Report from the Field #39
Ten years of film scanner design and manufacturing

Since we were dissatisfied with the products available on the market, in 2014 we started developing and building our own scanners: a motorised model for routine work, a hand-cranked prototype as a minimalist proof of concept and a multispectral model for special needs. We were inspired by the optical film printer that Hermann Wetter built in Geneva, which we supplemented with a digitisation unit, as well as by the portable viewing table and scanner that Vladimir Malogajski built at the Lichtspiel in Bern.

What and how

Joshua Levy, Michal Cohen and Reto Kromer will present and discuss the scanners our company has designed and manufactured, the patents we have filed on them and the integration of technology we have developed into commercially available film scanners, either with our consent or by stealing it. An informal Q&A session and light refreshments will round-up the meeting. Attendees should be familiar with the basics of a film scanner.

When and where

In-person at the Park Innovaare in Villigen with webcast on Friday the 6^th of December 2024, starting at 11 o’clock sharp here in Switzerland (that’s 10:00 UTC). We will use a Jitsi-based platform and the link will be provided in proper time.

As usual, the admission to our Reports from the Field is free, but a registration is required, as the seats are limited to a dozen or so, in order to enable in-depth technical discussions and the exchange of information.

Note

• We are very unhappy that our generosity is often betrayed, as many of our materials are distributed without naming their origin. Increasingly, others are even shamelessly claiming authorship of our work, which is just disgusting behaviour. And that’s the very reason why some resources are no longer freely available, but have been moved to password-protected parts of our website.

2024-11-15