Product Review
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,.. _. n/ocrr/n/x/ UIUIIIIL UIKcLliUn f Product Review MANY PHOTO LAB owners stin find this new electronic imaging revolution lewhat confusing due to the explosion of electronic equipment flooding the n Boiiti cou Vineyards ket. The process of sorting out just what lab equipment you need to maintain a profit and still remain competitive can seem like a full time job. If you take two giant steps back from all of this electronic mumbo-jumbo and look at just the basic structure of electronic imaging, the whole system should be easier to comprehend. Electronic imaging is simply a matter of input to the computer and output from the computer. Input is usually in the form of a film scanner or camera digitizer, while the output device is generally a color printer or a film recorder. The number one reason for using a desk- top film recorder is to create high quality slide presentations in-house. The ability to image created visuals using a personal computer allows for fast turnaround, a necessity in our "I need it yesterday" world. To refresh your memory, a film recorder is an electronic box with a high resolution CRT inside and a camera mounted to one end. When a picture is sent from the com- puter to the CRT, the camera shutter opens and the picture is projected through the camera lens and onto the film of your choice. Film recorders can be divided into two major groups: under $20,000 and over Agfa ProColor Premier j COREL SystemsCoporation (613) 728-8200 $20,000. The latter units are Service Bureau film recorders designed to handle Agfa Corporation a large volume of both vector and bit map Pro-Color Premier: graphics at a very high resolution. Re- This film recorder is designed for views of two of these film recorders, Agfa's labs that have a small volume of Forte and the Solitare from Management electronic imaging work, and a Graphics can be found in recent issues of similar budget for purchases of Photo Lab Management. equipment. The Pro Color Premier In this article we will be reviewing the is a floor model designed to sit film recorders under $20,000, commonly beside the operating computer. referred to as desktop film recorders be- Connection to the computer is through the back of the unit, with cause of their compact size. We have se- either a SCSI or GPIB interface to lected six film recorder companies, and the Macintosh or PC platforms. their current models, in order to help you An LCD panel on the top of the unit provides direct ac- make a wise desktop film recorder pur- cess to the film recorder's status and functions. Sup- chase. They are listed alphabetically by ported 35mm film types include Agfachrome 100, Ek- manufacturer, and full contact informa- tachrome 100, and Polachrome 40. The 35mm back can tion is listed at the end of this article. also be removed and replaced with a Polaroid print back that handles 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 prints. 2k and 4k resolution 24 PHOTO LAB MANAGEMENT Desktop Film Recorders Jack and Sue Drafahl Personal LFR LFR Mark II Lasergraphics LFR LFR Plus are both possible, with imaging times at 62 seconds for 4k film backs. Output options include 35mm, bulk 35mm, images. Exposures are made in three passes through red, 120, 31/4x4 1/4, and 4x5 sheet films. The bulk 35mm green, and blue filters that can record 24 bit color images. back is ideal for large jobs of up to 750 images that you The Procolor Premier is compatible with a variety of file can image overnight. The bulk 35mm back is the em- formats including Post-Script, TARGA, BMP, SCODL, ployer's ultimate answer to employee overtime! TIFF, PCX, GIF, and over a dozen The back of the PCR II has connections for both GPIB other formats used today. and SCSI so that both Macintosh and PC can access the Price: $7,495. system. Film recorder controls are located on the top of the unit in an LCD display panel. Supported films in- PCRII: clude: Agfachrome 100 RS Professional; Agfa Optima If you are looking for more of a 125; Kodak Ektachrome 100 Professional; Polaroid Po- service bureau type of film recorder lachrome 40; and, Polaroid 559/669/691 print films. but can't afford the price, Agfa's The PCR II handles a variety of file formats from both PCR II may be just your ticket. The the Macintosh and PC platforms that include SCODL, PCR II is also a floor model with an PICT, PostScript, TIFF, TARGA, PCX, GIF, and BMP imaging speed similar to the to name a few. Price: $13,500. ProColor Premier, but the PCR II offers higher image resolution and the versatility of interchangeable (Continued on page 26) OCTOBER-1992 25 Film Recorders (Continued from page 25) General Parametrics-PhotoMetric SlideMaker Management Graphics-Sapphire General Parametrics SlideMaker: General Para- metric's approach to desktop film recorders is quite different from the other manufac- turers. The Spec- Lasergraphics traStar system includes a color thermal printer and the Personal LFR: PhotoMetric SlideMaker desktop film recorder in one The Personal LFR is an entry-level desktop film record- package. PostScript images are sent to the thermal wax er offering many professional features. It offers 33 bit color printer where they are output as black and white color and exposes an image in less than 90 seconds at 4k or color prints. The stored images can then be sent from resolution. The Personal LFR can operate from PC, Mac- the printer to the SlideMaker film recorder. Because it intosh, Amiga, and Sun workstations. Status information shoots images directly from the SpectraStar, your com- is displayed with a 16 character liquid crystal display on puter is free to do other projects. The entire system is the front of the unit that gives the user information about both Macintosh and PC compatible. Price: $14,990. film loading, calibration, exposure, and errors. If cost is a factor or you don't want to use the Supported file formats include Lasergraphics LL, Pict 1 PostScript printer with the film recorder, you can opt for and 2, HPGL, TARGA, and other file formats via file only the PhotoMetric SlideMaker film recorder. The translators. The Personal LFR uses a permanent 35mm PhotoMetric SlideMaker can be operated from a Greneral film back that can use Ektachrome 100, Kodacolor 100, Parametrics device called a VideoShow or a ColorMetric Polachrome, and several other types of ISO 100 films. card. The VideoShow device intercepts the images, and Price: $5,995. allows you to send them to a video projector or the SlideMaker. Once the images are created, the LFR: VideoShow, which has its own disk drive, will send them The LFR film recorder differs from the Personal LFR to the film recorder while you continue to work on other in several areas. The overall resolution of the LFR is projects on the computer. The ColorMetric card fits di- higher than the Personal LFR, and it can take a variety rectly into your computer, and functions much the same of interchangeable film backs from 35mm to 8x10 sheet as the VideoShow device, but requires the computer to film. A 35mm bulk pin-register back can be attached to send the images to the SlideMaker film recorder. the unit so that large groups of slides can be processed The SlideMaker film recorder can take a variety of overnight. The LFR will operate from any computer films including: Ektachrome 100; Kodacolor 100; capable of creating graphics slides and image a 4k res- Kodachrome 64; Polachrome 40; Polacolor 669; olution slide in less than 80 seconds. File formats on Colorgraph 691; and, Polaroid 339. The SlideMaker uses the LFR include Lasergraphics LL, PostScript, Pict 1 a 5000 color palette for graphic slides and 100,000 colors and 2, HPGL and a variety of other formats via file for photographic slides. Price: $4,995. translators. Price LFR: $8,750 26 PHOTO LAB MANAGEMENT LFR Plus: time in a desktop unit. into the take-up magazine, which The LFR plus is virtually the A unified bulk-load, 35mm cas- uses a self-winding film system, same as the LFR except that a new sette film transport lets users resulting in the shortest film path CRT produces an even better image choose between long roll or stan- in the industry. Another new fea- quality and the image processing dard cassette without module ture, not previously available on times are 1 1/2 times faster than changes or adapters to insert. A the desktop market, is a color- the LFR. Price LFR Plus: $13,750. unique straight film path makes coded push-button front panel threading easy and avoids time- which allows complete control of LFR Mark II: consuming mis-threads. the image. Users can change color, The LFR Mark II is Lasergraphic's The film follows a straight path (Continued on page 28) newest, fastest, and highest quality film recorder. It accommodates a variety of interchangeable film backs from 35mm to 8x10 and can utilize the 35mm bulk pin-regis- tered back. With this back, you can process up to 750 exposures with- out unloading the camera. A 16 character liquid crystal display gives you information about film loading, exposures, calibration, and errors. The LFR Mark II can op- erate from PC, Macintosh, Amiga, and Sun Workstations via a variety of Lasergraphics processing adapters. A 4k resolution slide takes less than 40 seconds to expose on a standard ISO 100 slide film.