Howtek 4500 Scanner, Maximum Resolution of 4000 dpi Question Options

[bone2picc]

I am looking to purchase a Howtek 4500 scanner but I have some concern regarding its maximum resolution of only 4000 dpi. I am often called upon to make some very large prints (on the order of 40'' X 60''), and my concern is in regard to scanning 35mm negatives and transparencies for this final output size. If I understand this correctly , a 35mm negative scanned at 4000 dpi would only scale out to about 11'' X 16.5'' at 360 dpi (which is the ideal dpi for printing on Epson printers). Would I get reasonable results attempting to print a 35mm negative scanned on the Howtek 4500 at its maximum resolution of 4000 dpi to 40'' X 60'' (which I think would be about 98 dpi at that size)?

[adiallo]

40x60s from 35mm negs obviously present some image quality issues. The best option by far is to drum scan at 8000ppi. That means using a Howtek 8000 or something similar. The results can be surprisingly good with a well exposed and properly developed neg if you can adjust aperture or focus of the scanner to keep film grain at a minimum. It won't print like a 4x5 neg at that size of course, so just make sure the client understands that from the beginning. It also helps if they shot with a slow speed film, as grain clusters are going to be your biggest enemy.