01277 222398
07960 325 207
 enquiries@1scan.co.uk

Go Digital...
1Scan coverts slides, negatives and photographs into a digital image library.

PRESS RELEASE

Smile, Scan, Smile, Scan, Smile, Scan, Smile, Scan, Smile, Scan, Smile, Scan, Smile, Scan, Smile, Scan, Smile, Scan – 11,400 Times

1Scan has just finished scanning over 11,000 slides and negatives for the Multimedia & Information Systems Group at Imperial College London -1Scan's biggest contract ever. Laid end to end the slides would reach to the top of Nelson’s Column three times over. As each scan has at least one face, that’s more than the population of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Halstead or Tavistock.

Dr Stefan Rueger, head of the Multimedia & Information Systems Group, said, "We are conducting research to develop a powerful facial recognition system that is able to follow individual faces through the decades. We need a comprehensive database of real-world images from personal collections to develop and test our software.”

"Naturally, we wanted both value for money and high quality standards. Image quality was particularly important. We need as little dust and image imperfections as possible, not to mention colour restoration on some images which are over 30 years old."

Jeff Underwood of 1Scan explained how the process was developed. "We produced a set of sample scans using a wide range of settings. It quickly became apparent that the Digital ICE facility on our Nikon scanners was vital to produce good, clean colour images.”

"Working closely with Dr Rueger we created three sets of scan parameters for colour negatives, slides and monochrome negatives. As scans were being carried out Dr Rueger gave us valuable feedback so we could fine tune the process."

Having scanned over 11,000 images, burned over 40 DVDs containing 180Gb of data the scanning part of the project is now finished. Dr Rueger and his team are now using the scans to take their project toward completion.

ENDS

Notes for Editors
1Scan is an image scanning service based in Brentwood, Essex. Set up in 2005 it can scan prints and negatives. Clients include professional photographers, companies, PR Consultants, as well as keen amateur photographers.

The images for Multimedia & Information Systems Group at Imperial College were all scanned on Nikon scanners at 2,000 dpi (TIFF files). Both 8 and 16 bit scans were produced.

Digital ICE technology automatically removes surface defects, such as dust and scratches, from a scanned image. Digital ICE  works from within the scanner, during the scanning process, to provide a clear, authentic base image that improves the original. Digital ICE is a trademark of Applied Science Fiction, an Eastman Kodak company.

More information contact: Jeff Underwood on 01277 222398 or 07960 325207.