Nikon Coolscan 4000 – what settings for scanning color negatives

BB
Posted By
Bill_Brammer
Oct 3, 2003
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333
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3
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I am trying to scan color negatives to edit the picture and I get a 64MB TIFF file. What setting should I use to get enough resolution to print 6×8 pic?
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color negative nikon scan settings

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Alan_Forist
Oct 3, 2003
Bill,
I use the same scanner for my 35mm negatives and slides. I find it useful to make my scans at the maximum possible resolution, which does indeed create a file of approximately 64MB.

I then crop and resize the image from within Photoshop to the desired size and resolution for printing.

I have standardized on 300dpi for printing as it seems to work well with my printers.

I believe the Nikon Scan software makes it possible to create the output file at the final size and dpi you wish, although I have not used it this way.

By my math, which is frequently suspect, you could achieve a final 4×6 inch output file at 300dpi by scanning your 35mm negative at approximately 1200dpi.

Good Luck
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Bill_Brammer
Oct 3, 2003
Great help, thanks. Do you save a JPEG (JFIF) files or TIFF. Does it matter? Do you do anything special with scanning? The scans I’m getting aren’t really as good as I get when the photo store puts them on disc for me.
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Chris_Cox
Oct 3, 2003
Save the scan as TIFF.

You don’t want to throw away image quality by using JPEG.

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