Drum scanner
A high-resolution prepress scanner that mounts the original on a spinning cylinder and reads it with photomultiplier tubes.
The original is taped to a clear drum that spins at thousands of revolutions per minute while a light beam reads it point by point. The sensor is a photomultiplier tube (PMT) rather than a CCD, giving exceptional dynamic range and sharpness. The technique ruled the graphic-arts trade and colour separation from the 1960s into the 1990s — Hell, Crosfield and Howtek were the famous names.
CCD flatbeds eventually caught up for most work, and the drum scanner shrank to an expensive niche for fine art, archives and very large enlargements. Few are still built, but used units command steep prices.