Poster Sized Artwork

[Gonzai]

So, I have had some pieces of artwork from Hikaru No Go for some time now that I have wanted to update,
however, they are so large, that even if I tried to scan them with a A3 scanner, I would have to do a major
amount of stitching in Photoshop. >_<

I have called Kinko's, and as Cutiebunny has posted in past posts, they are not willing to scan copy writed
material. I think I could get away with saying these are mine, since I am sure that Hikaru No Go is not well
known in the states, but the way they tell me that they scan large paper items scares me to death. @_@

So, I have tried taking photos of the sets, but I think they come out too dark. I even tried lightening the
photos with auto correct, but I still think they look dark. -_-

So my question is this. When you go to updates, does it bother you to see images that are taken with a
camera, as opposed to scanning? I personally prefer scanned items to just photos. So, if I am to take these
and have them scanned, has anyone else seen the process done where they send it through a roller and it
scans then sends it back through the roller when it is done>> I am so afraid that it is going to wrinkle it.
I am sure they know what they are doing, however, some assurance that this works without damaging the
artwork would sure be helpful. O_O

Also, do they scan it to a disk, or DVD?? How do you get the image back. At work, our scanner sends to
email. But, there again, it is not near large enough for a couple of these sets. >_<

[ginga123]

I've gone to FedEx Office a lot over the years to scan and post cel and genga of copyrighted material. To this date, I have yet to encounter an issue. I must have been going there on the days that closet anime fans were on duty at the Kinko's desk, renting the computer with the large scanner attached to it or doing a quick scan to email via their large copier machine. Never had an employee scan a production celluloid or genga to scan for me. I would always try to get in and get out pretty quickly as well. You can always try a busy branch of your local library, if your sly and swift enough.

The question you should ask to yourself is to whether the cost would weigh or outweigh your benefit(s) and your personal preferences. Owning an A4 sized scanner myself, I do understand the time and effort needed to stitch a psd together using multiple scans of one or multiple items. I chose to invest that time knowing that the item size alone would be the factor that would draw too much attention in a public setting. You may or may not. Everyone has their own methods.

[Drac of the Sharp Smiles]

I have a much bigger scanner now than I used to have and it's been wonderful. (It's something like 17"x13"... I forget what official size it's called.) Personally, even when I had the smaller scanner, I take the time to scan (and scan stitch) since I feel that makes it easier to see details. I had a couple things that I felt came out poorly on my small scanner due to their astonishingly amazing size (namely a huge cel/background of the Maze from CCS that required NINE swipes with the smaller scanner to cover it), but I still showed scans, so it really depends on how you feel about it.

My totally paranoid opinion follows here: There is no way in all hell I would allow a copyshop to run any artwork I own through a machine with rollers. First, you don't know the rollers are clean. Second, if you're putting the paper through rollers, it will inevitably be a stress on the paper, just by the mechanics of how the rollers work. Lastly, ask yourself if it's worth it to have a scan if YOUR art is what will suffer should the machine choose right then to jam up. Actually, I wouldn't allow anyone who WORKS at a copyshop to touch any piece I own either. Apologies to anyone here who might work at one, but my few dealings with copyshops have proven my local ones are populated with could-barely-care-less kids.

Is there any chance of finding another collector within driving distance who has a large scanner you could use? You could make a lunch date out of it. ^_^ (I'm pretty sure I'm all alone here in the Boston area.... *sniffle*)

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac

[zerospace]

What version of Photoshop do you have, Gonzai? I have CS4, and the photomerge feature is fantastic at stitching multiple scans. Once in a blue moon, I have to do it by hand or re-scan because it doesn't like my scans, but other than that -- it's wonderful. It saves me a ton of time!

If you don't have a newer version of Photoshop, you can send your multiple scans to me, and I'd be happy to run 'em through photomerge for you .

[Gonzai]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I agree with you Drac - I was really hyperventilating over doing something
like that. I kept thinking - you have got to be kidding me - you send it through rollers!! O_O Maybe I will try
and take it to Camera Corner - where they have the large scanners that they let you use. Unfortunately, it
will still probably take 4 scans on some of the images.

Thanks Zero for the offer. If you don't mind, I will probably take you up on your offer. ^_^

[jcaliff]

In my job I've often had to use large-format scanners to scan maps and cross sections. No way in hell would i put artwork through the scanner. It might go through fine, but it can also catch, crease, wrinkle, or even tear. I wouldn't take the chance. I scan my large ones in pieces and just use gimp to stitch. As long as there's enough overlap I haven't really had a problem.

