do.  Set the output size to "original".  Set the sharpening off or to low on the scanner software (the Epson S/W is fine), and set the back and white points on the histogram (see the website referred to below for more info) to avoid losing the shadows and highlights.

Next you'll need to learn how to sharpen.  This is another long and winding road!  I'd recommend you head over to The Light's Right, and read up on their sharpening tutorials.  Basically you need two to three passes - capture sharpening (immediately post scanning), some creative sharpening (where appropriate) and some output sharpening prior to printing or saving to web.  The Light's Right has a whole bunch of other tutorials which I think you'll find useful.

If you PM me your email address, I'll send you a small PDF with some good starter scanning settings.

Another good resource, if you prefer books, is Bruce Fraser's book on sharpening.  This takes you from the theory all the way through to runnable actiions.

BTW, the later versions of PSE do support limited 16 bit edits, which are particularly useful for B+W images.  Also take a look at PaintShop Pro - it's pretty good value for money.

Good luck!

[LarryD]

Elements 7.0 is to be found on the internet for under $40.00. And that scanner is the 4 runner of the V700 and 2400 is on the low end it will do 4800 without interpolating no problem...

[Glenn Thoreson]

You'll never know how releived I am to know I'm not alone.

[LarryD]

How can you be alone? You have me buddy?