On the 3rd of January 2014, DIASTOR partner Reto Kromer’s company AV Preservation by reto.ch performed DIASTOR’s scanner tests on his D-Archiver scanner. In collaboration with DIASTOR team member David Pfluger, he scanned all the different materials such as 16 mm color reversal, 35 mm Dufaycolor, 35 mm Technicolor, faded chromogenic negative, color reversal intermediate and positive, and tinted film.

The tests on this scanner are especially interesting because DIASTOR had done a sample of their preliminary scanner tests on this machine at IBC in Amsterdam. In addition to investigating the technical performance of hardware and software, it is our goal to study the influence of the scanner operator’s education and knowledge on the results. With our partner Reto Kromer we have a highly skilled and experienced person with special knowledge in the handling of historical films.

DIASTOR partner Reto Kromer performing the scanner tests at his company AV Preservation by reto.ch

Thanks to support from Steve Klenk, Galileo Digital in Irvine CA, and Jeff Ferriol, MagicHour in Paris, DIASTOR was able to continue their scanner tests with the Lasergraphics Director scanner. In December, DIASTOR team member David Pfluger traveled to Institut national de l’audiovisuel in Paris to work a whole day with their staff on DIASTOR’s scanner tests, see earlier postings here and here.

Scanning Technicolor on the Lasergraphics Director scanner

ARRI in Munich is the first scanner manufacturer to work on eight different materials for the DIASTOR scanner tests.

Based on the experience from the preliminary scanner tests, the DIASTOR team under the supervision of David Pfluger and Claudy Op den Kamp elaborates a protocol to standardize the tests and the results.

Currently the tested stocks include 16 mm color reversal, 35 mm Dufaycolor, 35 mm Technicolor, faded chromogenic negative, color reversal intermediate and positive, and tinted film.

A questionnaire explores aspects of handling, soft- and hardware, controls, interface, data management and documentation.

In the next few weeks the team travels to Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin to test scanners such as Kinetta, Lasergraphics Director, MWA Nova’s Flashtransfer Vario, DFT SCANITY. Further tests on RTI’s D-Archiver with implementation partner AV Preservation by Reto.ch and Filmlight Northlight as well as ARRISCAN with our partner Cinegrell Postproduction are executed directly in DIASTOR.

In collaboration with EYE Film Institute and several scanner manufacturers present at IBC in Amsterdam, DIASTOR has started their series of scanner tests. Based on these preliminary tests with a selection of materials – Technicolor, faded chromogenic stock,  a very dense and a high-contrast tinted print – the DIASTOR team elaborates a protocol for the standardization of the main tests. The tests aim at investigating the interaction between the scanners’ optical set-up including their illumination and sensor with a variety of different film stocks as well as handling and image processing.

Check back, we will keep you updated!