Advertisement

Subtle tones and details of passport were hardest challenge for units

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0

It is time to talk hardware.

You know how to get the most out of PhotoShop, you know about resolution, bit-depth and dynamic range, now what are you going to use to make those gorgeous scans? I picked eight scanners from various companies that distribute in Hong Kong and, at high noon on a Saturday, a couple of Saturdays actually, had a showdown.

I used several colour prints that were chosen to challenge the test units. One had no true white, which makes things very difficult for the scanner's automatic colour balancing software, and it had detailed highlights and shadows that were very hard to reproduce.

There was one 3R print with strong reds and subtle shadow details. I also chose a portrait that had no highlight and no shadow, another challenge for the software, which will sometimes try to create a true 100 per cent black and a true 0 per cent white where there is none in the original. There was a page of typewritten text and Kodak Colour Separation Guide and a grey scale.

The most challenging test for the scanners was an inside page of my passport, which, with subtle tones and details, is designed to be difficult to reproduce.

The scanners were divided into three categories, units over HK$15,000, units between $4,500 and $15,000 and those under $4,500.

Advertisement