Scanning The Pan-American Exposition Issue

These are not perfect stamps (There is a crease in the 2c), and I am a WW classical collector, not just USA. But,the Pan-American issue is a great set to scan and examine enlarged, because of the detailed engraving and bi-colors.

Scanned with HP Officejet 4500 G510n-z "All-in-One" @ 1200dpi,and uploaded to Picasaweb albums, where an 800px image was used for SCF.

No sharpening or contrast enhancement.


1901 Scott 294 1c green & black "Fast Lake Navigation"


1901 Scott 295 2c carmine & black "Empire State Express"

1901 Scott 298 8c brown violet & black "Canal Locks at Sault Ste. Marie"


1901 Scott 299 10c yellow brown & black "Fast Ocean Navigation"

Who knew the "Electric Automobile" would make a comeback.

I love that set - scans look great

Jkjblue, I only have Scott 295 for comparison.

First was scanned on a Hagnar with the lid closed.
No adjustments.
The paper of the actual stamp does have a slight yellowish hue but not as deep as this scanned example.



Then I scanned with the stamp on the glass with the lid open.
More true to the actual stamp but still not perfect.
At the same time some of the sharpness(crispness ?) appears to have been lost.

Yes those are beautiful stamps and your scans are looking good, actually better than I would have thought possible with an AIO.

Thanks Mike33 and Lithograving.

What a great group we have here at SCF.

*Edited for playing around*

This scan is the software basic quick scan that I use.



After playing around a bit with the scan settings

stallzer

lithograving

Jkjblue

Nice scans, guys. This is a great series for the time.

I was reading a story on early Houston a couple of weeks ago. The electric auto that was used in the display at the expo made a trip through here. A newly made millionaire from Spindletop oil discovery liked it so much he made an offer they couldn't refuse. Houston has more autos now than people but it still leads with oil companies even though most is imported. That electric car was something else.

This series was one of the most attractive ever printed. They were designed by R. Ostrander Smith, who also designed the Trans-Mississippi and the 1902 regular issues. He produced the most ornate frames on his designs. The 2 cent frame was quite controversial with the bare breasted figures on the sides. It is a shame that he returned to the American Bank Note Co before the release of the new series of 1908 which ended up as an extremely plain design.

The automobile shown was an 1899 Columbi owned by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. It provided shuttle service to the train depot.

I usually scan with my HP all-in-one at 1200 dpi, then use the Free Image Optimizer to size it correctly for SCO. Usually no other adjustments are needed, unless I want some feature to better stand out.

I just noticed the title of the thread. JK, you might want to edit the title to read "Pan-American", not Pan-Pacific :)

All great scans here but there is a noticeable difference. Lithograving's have much better contrast and more vibrant colours.