Book reviews by Nicholas Hellmuth

Several books on flatbed scanners and scanning are well worth buying. Here are our recommendations for titles you should consider.

Agfa Booklets

 

Agfa publishes a variety of books on prepress topics. The details on technology in these booklets are so well illustrated they are worth buying just for the pictures. The downfall is that while the publications are excellent, the discussion of peripherals is quite dated. It is also tough to find these books.

Color Scanning and Imaging Systems

 

Available from GATF (Graphic Arts Technical Foundation). GATF has a more recent book on scanning as well.

Real World Scanning and Halftones, 2nd Edition

 

A must buy from Peachpit Press. Written by David Blatner, Glenn Fleishman and Steve Roth.

Make Your Scanner a Great Design & Production Tool

 

This is a bit dated, look it over and make your own decision whether you need to take it home. Written by Michael Sullivan.

The Non-Designer's Scan and Print Book

 

I am not yet familiar with this book other than its title

Start with a Scan

 

I'm glad I bought "Start with a Scan" even though it is not very meaty. Published in 1996, the basic principles are not out of date but suggested equipment is. Peachpit Press, written by Janet Ashford and John Odam. A new 2 nd edition is published by Focal Press

Any book published before 2000 should be considered somewhat out of date. "Start with a Scan" is okay because it discusses technique not technology.

The books on scanners by Hewlett Packard will tend to be generic, entry level, and naturally tout their own scanners, which, being blunt, are rather low end.

Books on drum scanning are not exactly in the shelves full of Top Ten publications, indeed a search of Amazon.com turned up zero titles. Surely technical booklets are available elsewhere, and we would appreciate tips from readers, readerservice@flaar.org .

Book REviews on COlor Management

Also, check out the following books on color management:

Color and its Reproduction

2nd edition, Gary G. Field, GATF Press

GATF Practical Guide to Color Management

Rich Adams and Joshua Weisberg, GATF Press

Understanding Digital Color

2nd ed, Phil Green, GATF Press

Books on color theory and color reproduction

are reviewed in www.dye-sub-printer-review.org .

Books on color management

  

are reviewed here on the present site.

  • Redesign May, 2004/ Last updated Jan. 26, 2004
    Previous updates: Aug. 20, 2002 First posted July 2002,