VC-SCAN for the STARLITE
MANUAL CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
INSTALLATION
BASIC OPERATION
SETUP
PROCEDURE FOR AUTO-SCAN OPERATION
USING
THE VC-SCAN IN THE AUTO-SCAN MODE
SCANNING TIPS
EXTREMES SCANNING
ADVANCED OPERATIONS
ADJUSTING
THE AUTO-SCAN SETUP
USING
THE VC-SCAN CHANNELS
USING
THE AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE TIME CORRECTION
USING
THE DENSITY DISPLAY MODE
PRINTING
TIPS USING THE VC-SCAN SYSTEM
USING
STEP WEDGES WITH THE VC-SCAN SYSTEM
STEP
WEDGES AND AUTO-SCAN MODE
TROUBLE-SHOOTING
TECHNICAL
SUPPORT DOCUMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of the VC-SCAN
system for Starlite & Sentinel enlarging systems.
The VC-SCAN is a sophisticated photo sensing scan systems
designed specifically for use with your Starlite Closed-Loop
Colorhead. Now you can concentrate on composing your
print, not on the aggravating process of guessing what
grade and exposure time to use. The VC-SCAN is designed
for use with black and white variable contrast print
paper and black and white negatives only. It cannot
analyze color negatives for black and white or color
printing.
The most powerful feature of the VC-SCAN is the auto-scan
mode. The auto-scan will automatically select the grade
and exposure time for any negative you choose by simply
scanning the image of the negative. Before you can use
the auto-scan mode, it is necessary to "set-up"
the VC-SCAN. The setup procedure for the auto-scan mode
is simple: take a good reference negative, make a good
target print, and scan the image. The VC-SCAN will learn
what a good print looks like.
The VC-SCAN has some advanced features. You can adjust
and customize the auto-scan operation in both density
and contrast. You can setup and use the VC-SCAN with
different paper types and different negative types.
The automatic time correction allows prints to be made
at different sizes without re-testing for exposure time.
The density display feature gives you densito-meter
features. These are just a couple more ways to save
time and hassle in the darkroom.
One last warning. Please read this manual through the
Basic Operations section before attempting use of the
VC-SCAN. The VC-SCAN requires a precise setup to perform
properly.
INSTALLATION
To install the VC-SCAN unit on the ZBE Starlite Colorhead
follow these steps:
- Disconnect the power.
- Locate the interface connector marked "EXPANSION/SENTINEL"
on the left side of the Starlite Colorhead.
- Plug the VC-SCAN into that connector. Tighten down
the retaining screws on the connector.
- Reconnect the power.
- That completes the installation procedure.
To install the VC-SCAN unit on the ZBE Sentinel Enlarger
follow these steps:
- Disconnect the power.
- Locate an empty interface connector marked "ACCESSORIES"
on the black junction box that the keypad and Density
Probe are plugged into.
- Plug the VC-SCAN into that connector. Tighten down
the retaining screws on the connector.
- Reconnect the power.
- That completes the installation procedure.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If your Starlite 55 is equipped
with a ColorPro, the VC-SCAN will not function
properly if both units are plugged in at the same time.
It will be necessary to unplug the ColorPro before
using the VC-SCAN.
BASIC
OPERATION
SETUP
PROCEDURE FOR AUTO-SCAN OPERATION
Before the VC-SCAN can be used for automatic contrast
and density selection, it must "learn" how
to make a good print. The VC-SCAN works by reading the
negative as it is projected on the baseboard. By reading
the density extremes of the negative in this manner,
the VC-SCAN can select the best grade and exposure for
this print.
Follow these steps to set up the auto-scan mode:
- Find a good negative to use for the setup. This
negative should be properly exposed with a good range
of tones. DO NOT USE A STEP WEDGE or any negative
with a step wedge in it. It will not work properly
for the setup. (See the advanced operations section
regarding use of step wedges.)
