Product comparison of reprographic stand systems from Colex, Cruse, Kaiser Fototechnik, Tarsia and ZBE
At Photokina, the world's largest photography trade show in Cologne, Germany, a variety of sophisticated reprographic (copy stand) scanning solutions were on display. They varied from practical Tarsia TTI reprographic stand scanners with a Better Light digital scanning camera to turnkey overhead scanner solutions from Cruse GmbH.
If you need to digitize paintings, maps, architectural drawings, or 3-D objects, this web page will get you started.
While I was six months in Japan at their National Museum of Ethnology (Osaka) I got to see the absolute highest-end digital scanning system in the world.
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These were the years when Japan still had tons of money for this sort of high-tech item. The subject was placed on a small table in the middle of a complete cylindrical scanning system. The museum had so much equipment that they had already bought a larger one, and had the previous year's model parked in a corner. There are probably no more than one or two museums in all the USA and probably none in Europe which had even a system as sophisticated as the one the Japanese had moved aside for the larger more expensive model.
But to return to reality, this page will review systems that a normal mortal can afford (of course today the Japanese museums can no longer afford such equipment either).
Some of these repro stand systems have evolved from copy stands, especially copy stands for photographing rare (and fragile) books and manuscripts. Octavia Press, for example, used to specialize in photographing and publishing rare books and manuscripts. They use a Better Light system, but their frontal photography system does not seem to have survived. Can't find Octavia on the Internet any more. This is why it is essential to get your equipment from a company which will still be in business several years from now. BetterLight is distributed by Kodak; hopefully both will survive.
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A search under the category "repro stand" or "copy stand" does not work well. Too many repro shops, copy shops, repro services. Most copy stands are just for simple cameras and will not hold a large format system. Other copy stands are not large enough. Thus we don't include Benchler or Cambo in our chart. Actually we do, though, use Cambo camera on our reprographic stand system, but with a Kaiser stand, since it's larger than the Cambo. The Kaiser is also motorized.
BogenImaging Bogen distributes products made in Europe. Check out their Bogenimaging web site to see what copy stands they offer, probably mostly for 35mm size. Bogen Imaging Inc. (http://www.bogenimaging.us/) 565 East Crescent Avenue, P.O. Box 506, Ramsey, N.J. 07446-0506 info@bogenimaging.com
Colex Colex used to market their ReproScan 8000 reprographic stand with Anagramm PictureGate 8000 tri-linear scanning back. Now it's called a Colex 4060-8000 PG camera. However when we have asked about this at the Colex booth at tradeshows, either no one there knows about it, or the system is not even presented in the booth.
Cruse GmbH In the last year Cruse has come out with models that establish a new standard for the meaning "top of the line." FLAAR has an impressive Cruse system with Synchron lighting at Bowling Green State University.
Fuji FV-7000, mini, portable, overhead copy stand digitizer. This unit seems to be mainly for TV video production but would seem to function as a portable copy stand scanner for web in addition to TV. Whether the output will withstand magnification for printing at high resolution will have to be tested. Video frame capture was popular in the 1990's but is pathetically out of date today.
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Kaiser Fototechnik Kaiser copy stands have a good reputation and are among the few that can hold the weight of a 4x5 camera and its heavy scan back. HP Marketing is US importer. HP Marketing has no relationship to Hewlett-Packard whatsoever.
Tarsia Joe Tarsia manufactures his own designs. His equipment is well made.
ZBE, Satellite, ZBE was the first system we saw, uses Videssence studio lighting (nice cool lights). But the TTI system also uses a nicely engineered lighting system. ZBE has moved into other fields, such as their Chromira wide format entry level laser light printers. ZBE has not enhanced or updated their Satellite reprographic stand that we have noticed.
Summary on reprographic copy stands for digital photography
Tarsia makes the best overall component system (system meaning everything is arranged to work together).
Kaiser Fototechnik seems to have the best independent copy stand/repro stand (the most stable). Bencher, Beseler and others are light-weight and only recommended for 35mm cameras and simple work. If you are a professional studio, you really ought to have a Kaiser stand. If you are a commercial studio, then a Tarsia or a Cruse.
Cruse makes the best turnkey solution, where everything is coordinated with all other aspects of the system to provide top quality. A Cruse system is for a large commercial studio, or a smaller studio what wants to showcase spectacular equipment (with which to attract clients that pay top dollar). Cruse scanners are also appropriate for large or important libraries, universities, and museums.
Cruse GmbH has an office in the USA: Mike Lind , (tel:) (281) 492-2714 / Fax: (281) 492-0307, malind@msn.com
The largest dealer for Cruse scanner systems in the USA is Reprographic Designs, Michael A. Lind, tel (281) 492-2714, fax (281) 492-0307, e-mail malind@msn.com.
We know Cruse GmbH from German trade shows and from seeing the equipment at American trade shows as well. On the basis of our comparison with other options, we felt that the Cruse digital scanner (digital photography) system was the best to feature in the FLAAR facility at Bowling Green State University. A Cruse model 155SL was installed at the FLAAR imaging studio about three years ago. It has worked well for us since we scan for several local museums, research libraries, historical societies, and artists.
Last updated Feb. 6, 2004.
Previews updats: July 7, 2001, July 19, 2002, Aug. 21, 2002