This is a new scan of one oversized where I can't even remember where the stitch is anymore:
http://www.jcaliff.net/celgallery/image ... ail_mb.jpg

This is another new scan. The stitch is slightly visible on the left side next to the beaver family. The big vertical line on the right half is a cel edge:
http://www.jcaliff.net/cels/bonobono/pancel.jpg

[cutiebunny]

I have called Kinko's, and as Cutiebunny has posted in past posts, they are not willing to scan copy writed
material. I think I could get away with saying these are mine, since I am sure that Hikaru No Go is not well
known in the states, but the way they tell me that they scan large paper items scares me to death. @_@

Part of the reason I stopped using FedEx Kinko's is because I'd get hassled every time I went. While they'll give you the usual song and dance regarding copyright artwork, no one ever bothered me about scanning what I did. I didn't like that the price fluctuated every time I went, and I once ended up paying $12 per scan. At that rate, it would have been cheaper to buy an Epson A3 scanner and do it myself. I also didn't like their insistence that only staff there could scan it, and I got into an argument with them regarding that and they let me scan the items myself. Another problem was hauling the artwork around - the nearest Kinko's with the scanner was 30 miles away.

The roller scan wasn't problematic. I tested it on a couple items before I ran the more expensive stuff through. I guided the sketches and cels to make sure they stayed even and did not crumple, and I was under the scanner to carefully collect the artwork and rebag it once scanned. As long as you're there to monitor it and you're careful, it's fine.

The last time I went, you could buy a CD and they would transfer your scans to it. But it's been a couple years since I've done this, so I'm not sure what they do now.

[zerospace]

Thanks Zero for the offer. If you don't mind, I will probably take you up on your offer. ^_^

No problem! I'd be happy to give it a try, so just PM me when you have your scans ready . Just make sure there's a bit of overlap among all the scans, even if that means you need more scans per sheet.

I guess I have to be one of the ONLY people who hasn't gone to a Fedex Kinko's or any kind of place like that to scan artwork. Between my Canon scanner & Photoshop CS4's photomerge feature, I haven't needed to, even for some seriously huge hankens that we have. Of course, up until about 8 years ago, I had access to a large format scanner/copier in my old office, but I think I used it maybe one time.

This hanken was fun: http://www.zero-space.net/gallery2/disp ... ?itemid=19. It's about 16 inches by 20 inches -ish (quite literally almost poster size). It took 6 scans to piece it together, but it turned out great (I still have the original scan images ).

[bulleta]

I'll sing Photomerge's praises as well. Here's a nice little article on it:
http://marshariti.com/how-to-use-photom ... p-cs5-cs6/
(I use it usually with CS3 at home, and haven't had any problems)

This one took 6 passes, but I think the result is rather seamless after automating the scans through Photomerge:
http://moko-moko.net/displayitem.php?itemid=1099

[Gonzai]

Holy buckets Bulleta - that thing is huge!! @_@

[bulleta]

Yeah... and you know I love oversized pieces until it comes to storing them. I always forget about that part when I'm buying/bidding. lol Good luck with your scans!

[zerospace]

Yeah... and you know I love oversized pieces until it comes to storing them. I always forget about that part when I'm buying/bidding. lol Good luck with your scans!

Amen to that, girlie! Oversized pieces are really cool until you realize that storing them safely is a royal pain . That FMA hanken currently lives in an archival box from Blick. Yuck. I'd buy a book big enough to fit it, but it seems silly for just one piece of artwork!

[Gonzai]

So I measured, and the largest one is 21 x 17. Another set is 15 x 19, 21 x 12, 15 x 16 & 16 x 20.

Not sure how many scans it will take, but I prefer not to use my little scanner at home.
Hopefully I can take it somewhere to use a bigger scanner and get fewer scans to stitch.

[zerospace]

So I measured, and the largest one is 21 x 17. Another set is 15 x 19, 21 x 12, 15 x 16 & 16 x 20.

Not sure how many scans it will take, but I prefer not to use my little scanner at home.
Hopefully I can take it somewhere to use a bigger scanner and get fewer scans to stitch.

21 x 17 -- that's close to the size of my FMA hanken (probably a bit bigger than it). I used my sadly tiny standard legal document size scanner to scan my hanken. It was oh so fun >_<.

[Drac of the Sharp Smiles]

Yeah... and you know I love oversized pieces until it comes to storing them. I always forget about that part when I'm buying/bidding. lol Good luck with your scans!

Amen to that, girlie! Oversized pieces are really cool until you realize that storing them safely is a royal pain . That FMA hanken currently lives in an archival box from Blick. Yuck. I'd buy a book big enough to fit it, but it seems silly for just one piece of artwork!

Do what I did. ^_^ I made a "book" out of huge pieces of acid-neutral foam core for my cels that were larger than the largest Itoya available. There's a small amount of photo/document tape on the exterior of the "book" to hold it together. The cels' bags are taped to the foam core in a way that will hold the cels in place, but will also allow me to remove them without too much fuss. I used one layer of foam core per cel. I do still need to be amazingly careful when opening it, but if you're careful, it makes great insanely-large cel storage.