- Make a good print as you normally would: 8X10 size,
2 stops down, on VC paper. Select a grade that gives
a good whites, blacks, and the wide range of grays.
- We now want the VC-SCAN to "learn" to
reproduce that good print. Do not change any of the
print settings, grade, time, or aperture.
- Begin the learning process by pressing
( on the VC-SCAN ) and  button (on the keypad) simultaneously. Release both buttons.
The light will come on. The keypad display will read
"LEARN SCAN."
- Scan the image by doing the following:
Find the lightest area of the image on the baseboard
(the darkest area on the print).
Place the sensor spot of the VC-SCAN in that area.
Press
until a beep sounds. Sensing of a bright spot "excites"
the sensor and gets it started.
Scan the entire area of the image: position the sensor
in the upper left corner of the image area and press
. While holding down move the VC-SCAN back and forth across the image, scan one
line at time with a smooth, slow pace. Don't use a
random scan pattern, it is not accurate. Refer to
diagram 1 for optimal scan pattern. A thorough scan
may take a minute or so for an 8X10 image. Do not
scan outside the image area. If you make a mistake,
press 
and go to step 3.
(DIAGRAM 1)
After the entire image has been scanned thoroughly,
release the button and press  . The keypad will beep twice to tell you the learning
is complete.
That's all there is to setting up the auto-scan mode.
The VC-SCAN can now automatically select the grade and
exposure time for you. Refer to the advanced operations
section regarding learning different scan channels and
making adjustments to the learned settings.
USING
THE VC-SCAN IN THE AUTO-SCAN MODE
Note before using this mode you must go through the
auto-scan setup procedure. If you have not done this
yet, go back to the Auto-Scan Setup section. The auto-scan
operation is the most useful and time-saving feature
of the VC-SCAN system. When used properly you will no
longer need to make test prints before getting a good
first print.
Follow these steps to use the auto-scan mode:
- Take your new, unknown negative and place it in
the enlarger. Compose and focus the image and set
aperture as usual.
- To begin the auto-scan process press
once and release it. The light will come on. The display
will show "AUTO SCAN."
- Scan the image by doing the following:
Find the lightest area of the image on the baseboard
(the darkest area on the print).
Place the sensor spot in that area. Press
until a beep sounds. Sensing of a bright spot "excites"
the sensor and gets it started.
Scan the entire area of the image: position the sensor
in the upper left corner of the image area and press
. While holding down move the VC-SCAN back and forth across the image, scan one
line at time with a smooth, slow pace. Don't use a
random scan pattern, it is not accurate. Refer to
diagram 1 for optimal scan pattern. A thorough scan
may take a minute or so for and 8X10 image. Do not
scan outside the image area. If you make a mistake,
press "CANCEL" and go to step 2.
Note that there is a faster method for scanning which
is described below. Use the method described here
until you gain more experience with the VC-SCAN.
After the entire image has been scanned thoroughly,
release
button and press . The keypad will beep, display the new time and grade and
then beep twice. you may cancel the new values by
pressing before the last two beeps.
That's all there is to using the auto-scan mode. You
are now ready to make an exposure. Insert the VC paper
and make the exposure. Chances are you might have chosen
a starting time and grade different from the display.
Don't worry. Trust the VC-SCAN system. This print will
be a good first print. The advanced operations section
of this manual will described how you can fine tune
your auto-scan operation.
SCANNING
TIPS
When using the auto-scan, some negatives
may print over or under-exposed. This is due to the
negative being over or under-exposed in relation to
the main subject. To fix this you can auto-scan the
main subject only. This can be very important when doing
portraits. The backgrounds can be very different from
negative to negative, but the faces will have a more
consistent range of tones. Try scanning just the faces
and you will get much better results. (See diagram 2.)
(DIAGRAM 2)
EXTREMES SCANNING
There is an alternative method of scanning called "extremes
scanning." Extremes scanning yields good, predictable
results, and is faster than the usual scanning technique.
