So I said, just bind a full time reading copy. Well, then I said, why not scan the pages and print them out,
oversized, for an Oversized hardcover?
The problem is, finding issues with true white pages is proving impossible. The series was printed on the cheapest pulp available at the time and most copies
have darkened or turned yellow. I do have a few issues that are white, but most are not and in trying to track down white paged copies I have been met with
great disappointment. A couple of the issues are very rare in high grades I do have those issues in NM/M (perfect CGC candidates) with white pages, but
I cannot bring myself to take them apart for scanning. Not after more than an entire decade in search of them (no lie).
So how do you take a scan of a page that is no longer white and Photoshop it to the proper white, without losing the graytones that are part of this books art?
This series was airbrushed B&W, as you can see, and really something to behold. I want to have the highest possible quality scans and copies.
Here is what most scans look like using grayscale settings...
Clearly that is not acceptable. Nope. Looks like crap. Darker even then the aged page is.
On this page I was able to somehow get the scanner to scan it differently and it turned white, but I was only able to get that to work once and no amount of
fiddling and retrying produced similar results...
The nuclear blast effect of that page has less gray tones, so nothing was lost here. Look at the Capital bound volume pic above to see just how incredible gray
tones can be.
Maybe one of you can give me a tutorial in Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop (less familiar with this program) on how to take these scanned pages that are from
darkened and aged pages and manipulate them to look brand spanking new. I want the whites to match the white of brand new paper this would be printed on.
And of course, which paper do I use?! No idea. I'd imagine I'd go to David and Capital for this, so feel free to chime in, David. The goal is a one of
a king oversized version of the series. I'd likely want a die that looks exactly like how the title is printed on the cover (see way above pic) and would
need help with that as well.
I would bring the art as close to the edges as possible to maximize the size.
Am I attempting something that is impossible? I know it will be time consuming. That's OK.
Right now I am scanning 300dpi and grayscale (not B&W). I assume that is the correct method.Exactly where and how to print is something I will have to tackle eventually. Cost is always an issue. But Greyscale should be less trouble then color I imagine. I hope!
Thanks for the help.




