Color

Bit depth describes the range of colors a scanner can capture—some color scanners can capture 24 bit color, while others can capture up to 48 bits.

8 Bit Grayscale

16 Bit Grayscale

IDEAL/Contex offers scanners that handle black and white and color originals in a variety of sizes. IDEAL/Contex scanners capture images in 48 bit color for maximum precision and vibrant color, and capture monochrome images at 16 bits to bring out the detail and depth in any drawing. Nextimage also offers tools for managing color and correcting and enhancing images to deliver excellent color matched output on almost all large format printers.

Color vs. black and white
Decide whether you need support for color or monochrome or both in your scanning requirements. Two considerations will drive this decision—your applications and your budget. Technical documents like blueprints and architectural drawings are often produced in black and white. However, many newer drawings often contain color as well. Likewise, there may be color highlighted information requiring color scanning capability, even if only limited. Documents like maps, posters, paintings and photographs are usually scanned in color. As for budget, while the price differential continues to shrink, you may pay between 10 and 15 percent more for a color scanner.

Calibration tools
while some manufacturers claim their scanners don't need calibration, calibration tools play an important role in quality—and without them quality suffers. IDEAL/Contex is the only manufacturer that offers an automatic Scanner Maintenance application that adjusts light profiles, aligns cameras, and calibrates color. An application specific dedicated printer driver and closed loop or ICC calibration for color matching is essential for accurate color results.

CCD vs. CIS device
One of the foremost questions that come up when buying a large format scanner is whether you should buy a CCD based device or a CIS device. The answer in most cases depends on the type of documents you need to scan or copy. Both technologies have their strengths. CIS based scanners excel with technical documents and some maps, while CCD is more precise with color sensitive applications, including graphics and photo work or any specialized media application.

IDEAL/Contex HD scanners are built with hi-quality full sized Fuji camera lenses designed for the resolution of the scanner. The CCDs are 4 channel CCDs, capturing and processing true 48bit RGB data (3 channels) and 16 bit grayscale and monochrome data. The lamp is an extended long life, color matched fluorescent tube with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) > 95. These components ensure optimal image quality – especially for color sensitive graphics, photos, fine art, detailed maps, and folded or rigid materials that need extra light to capture detail and remove shadows.

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