Extreme scanning, however, requires more skill and practice.
Extremes Scanning works on the principal that the auto-scan
analyzes the density extremes of the image (the lightest
and darkest areas).
Use Extremes Scanning as follows:
- Start the auto-scan operation by pressing
.
- Locate the brightest area of the image on the baseboard
(the darkest shadow area of the print). Place the
VC-SCAN on this area, and start scanning (hold down
). Carefully scan in and around this area until you're
sure the VC-SCAN has seen the whole area. Release
. It can be difficult to know if you've selected the
brightest area to scan. Identify one or two other
bright areas and repeat this procedure.
- Locate the darkest area of the image on the baseboard
(the lightest highlight of the print). Place the VC-SCAN
on this area, and start scanning (hold down
). Carefully scan in and around this area until you're
sure the VC-SCAN has seen the whole area. Release
. It can be difficult to know if you've selected the
darkest area to scan. Identify one or two other dark
areas and repeat this procedure.
- Press to end the auto-scan.
As mentioned this procedure may take some practice
before you can consistently achieve good results.
ADVANCED
OPERATIONS
ADJUSTING
THE AUTO-SCAN SETUP
In the Setup Auto-Scan section, the VC-SCAN "learned"
how to make a good print from your reference negative.
After you use auto-scan to print a variety of negatives,
you may determine that the prints are consistently a
little off in contrast or density.
You can fine tune the performance of auto-scan. If
your prints come out consistently light or dark, you
can fine tune the density up or down to correct this.
The density adjusts in log density units; 30 units equals
1 f-stop. If your prints are consistently too high or
low contrast, you can fine tune the contrast in tenths
of grades. Note that these adjustments apply only
to the VC-SCAN operation. There are separate fine tune
adjustments on your Starlite for adjusting the contrast
and density of each grade setting. (These are for adjusting
the Starlite for optimal separation. It is not related
to the VC-SCAN operation.)
First follow these steps to adjust the auto-scan setup:
- Press "OPTIONS" and go into the Starlite
Main Menu. If you are using the Sentinel system press
once to go into the Starlite Main Menu.
- Use the arrow keys to go to the Starlite Calibration
Menu. Then press . Use the arrow keys to go to edit VC-SCAN channels.
Then press .
- First the cursor will be blinking on the VC-SCAN
channel number which is the memory channel for the
currently selected auto-scan settings. For now leave
the channel number where it is. Press
to begin editing the current settings.
- Now you can adjust the density. Increase the number
for darker prints, decrease the number for lighter
prints. 30 units is equal to one stop of density.
Use
- 
to key in the desired value. You can enter a few zeros
to clear the value and 
to change the sign of the density.
- Press to accept. This completes the density adjustment.
Adjust the contrast similarly. Follow these steps:
- Now you can adjust the contrast. Increase the number
for the higher contrast prints. Decrease the number
for lower contrast prints. .1 units is equal to a
tenth grade; 1.0 unit is a full grade. Use
-
to enter the value.
- Press . That completes the contrast adjustment.
- When the cursor is on the "LAMP D:" value
press to accept the current value. This value should not be altered
when simple adjustments are being made to the auto-scan
setup.
- Press one last time when the cursor is on the scan channel number.
Now take a few negatives, print them using the auto-scan.
If the results are satisfactory you are done, otherwise
adjust the density and contrast further.
The two numbers you have just modified only affect
the auto-scan operation, not any of the other VC-SCAN
operations. These numbers are only in affect for the
scan channel currently selected.
Adjusting the auto-scan setup in this way is very useful,
especially when you want to experiment with different
contrast and density adjustments. But be sure to write
down the initial values before you modify them. To restore
the initial values simply go back to into "EDIT
VC-SCAN CHANNELS" and re-enter the initial values.
That's all there is to manually setting up the auto-scan
mode. It is just as good as going through the learn
procedure. Refer to the VC-SCAN channels section of
the manual regarding customizing the auto-scan setups
for different types of papers and subject matters.
