Nicholas Hellmuth discusses ICG drum scanners compared with flatbed scanners for scanning 35mm slides, 6x6 cm medium format transparencies, and 4x5 inch chromes.

ICG drum scanners are now available again, from DCS Associates

If most flatbed scanner ads try to compare their scanners with the quality of a drum scanner, don't you wonder why a drum scanner is so much better?

ICG drum scanner

A scan from a drum scanner is demonstrably superior in almost all respects. This should be qualified relative to entry-level drum scanners which use CCD sensors. Several companies have repackaged flatbed scanners to resemble drum scanners in physical shape and appearance or in their specs as touted in PR.

To make matters worse, some of these camouflaged flatbed scanners turned into upright horizontal position priced to make them resemble drum scanners all the more.

Beware of flatbed scanners masquerading as drum scanners. A flatbed is still a flatbed even if sold by a company previously known for drum scanners. Don't be duped by claims that an upright scanner is thus a drum scanner! Whether the scanner is designed to sit upright, or flat (or upside down like an overhead scanner) does not change the insides. If your scanner has a CCD it is a flatbed, no matter whether it is cleverly shaped to stand upright and hence masquerade as a drum scanner. If your scanner has a PMT system, then it is a drum scanner, no matter what size or shape it is.

In summary, if you want the absolutely best scanner, then your best decision is a full-scaled drum scanner. The former Crosfield scanners now manufactured by Fuji would be one good choice for an industrial strength drum scanner. Heidelberg also makes a top of the line drum scanner.

Of drum scanners, the models I like the most are from ICG, especially since ICG offers an alternative for people who do not wish to smear oil all over their transparencies. The ICG drum scanners offer a slot system so you can insert the transparency without any liquid. Cleaning the oil off is rather time consuming and requires an unusually conscientious lab person (which eliminates many employees nowadays).

Oiling the transparencies, however, has been repeatedly documented to be the best way to avoid dust and scratches. It can take up to an hour to remove dust and scratches from typical scan resulting from a flatbed scanner. To the right is the image from the ICG drum scanner. Only three individual flecks had to be removed with the rubber stamp tool, a total of a few seconds cleanup time. Then we printed the image at 54 inches wide on a HP DesignJet at the ColorGate booth. The quality of this drum scan certainly beat most flatbeds, and I am not sure I would want to trust a cheap entry level drum scanner. After all, if you are going to opt for drum scanning technology, might as well get one that does a really good job, such as ICG, Fuji, or Heidelberg.

What I liked about one ICG drum scanner model was that centrifugal force holds the originals firmly and evenly against the drum surface. If this means no mounting goo, I am all for recommending this manner of scanning. I hate the thought of putting chemical goo over my expensive photographs and wasting the time cleaning it off (hopefully getting most of it off)

Be careful of low-priced drum scanners... you may find that a really good flatbed is better than a cheap drum scanner.

Why? in part because the scanner software of a Creo , Fuji Lanovia or Heidelberg Topaz or Nexscan may be superior to the software of a cheap drum scanner.

In other words, if you feel that your clients demand a drum scan, then you need to bite the bullet and get a real drum scanner (in other words from ICG, Heidelberg, Fuji, etc... but not from low-end drum scanner companies). We had our transparencies scanned by two low-cost drum scanner companies and all the results were unusable. This is the problem of having the company do the scans for us; that is why we now have a policy of accepting for full-scale review only those products which our own lab technicians can work with directly. This way we can assure our readers that we know the pros and cons intimately.

Should you buy a used drum scanner?

What about buying a used drum scanner? Don't buy any model from a company that has gone out of business.. how can you get spare parts or technical help? Drum scanners require technicians to keep them calibrated. If you inside on a used scanner try this place. We do not have experience buying from them, we just saw their stand at a trade show.

Other downside of a used scanner is that it's software tends to be obsolete. In the old days it was the hardware that counts; today it's the software that makes for a good scan (naturally assuming the hardware is also high quality).

ICG drum scanners were sold by this division of Global Graphics. ICG comes from the original name Itek Colour Graphics. Before, during, and after IPEX tradeshow this year in Birmingham, England, ICG drum scanner division was shed from Global Graphics along with all other hardware products. Management bought out the hardware division in May 2002 and became Heights. Now, since October 2003, the ICG drum scanner is represented by DCS Associates. Contact is Andre Fletcher,andre@dcs-imago.com.

The ICG drum scanner is coming back to life after several years in transition. However, we have not personally utilized the new software (added before ICG got dropped). If the ICG drum scanner becomes available to evaluate, we will herald it on this site, since it was a nice product.

Otherwise, all the great drum scanner brand names of year 2000 are mostly defunct, especially the ones in Europe. At Photokina 2004 we will check to see which brands and models survived. We hope the ICG scanner is among the survivors.

Almost all the scanner manufacturers require that tests and evaluations of their scanners take place in their company offices (somewhat understandable when a scanner costs $34,000 to $54,000).

However such tests are not realistic for an end user because a realistic test has to last more than a mere 30 days. If you are about to plunk down $25,000 to $50,000 for a scanner, you want to read the evaluation results of someone (like FLAAR) who has used the equipment continuously for a long time.

Hence the FLAAR policy is to evaluate and recommend only those scanners that we have used in our own office under actual prepress or photo archive conditions. Actually it is easier for us to find the strong points and selling points of a scanner when we have it on open-ended long-term loan in our own office. There, in peace and quiet, we can learn everything about a scanner.

Creo was the prepress company that recognized the potential of doing such outside independent evaluations of their EverSmart flatbed scanner. Creo realized their scanner would do just fine in the FLAAR office, indeed after the first month we are still discovering hidden gems inside the fabulous Creo prepress scanner software. The first draft of our FLAAR report on the Creo flatbed is now available.

Since we do know the Creo solution, both hardware and software, we can wholeheartedly recommend this for flatwork. If you need more information (if you are a museum, a photo lab, archive, prepress, or other comparable company), or a sophisticated individual who recognizes that there is more to digital imaging than a scanner from Home Depot, contact Parrot Digigraphic. Parrot specializes in professional digital imaging and color management equipment. Contact Dan Hunt, imaging@parrotcolor.com.

If you need to scan objects with relief, texture or 3-densional objects, then you need a scanner from Fujifilm Electronic Imaging. Sorry, we know the capable people in the company, but don't know any reseller.

Several well-made professional prepress flatbed scanners are available for people who prefer to avoid the cost and maintenance expenses of a drum scanner. Heidelberg, Creo , Fuji are the three I know the best. Unfortunately, all their scanner divisions went out of business in the last two years except Creo , which still makes excellent flatbed scanners