The absolute ultimate digital camera: the Cruse reprographic stand system.

If you are a museum, university, prepress shop, photo studio, or in-house facility where nothing less than top quality is acceptable, then check out this remarkable digital photography scanning system.

This versatile equipment can be used to scan or photograph. So it is simultaneously a scanner as well as a digital camera. Our university has about eight scanners already in our building. But we don't use them because they don't provide enough true optical resolution. Instead we prefer the Cruse scanner.

Since this is a reprographic system, dedicated and turnkey, it does a wonderful job for the tasks it was designed for, namely recording any object of any size up to 36 x 48 inches. Yes, you can scan any object up to 36 x 48 inches in size. Try that on a regular flatbed.

The Cruse tri-linear scanning head and Rodenstock lenses will handle an object up to 4 inches thick. Many flatbed scanners can't handle anything but a flat transparency or photo. With the Cruse we can scan piles of objects, textures, all kinds of neat things. Best depth of field is in sizes about 1 to 2 inches in thickness.

This remarkable equipment is what we selected after attending tradeshows and looking for what would be absolutely the best designed, engineered and constructed system. We did research for two years (Photokina, DRUPA, PMA, PhotoExpo East, Seybold, etc) before we decided which brand to select. After all, FLAAR is a museum-oriented, university-affiliated institute dedicated to scanning and photography. Might as well go for the best.

So now this equipment is in our facility here at Bowling Green State University. If you sign up for any of the FLAAR + BGSU training programs you can come and visit our photo studio and see the equipment in action. You can use it yourself; bring anything you wish to scan. The system is easy to learn to use yourself.

Synchron table fine art reprographic scanner camera, the Cruse CS 185ST

Cruse at Photkina 2002.

At Photokina 2002, Herman-A. Cruse showcased a remarkable product which sets the bar in quality and versatility in professional digital photography and reprographic scanning. This camera was originally made to scan exotic hardwoods so the veneer industry could have flawless images of real wood in order to reproduce the wood grain on laminates (which is nice, since the laminate saves the tropical hardwood forests).

Some of the beautiful wood has a grain pattern which a regular camera could not capture. So engineer Cruse was able to design an overhead scanning system which could be precisely positioned at a 10 percent or 20 percent angle to the surface. The special Cruse lighting system then highlights the wood grain. What is even more unique about this camera system is that the object moves in front of the CCD. Result is far higher precision.

Once the camera was designed, it because clear that the identical technology could capture the brush strokes of an oil painting. So now this new invention is being marketed as the ultimate solution for digitizing paintings in order to reproduce them as fine art giclee prints.

f you need any technical information about this equipment, it is probably easier if you ask the representative of Cruse for the USA: Kurt Ernst, Mike Lind (managing director of USA office of Cruse GmbH of Germany). If you seek info about how this class of equipment can fit into your workflow, consult with Mike Lind, malind@msn.com (for years the sales and installation outlet for this company). Cruse makes many many different models, so your needs may be for features that one of those other models does a good job with.

If you want to see the scanner in action check our review on www.fineartgicleeprinters.org

Most recently updated

Updated July 3, 2003. Design updated 26/06/2008.