08-25-2023, 11:03 PM
Thanks. I have heard a couple other recommendations for Genius Scan.
But since I posted I've done a good bit of experimenting, trying to duplicate a few scans that did turn out very clear with the iPhone and the Files command.
It turns out that light is critical, but more is not better. In fact more is worse, if not extremely even and from the right distance.
I've been using a pole lamp with a combination of 2700 and 5000 K LED bulbs. That turns out to be too uneven (though it doesn't look that way), too bright, and too close. With grayscale scans I get blacks that are not quite dark enough gray, and whites that are not quite light enough gray. With B&W I get missing spots where lines are thin and extra note spots where there shouldn't be. Gray scale is workable with MS but sometimes not ideal.
Long story short, what works is an overhead 4 foot fluorescent converted to LED, or an existing uncoverted fluorescent, and the music on the floor. The music stand or the table is too close. The distance is important and more is much better, because the light is more even I guess. The very best scans are in a gym with very bright LED lighting on a very high ceiling, I wish I had a room with a higher ceiling. And finally, the distance and the choice of light is not the same for different paper sheets. In particular notation vs script music, and original copies vs photocopies all make a difference.
The multiscanner printer takes light out of the equation, but has its own learning curve.
But since I posted I've done a good bit of experimenting, trying to duplicate a few scans that did turn out very clear with the iPhone and the Files command.
It turns out that light is critical, but more is not better. In fact more is worse, if not extremely even and from the right distance.
I've been using a pole lamp with a combination of 2700 and 5000 K LED bulbs. That turns out to be too uneven (though it doesn't look that way), too bright, and too close. With grayscale scans I get blacks that are not quite dark enough gray, and whites that are not quite light enough gray. With B&W I get missing spots where lines are thin and extra note spots where there shouldn't be. Gray scale is workable with MS but sometimes not ideal.
Long story short, what works is an overhead 4 foot fluorescent converted to LED, or an existing uncoverted fluorescent, and the music on the floor. The music stand or the table is too close. The distance is important and more is much better, because the light is more even I guess. The very best scans are in a gym with very bright LED lighting on a very high ceiling, I wish I had a room with a higher ceiling. And finally, the distance and the choice of light is not the same for different paper sheets. In particular notation vs script music, and original copies vs photocopies all make a difference.
The multiscanner printer takes light out of the equation, but has its own learning curve.