Scanners Show Staying Power

Trends in the color flatbed scanner market are continuing along the same path that first emerged at the Print 97 event. New drum scanner consumption has been all but eradicated with the advent of the high-end color flatbed scanner, which is easier to use, much less costly, and able to deliver nearly the same level of quality reproduction.

High-performance features continue to move downmarket, particularly as CCD technology continues to drop in price and color scanning software adds more capabilities. The color flatbed scanner market continues to extend its reach, with product offerings for the consumer market that cost as little as $59 to professional models listed at $30,000 and up.

Hidden behind all these trends is one that will severely affect the scanner market: the emerging digital workflow in the graphic arts is expected to eliminate the need for scanners within a few years. For now, however, the scanner market is alive and growing.

"The amount of scans continues to increase," reports Janet Kauffman, research analyst for InfoTrends Research Group, a Boston-based consulting firm that tracks the scanner market. "Color is being pushed to lower and lower levels in the printing and prepress markets, with short-run, electronic, high-speed xerography now printing color all the time."

In its last end-user study, InfoTrends found that one-third of all households with PCs have scanners. In the professional market, which is not yet saturated, Kauffman says that there is a schism in the type of products offered.

"There is a growth in products in the $1,000 to $5,000 range; these products appeal to users who may want to bring scanning needs in house," she reports. "But there is a hole in the market of products that cost between $5,000 and $9,000, with few products being offered. Above $9,000 is another cluster, models for graphic arts professionals who require both high quality and high performance."

Current color flatbed scanners that fit into this high-end category include the Agfa XY-15 Plus; CreoScitex EverSmart Supreme, Pro, and Jazz products; Fuji C-550 Sprint; Heidelberg Nexscan F4000 series; Purup-Eskofot Eskoscan and ScanView models; and Screen's Cézanne Elite.

These scanners boast optical resolutions of at least 5,000 dpi, an 8,000-element CCD, and prices that exceed $30,000. They use sophisticated image editing and color management tools as well as XY Zoom or XYZ technology, or some variation that affords high-resolution scanning anywhere on the scan bed, thereby eliminating sharpness loss near the edges.

Agfa Corporation's XY-15 Plus flatbed CCD scanner, introduced in January 2000, features an oversized A3 format and scan times that are 40% faster than its predecessor. Designed for operations with high-volume scanning output, the AgfaScan Plus is an 8,000-element unit with a 4.1 Dmax and density range of 3.9. It features 15,000-pixel resolution for reflective and transmissive originals, correlated double-sampling of image data, and the provision of 16-bits-per-color grayscale image scanning.

There is no U.S. list price as yet for the XY-15 Plus; in Europe, it sells in the mid-$30,000 range. "Agfa's main market for its high-end scanners is Europe," reports Chris Parent, Agfa senior product line manager for scanners and output systems. "Eighty percent of our business for these scanners is with European customers. In fact, we are the leaders in the high-end scanner market in Europe."

Agfa plans to introduce new models in its high-end scanner family this fall.

CreoScitex's EverSmart family features five scanners, ranging from $13,000 to $45,000. This spring, CreoScitex launched its EverSmart Select, which is one level down from the EverSmart Supreme. Its parallel workflow enables output of more than 45 scans per hour, while up to 70 35-mm transparencies can be scanned at the same time when placed together on the scanning bed, says the company.

The new scanner incorporates an advanced electro-optical system featuring CreoScitex XY Stitch technology, which captures an image in strips that are joined into one file during image processing. XY Stitch also enables scanning at optical resolutions of up to 5,600 dpi.

The new scanner doesn't, however, feature CCD Dynamic Cooling. "Select is for users that require high-quality output but don't require the extra shadow detail that Supreme offers," says Bill Gillooly, scanner product manager for CreoScitex America.

Released in May 2000, Scitex's EverSmart oXYgen scanning application with SOOM capability [see sidebar] incorporates raw 16-bit data capture with a full ICC color management workflow. A Scan module captures all the information of the original image and saves it as a pure 16-bit DT (digital transparency) file. The Open module enables off-line reprocessing of the DT file as many times as is required, locally or remotely. Both modules can utilize all of the professional editing tools incorporated in the scanning application.

oXYgen software is shipped with the EverSmart Pro II and Supreme scanners.

CreoScitex's EverSmart Supreme also features CCD Dynamic Cooling, a technology that in effect cools down the CCD to allow the scanner to more effectively differentiate between a wide range of color tones. "It is a known scientific fact that if you cool a CCD you get less noise, and therefore have the ability to capture more shadow detail," says Gillooly. "We placed a thermal electric cooler inside the scanner to reduce the temperature seven degrees Fahrenheit for a noticeable reduction in noise and an increase in shadow detail."

At Print 01 in Chicago next month, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. will introduce its Lavonia Quattro, an entry-level high-end scanner. Designed to appeal to a wider market, the offering will sell for between $20,000 and $30,000; at press time, the final price was still being determined.

Fuji's C-550 Sprint sells for $33,000 and is equipped with copydot scanning capability as standard; it is available as an option for Quattro.

