Scanner on Roids!

As many artists know, capturing of ones artwork to the digital nature is one that is tricky, expensive and detrimental to the success of an artist. As an illustrator, it is a fact that can't be overlooked. If you have a great work of art that needs to be used for an article, a book cover, or a poster, your work must be as professionally captured as one can get. When you don't take the time to digitally capture your work properly, you can cause major issues such as fuzzy images, wrong colors, and overall unpleasant reproductions of what your art should actually look like. So, as I find myself working on more and more book projects with many illustrations for each one, I have decided to take the leap to the next step of controlling and capturing my artwork in the light in which it was made. Up until this point, I have relied on others at companies and copy shops to capture my work on large format scanners at prices that would make you cry. But with my new purchase this week , I will be able to make sure that the work and digital files that leave my studio will be of the highest quality and will represent my illustrations in a crystal clear view.


So with that, the scanner that I chose to work with from here on out is the Epson 10000xl Graphic Arts Scanner. The images above show the new scanner on the left side versus a normal sized scanner that you can find at stores like Office Depot and Best Buy on the right. As you can see, it is a monster flatbed scanner that can scan images 12.2" x 17.2" at a mindblowing 12800 dpi. I can't even imagine the need for a 12800 dpi scan, but having a scanner that has a scan surface as large as this will allow for a seamless reproduction of my illustrations and allow for myself to do the quality control and pace at which it is done. It will also allow for the color syncing of my scanner, monitor and large format printer all into likeminded profiles so that the surprise of a rogue color doesn't kill a piece. But as with any investment, it is not a scanner that is cheap. To think that I could have bought a macbook pro and still have some extra money, made this a decision that has been thought over for the last 6 months a tough one. But in the end, it was a decision that made more business sense than not getting it. To make an investment in ones career, is definitely one that I don't mind making, even if I have to figure out how to pay for it!