Phase One's Major Thrust In Cultural Heritage Photography

"Cultural heritage" photography must be a new term. The major libraries and Archives in the world made efforts to streamline, organise, classify, protect, preserve and allow accession since 1920s. What was called 'Archival Photography' is now 'Cultural Heritage' Photography.

Preservation science (of manuscripts, books, photographs and all things important) was born then. Though the West has made giant strides in Conservation sciences, many other parts of the world are yet to follow. In India and many other Asian countries, Conservation of Photographs is unheard of. Few know it to be a vast science, offering immense possibilities for securing vital documents or photo s for hundreds of years. In this context, many of these countries (Including India) need hundreds, possibly thousands of trained conservators to preserve and protect their Art, vital documents, books, photographs, films, sound etc.

From the humble laser print or Xerox on acid free paper (which is still a much valued conservation option for book pages and loose manuscripts), technology currently offers precision repro systems. Phase One has launched one such initiative in offering all the tools needed for digitising of photographic films, photo prints, books, manuscripts, Art works, Architect drawings etc. with the launch of the DT R Cam, IXr camera, DT RG 3040 reprographic system, DT RGC 180 Capture Cradle, DT BC 100 book capture system and DT film scanning kit.

No wonder this initiative had to come from Phase One. Their founders have a legacy of refining the digitization process, dis-satisfied with the results the best scanners in the world could produce. So their Digital backs are all about the finest detail that can be captured and their systems seem to get better and better.

Phase One have signed a global distribution agreement with Legacy Products, USA to deliver advanced digitization solutions for cultural heritage imaging projects worldwide.

It is Phase One's initiative since 1993 to manufacture medium format digital backs that has led to this possibility of adapting their gear for the degree of detail needed for Conservation Projects.

In the film era, it was Kodak who engineered and launched a number of products especially for this field. They made special films for duplication, special chemicals for archival processing, special papers for making long lasting prints without compromising on quality. Soon Ilford, Agfa and a few others joined them in production of materials that aged slower and lasted longer. In the digital era, Phase One is the only firm makes such an iconic range of Conservation tools and offers them all as a single step digital solution to help conserve the world's treasures.

Products:

DT RCam reprographic camera

The DTR Camera is designed to work with a range of Phase One digital backs. It is built to a flange tolerance of 0.005" to ensure perfect image and focal plane alignment. An extremely accurate helicoid focus system, barrel lock to prevent accidental changes, ability to accept mechanical or electronic shutters and total integration with the DT RG3040 reprographic system and a rotation collar make it a very versatile capture tool. More than an entry level digital repro camera.

Phase One iXR camera

This heavy duty work horse from the Phase One Stable is ideal and dependable for large scale digitization projects , Fine Art Reproduction, Manuscripts digitization and other Industrial projects.

Exceedingly High detail gathering ability, high productivity, short capture times and compatibility with all lenses and IQ Series as well as P/P+ series digital backs, Leaf Aptus and Credo backs. Full remote function is possible without the photographer ever having to leave his/her console.

DT RG3040 Reprographic system

Made by Legacy, this is a finely engineering copy system. Incorporating a motorized electronically controlled column and a 30"x40" reprographic table. Plane Parallality and even focus can be achieved across image plane because of the precise machining and alignment of various surfaces.

Comes with lockable and vibration dampening castors.

DT RGC180 Capture Cradle

This cradle can be used for scanning books, manuscripts and loose documents. Preservation grade reproductions are easily achieved when used in conjunction with Phase one Repro gear. The rate of captures can be very quick when compared to traditional scanners. A 100 degree cradle can be placed on an optional hard top surface to facilitate capture of books that cannot be opened 180 degrees. Books that are bound 4" thick and upto 25"x35" are easily digitised. 180 degree anti- reflective glass top is standard fitment. Extremely durable design, this machine allows for years of continuous use (upto one million shutter actuations)

DT BC100 Book Capture System

The DTBC Book Capture System is a dedicated book scanning system that is designed to meet every demand of large institutions with their digitization needs. Built to last and built precisely, the unit can support two cameras and can capture loose works as well as bound work upto A2 dimensions. Newspapers, Manuscripts, books, photos, drawings, building plans, blue prints are all a cinch to digitize with the DTBC 100. Conforms to FAGDI 4-star and METSMORFOZE imaging standard with Phase One gear. Cross platform compatibility with DT R Cam.

DT film Scanning Kit

One of biggest challenges in the world remains digitising of photographs of photographic films. To bring the digital image to a quality that does not compromise the original sharpness, tones, colour, contrast of the original. Many centres in the world employ commercial hi end scanning gear with the hope of achieving the truest turn over to digital. Phase One's innovative film scanning kit is an old trick. Some three or four decades ago, film copies were made by projection on to a larger sheet of film. Now if we repeat the same trick with the most resolving digital back, supplement the capture with non fluctuating and colour accurate light and use precision lenses to capture the image, astounding results and clarity result. Phase One and Legacy's film scanning kit does exactly that !

Capture films upto 11"x17" through all formats (35mm, 120 size, 4"x5",8"x10" etc). Film holders lift the image just over the trans illuminator, thereby ensuring no contact with the surface. Moving blades crop out the extraneous light to control edge flare and a precision repro cam with an exceptional lens completes the story. With capture times so much faster and handling times reduced, this beauty can be upto 200 times faster than the best scanner in the world and give the scanner a run for its money ! Again, this machine is compatible with DT RGC180 Capture Cradle and the DT RG32040 Repro System.

All Phase One systems use the Capture Pro software for Capture, Selection and Edit which is supplied free with the equipment. Capture One Pro offers a range of output solutions, in TIFF, JPEG, PDF in RGB or CMYK modes. Also supports Open source RAW and DNG.

So if you are shopping Photo Gear for Conservation, Phase One and Legacy Products are a one stop place. They Deliver !

//  Via PHASEONE  //