Quattro features a multi-lens scanner as well as scanning technology based on an XY design. It provides 16-bit image capture at four fixed optical resolutions: 762, 1,666, 2,743, and 5,000 dpi (at 5,000 dpi, resolution data can be interpolated to reach up to 13,500 dpi). Quattro's maximum resolution of 5,000 dpi can handle enlargements up to 4,000%; further, a 35-mm transparency can be enlarged to an A0 size for large-format printing.

"Quattro's most distinguishing characteristic is that it is the first scanner to use a Fuji-manufactured CCD," says Fuji color applications engineer Eric Neumann. "All the other scanners on the market use an 8,000-element CCD manufactured by Kodak; ours uses a 10,500-element CCD that we make."

Adds Neumann, "While not necessarily offering higher resolution, it does offer more efficient scanning. It allows the lenses a more efficient focal position."

Quattro's Super Linear QuadLine CCD enables line art originals and color separations to be scanned, dot for dot, in a single pass. With a 3.9 Dmax, it can output 45 350-dpi 6x7-cm scans an hour at 400%, in what is being called the Seybold standard. ColourKit, standard with Quattro, is ICC-compliant software for color control and editing in various color modes.

Heidelberg's Nexscan F4000 series uses xyVariLens as well as Direct Capture technology, which enables Nexscan's advanced CCD array to acquire an image straight from the scanning bed.

"We don't use any mirrors in the light path; the light goes directly to the VariLens system to the CCD," explains Don Rogers, prepress product manager for Heidelberg USA. "There are no mirrors to distort the image, there's less dust, and an improvement in image quality."

Nexscan is available in two models. In addition to flat images, the F4100 offers three-dimensional scanning and is priced at $37,500; the F4200, which can handle copydot scanning, is $43,000.

Heidelberg's Newcolor 7000 and Newcolor 7000 Professional scanning and image enhancement software, which drives both Nexscan flatbed and Primescan drum scanners, features true 16-bit architecture, says Rogers. The latest release (version 2) currently is only available for PCs; a Macintosh version is expected to be released in January. Newcopix for Copydot scanning also is available.

"Newcolor was a new software design from the ground up," says Rogers. "We took the best features of Linocolor software, color management programs for the Macintosh, the high-end CMYK features of our DC 3900 drum scanner, and the best user interface operationally."

Newcolor provides 16 bits for every function and unsharp masking algorithms for hardware-quality results. LCH controls are CIE-based for color correction. The Newcolor 7000 Professional option provides CMYK controls complete with interactive GCR/UCR functions borrowed from the DC 3900 drum scanner.

With photographers becoming increasingly interested in scanning, Newcolor 7000 version 2 also offers enhanced RGB tools and features for processing color negatives.

Purup-Eskofot, Inc.—which, until its purchase of ScanView in 1999, had manufactured only copydot scanners (it invented copydot technology in 1990)—also has some new product introductions slated to be unveiled at Print 01.

First are enhanced versions of its EskoScan 2024+ (with a maximum scanning area of 20x24") and EskoScan 2636+ (which is capable of scanning six 81/2x11" originals in one scan). Speed throughput has increased 25%, and its higher resolution allows scans of originals with screen rulings up to 200 lpi.

Both offerings may be upgraded to full-blown color scanners using the ICC-based EskoColor color management system. Pricing is yet to be determined, but the cost will exceed $50,000.

Introduced about a year ago, the 12x17" EskoScan F14 flatbed scanner has full copydot and color scanning capability as standard features, whereas ScanMate F14 comes with ColorQuartet as standard and copydot scanning as an option. Both versions now offer descreening as a new standard feature called CT Film.

The F14 models feature Zoom technology, which moves a 14,400-element CCD across the bed in a single pass. They also feature a 4.0 Dmax with a dynamic range of 3.7. Resolution extends to 5,400 dpi. Both F14 models sell for approximately $35,000.

The newest version of Purup-Eskofot's Perfection 2.0 bitmap editing software, released in June, features batch processing, resampling, dot correction facilities, and the ability to bring color separations from other copydot scanners into correct register.

Perfection originally was created to handle bitmap files generated by EskoScan scanners, and to overcome the limitations of existing desktop publishing programs. A Windows NT-based software package, recent improvements have made it available for use with a wide range of file formats, including the ability to read and write native file formats from several other copydot scanners, including the Scitex New Linework format.

The Cézanne Elite from Screen (USA), introduced in February 2000 during Seybold Boston, features a 40% increase in scanning speed from the previous model, the Cézanne. The company says that in one hour, the Cézanne Elite can scan up to 104 35-mm originals at 350 dpi and 400% magnification, or 94 6x7-cm originals at 300 dpi and 250% magnification, including the time required for conversion from RGB to CMYK. The list price for the Cézanne Elite is $34,000.

"We took some of the artificial intelligence features from our drum scanners and applied it to the Cézanne models," says Screen (USA) senior manager of product development Ray McAllister.

Continues McAllister, "Our technology can look into shadow detail better than any other scanner. Our Dmax can go to 4.2 starting from zero, while other manufacturers advertise that they can achieve 4.3, but they don't start at zero."