photo manipulation software- 48-bit CMYK

I'm a new contributor to this board. The reason i sought this forum is to get some answers.

I have a wide format Canon Printer and a Microtek scanner. The scanner will allow scans for 48-bit CMYK colors. It is my understanding that this will be the best format to get fidelity of prints.

However the photo-manipulation program that i have gives me this "not supported" statement and kicks the color scans back to 8-bit color. this is not where i want to be.

Is there a Software product(short of the $600 Adobe Photoshop) tha can be had economically that will do the trick of 48-bit color CMYK manipulation?

Thanks

 

I believe with the newest version of gimp theres a CMYK plugin that allows for 48 bit photo manipulation. Check sourceforge for the plugin. Hope this is helpful.