USING THE VC-SCAN
CHANNELS
The VC-SCAN system is equipped with 10 paper channels.
The main purpose of the VC-SCAN channel facility is
to allow the use of the VC-SCAN with many paper types
and with different subject matter. Each channel is assigned
a number. When using a particular paper, set the channel
to the number for that paper. The paper channel is accessed
during the auto scan or learn scan operations. After
you first press you can
at any time press any of the number keys to select a
VC-SCAN channel. The channel number is used at the end
of the scan process so you can change the channel number
as much as you like, the only value the system will
see is the value on the display when is pressed.
The scan channel is always displayed on the lower right
side of the display during scan operations.
Scan channels have uses other than just for different
paper types. In the auto-scan mode you can use paper
channels for different types of subject matter. For
example, if you initially use the auto-scan for landscape
type of negatives, and it works very well, you may find
that all of the portrait negatives auto-scan with too
high contrast. Or, perhaps the density is always a little
off. This is a perfect situation for using the paper
channels.
You simply need to set up a new paper channel for the
portrait work. Continue to use the initial channel for
landscape work. All that is necessary is to copy the
setup data from the original channel to a new channel,
and adjust it slightly for the portrait work. When done,
write down the channel number that is to be used for
portraits. Changing from landscape to portraits means
simply changing from one channel to another.
Similarly, if you have more than one operator using
the VC-SCAN and each operator wants the auto-scan to
yield a particular type of prints to his/her preference,
then assign each operator a channel or group of channels
and have them set it up to their preference.
USING
THE AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE TIME CORRECTION
The Automatic Time Correction (ATC) is an advanced
feature of the VC-SCAN. With this feature you can make
matched prints of different sizes from one negative
without re-testing. This is very useful when doing multiple
size, package type printing. After making a print at
one size, the ATC will match that print at any other
size. The ATC works by using the VC-SCAN sensor to measure
the light density on a particular spot of the image,
and to match that value to the same spot at a different
magnification. You are not limited to same aperture
setting. You can open or close the aperture and the
ATC software will adjust for it.
For example, say you have a good print at an 8 X 10
size and now you would like to make an 11 X 14 print.
To do this follow these steps:
- Do not change the size or aperture yet.
- Activate the ACT mode by pressing
button (on the VC-SCAN) and the
 button (on the keypad) simultaneously. The display will show
"TIME COMP" and the light will come on.
- Locate an area near the center of the image with
little contrast that is also fairly bright (dark on
the final print). This will be your reference spot.
Place the VC-SCAN sensor under that spot and press
, until a beep sounds. Release the button. The time
value on the keypad will now change up or down depending
on the light intensity on the sensor spot.
- With the light on, adjust the magnification to the
11 X 14 size and re-focus.
- Place the VC-SCAN sensor under the same spot as
in step 3 and press until you hear the keypad "click" twice.
Release the button. The time displayed will now be
adjusted for the 11 X 14 size.
- Press to lock in the new time. If you like, you may adjust open
the aperture a bit and go back to step 5. A new (shorter)
exposure time will be calculated.
You are now ready to make the print at 11 X 14.
USING THE
DENSITY DISPLAY MODE
The density display is another advanced feature of
the VC-SCAN. With this feature you can use the VC-SCAN
as a precision enlarging photometer to make density
measurements of the negative. It can also be used in
this way as a transmission densitometer for analyzing
film types and tracking process changes.
This mode is active when button
is pressed and held down. The scanning light will come
and the VC-SCAN density will be displayed as the "D:"
value on the keypad display.
To make the density display mode more flexible, you
can also zero the density number. This is helpful in
reading the density range of a negative. You can find
the densest part of the negative, zero the density display
and then read the rest of the negative to see the density
range.
To zero the density display follow these steps:
- Hold down button the VC-SCAN.
