As a practical matter a scan of a print will probably be as good as if not better than a scan of a negative or transparency made from the print. You are much more likely to get a good scan of a print because the scanning process is less exacting than that of scanning the usually smaller negative or transparency.
Thus suitable scanners are easier to come by, and cheaper, whether in your own possession or at a lab.
This leaves aside the fact that any reproductive process degrades an image to some extent, which is why the original negative is better than the print made from it as a starting point. Even here a decent flat bed scanner for scanning prints is a whole lot cheaper than a transparency scanner capable of equivalent results.
Avoiding digital entirely might be an option, but I think that requires an operator with real skill,especially if you are dealing with a degraded original. You can do great things with old photos scanned on a flatbed and cleaned up in Photoshop (the program).
Your grammar is fine, better than some who've never had unfortunate encounters with sailboats.
At 20:41 -0400 4/6/03, TOMIAMI@aol.com wrote:
Hi!
I joined this list last week.
I have a question about enlarging photos (via a photo shop, NOT via scanning, etc. myself).
With a print itself, I have seen that you can really only enlarge it up to
200% (total) before it becomes an unattractive photo.
I have seen that via a negative, one can enlarge it at great deal more.
With a negative, how much larger could I make it (limit)?
With an old photo, from which I no longer have the negative, if I were to have a negative made, will that new negative be equally usable (as usuable as an "original" negative)? By "usable," I mean ... will the new, larger print be as clear as one from an "original" negative? Will the limit in terms of enlargement also be the same?
Please excuse my grammer if I add or lose words ... a few years ago I was conked in the head with a sailboat ... and had to learn how to read and write all over again. Long story.
Thanks for any help, in advance. And also, thank you for those who gave me info on how to un-roll long prints (c. 1925).
Betty G. Middleboro, MA
-- Alan P. Hayes Meaning and Form: Writing, Editing and Document Design Pittsfield, Massachusetts
New photographs at <http://photo.elay.org/view_album.php?set_albumName=Astoria>
