Digital BW, The Print

I put up a web page about getting sharp 35mm scans on desktop scanners
without using sharpening.  here it is:
http://www.historicphotoarchive.com/stuff/kodachrome2.html

When I began to scan film, I was very disappointed with the sharpness on
both my slide scanner and my flatbed.  I replaced my flatbed with a very
good one (Artixscan 1800, cost almost $1500) and the scans from the new
scanner were even worse than the old scanner. The higher a resolution I
scanned at, the softer the scans got.  I do a lot of scanning old glass
plate negatives, and I noticed the glass plates were always tack sharp.
Through troubleshooting and experimentation, I found that the heat of the
scanner lamp was causing the film to move ever so slightly during scanning,
just like the old days with enlargers.  I remembered how Leitz solved the
problem in the Focomat, by putting glass on the top of the neg but not the
bottom.  So now I use glass on all film scans.  I haven't had to sharpen a
scan in over a year.  I make tack sharp 13x19 prints from 35mm.

Comments and suggestions are welcome

Good luck
Tom Robinson