- Position the sensor spot under the part of the image
you want to call "0" density.
- Continue holding button then press
.
You also can set the density display to any arbitrary
value you desire. For example lets say you want to set
the densest part of the negative to read "100".
- Hold down button the VC-SCAN.
- Position the sensor spot under the part of the image
you want to call '0' density.
- Continue holding button then press
.
- Key in "100" using the number keys and
press .
Now the density display will be showing 100, and you
can make measurements from that reference.
PRINTING
TIPS USING THE VC-SCAN SYSTEM
- When using the auto-scan mode, be sure to scan the
brightest area (darkest on the print) first. This
will ensure the photo sensor is operating at its optimal
sensitivity.
- When scanning an image in the auto-scan mode, it
is crucial that you scan the area completely. Use
a slow back and forth pattern, cover an 8 X 10 area
in about 1½ minutes. A sloppy scan will yield inconsistent
results and too high contrasts. See the basic operation
section for other scanning tips.
- If the VC-SCAN generates an exposure time of less
than 1 seconds it is recommended that you open up
at least one stop and scan again. Exposure times of
1 seconds and less are too short to be reliable.
- The VC-SCAN is specially designed to work with the
safelights on. However, use common sense in setting
up your safelights. The VC-SCAN can be affected by
the safelight if it is shinning directly on the baseboard,
and you are scanning for the large prints. If the
VC-SCAN works well with small prints, but produces
under exposed or too high contrast prints at large
sizes, the problem is most likely the safelight.
- If you consistently make small prints (8 X 10) and
smaller, you may prefer that the sensor spot were
smaller. You can reduce the size of the spot by attaching
a card with a hole in it over the sensor. Make sure
the card is totally opaque and the hole is centered
over the sensor spot. You will need to re-setup your
auto-scan and zone-matching modes.
USING
STEP WEDGES WITH THE VC-SCAN SYSTEM
Advanced users might want to use transmission step
wedges (tablets) for setup and testing of the VC-SCAN
system. Here are some recommendations and warnings on
their use.
STEP WEDGES
AND AUTO-SCAN MODE
We have found that step wedges do not work well for
setting up the auto-scan to work with everyday negatives.
For best results, you should set up auto-scan with negatives
that are representative of your usual work. If you print
step wedges then use a step wedge for set up. If you
print continuous tone images, then use a continuous
tone negative for set up.
We recommend that if you decide to re-setup the auto-scan
with a step wedge, select a new paper channel first,
so you can get back to the original setup.
TROUBLE-SHOOTING
Following are some possible problems you may encounter,
and their solutions:
- Nothing happens when the VC-SCAN buttons are pressed.
This is probably because the VC-SCAN is not plugged
in to the STARLITE or the VC-SCAN software chip is
not installed.
- When starting an auto-scan the light comes on a
fluctuates slightly. This is normal. The light is
stabilizing to precise intensity for scanning.
- When starting an auto-scan there is occasionally
a slight delay (up to 2 seconds) before the beep is
heard. This is normal. The lamps are stabilizing to
the precise scanning intensity. Use this time to study
the image and decide which area you want to scan.
- The auto-scan does not give repeatable contrasts
and exposure times. For example, if you auto-scan
the same image several times, you get different grades
and exposure times. This is most likely due to the
scanning technique. Slow down and scan the image thoroughly
using a consistent technique. You are probably missing
important areas when scanning too quickly. If you
scan an image twice you should get the same grade,
and the exposure time should be within 10%. Note:
See the Scanning Tips in the Basic Operations section
of this manual.
- When using the auto-scan mode, some negatives do
not print well, they are over or under-exposed. This
is often due to some area of the negative being over
or under-exposed in relation to the main subject matter.
To fix this, auto-scan only the main subject matter.
Avoid scanning the area which is misrepresentative
of the key subject.
TECHNICAL
SUPPORT DOCUMENTS
TSD030
- COLORPro & VC-Scan Compatibility
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