BJ,

I'd repeat what Peter just said and that you can also try using a "light
tent" to help diffuse the light a little. Glare can really kill contrast
when the light is from a point source. A plain white sheet hung between the
lights and the object being photographed can do wonders (don't get so close
you start a fire). Also use a lens hood, to keep the light from entering the
lens other than what's being reflected by the subject.

Peter's best advice was to bracket the exposure by at least two stops. In
fact, if you are comfortable with overriding the auto systems on the camera,
try going to 3 or even 4 stops over exposed from a white metered surface.

If you have something like Photoshop Elements or Paint Shop Pro, try
adjusting the brightness and contrast both to the higher end of the scale.
You can also turn up the saturation, if what you need is for the colors to
become more visible.

If you want to add people to your killfile, try asking on alt.photography.
Just remember that some people are willing to help and others are only
willing to be obnoxious.

Another thought I just had was that if this is truly flat surface, put it in
a color scanner/all-in one and see what you can get. Even that can be "post
processed" if you need to do so.

Mark