How to get clean Scans

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Thomas78

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Hello,

I have some trouble to get clean scan when I am scanning (negative) film.

Almost always I can see small dust and especially small fibers from my cotton gloves:


Bessa_R3A_Neopan1600_01_004 von thomas.78 auf Flickr

Enlarged:


Fasern2 von thomas.78 auf Flickr

I already tried to clean the scanner board and the negatives with a lens cloth and activate "dust reduction" at the scanning software, but it does not give me satisfying results.

So I have some questions:

- What kind of gloves can I use the keep my film away from the grease and sweat of my hand without producing small fibres and spread them all arount the film and the scanning board while handling the film

- How can I efficently clean my negatives from dust and cotton fibre

- How can my scaning software support me to get nice scans



Could you please give me some hints how to improve the quality of my scans?


P.S.: It seems to me that I have much more problem with black and white film than with colour.
 
Thomas78 said:
1 - How can my scaning software support me to get nice scans
2 - How can I efficently clean my negatives from dust and cotton fibre
Click to expand...

Answering in reverse order:

1) ICE works only with C41, for example Kodak BW400CN. It's not usable for normal B+W film, the only way I know is via manual cloning in PS or similar. Anything automatic available will also delete small highlights, etc., it doesn't "know" the difference between dust and object.

2) Wash with distilled water, dry in a clean room, touch as little as possible and blow with compressed air prior to scanning.

Roland.
 
First of all: Digital ICE (dust removal) doesn't work with regular b&w film. It only works on E6 and C-41 type emulsions.

Second: There's no way to completely remove dust unless you work in completely dust free environment. You can try using canned air to blow most of the dust off right before you insert the scanner holder but even then there will be some dost.

Your best bet is to just accept it and dust off (pun intended) your cloning tool skills in photoshop (or healing tool, if you have CS3 or above)
 
Static electricity is your enemy! It is no use to clean your negatives if dust is then attracted back onto it. I use the following products:
- anti-static gloves, which are nylon. I haven't noticed them loosing fibers.
- anti-static gun called 'Zerostat'. They are sold to DJ's to clean records.
- Ilford Antistaticum cloth.
- Giotto Rocket blower.
I find that they all help somewhat, but none will be effective enough on it's own. Used together, I get pretty decent result.
 
There is a useful book for Vuescan, The VueScan Bible: Everything You Need to Know for Perfect Scanning. Using Vuescan and studying this book should help you get the most from your scanner.

Quit using gloves and hold the negative by the edges. I use the rocket blower and a soft, wide camel's-hair brush to remove dust, etc.
 
I use Canned Air, and if I still see dust, I use a film Cleaner with PAX sheets with a little bit soaked on a folded sheet..
 
...another way of looking at it would be to touch your negatives as little as possible (wiping, cleaning, etc) and just clamp it in, use air and just edit them out. If you're wiping with clothes and brushes you risk scratching them, which is way worse to remedy than a couple specs of dust. PS has a spotting/healing tool that's makes it pretty quick. That coupled with the cloning tool will do all you need to clean up your images. I know it's a pain, but if we're talking about select images for your portfolio, the extra effort is worth it versus the risk of ruining an negative of an image you may never be able to duplicate again.

If you get a stop watch and time how long it takes you to remove ALL the dust from a negative and weigh it against the time it would take to spot a few of them out, I think you'd be pretty much on par and not take the risk of damage.
 
I clean the glass on my Nikon 8000ED neg carrier (I use the glass rotating carrier for all my scans) with cotton balls and 70% alcohol. Rub a cotton ball with a few drops of alcohol on the glass, then use a clean ball to dry it, and a second clean ball to remove the last bit of reside. Repeat for all the glass surfaces, top and bottom of each glass! Then I blow the glass clean with canned air and close the carrier while I prepare the film. I blow both sides of the film with canned air, quickly open the carrier and put in the film and close it. I work as fast as I can so no dust can land inside while its open. I rarely get much dust on my scans.
 
I don't have *that* much problem with dust, and I use bare hands, and if I need to blow off dust, I use my mouth. It's very low tech, and maybe my standards are low, but it works for me.

I've tried this:

http://alphatracks.com/archives/134

Not needed it much, but when I did, it was miraculous.
 
Hi Thomas78,

apart from all the good advice already given, search for "Polaroid Dust and Scratch Removal". That's a tiny tool for free - quite old, quite tricky in use (you have to play around a bit with its four parameters - I don't understand them in depth even after years of use ...), but very helpful if you have to deal with a lot of tiny spots. Not that helpful, however, with bigger dust and scratches since you risk to clean away all your small highligths, too (eyes look quite spooky afterwards). Anyway, I use it a lot for old dusty negatives as a kind of first aid kit, healing most of the wounds.

Last advice from a perfectionist: don't be over perfectionistic. Your scans need not be cleaner than your printer or lab is able to reproduce. Photos have to be watched from a proper distance, like other works of art, not microscoped.

Cheers, Robert
 
CNNY said:
Static electricity is your enemy! It is no use to clean your negatives if dust is then attracted back onto it. I use the following products:
- anti-static gloves, which are nylon. I haven't noticed them loosing fibers.
- anti-static gun called 'Zerostat'. They are sold to DJ's to clean records.
- Ilford Antistaticum cloth.
- Giotto Rocket blower.
I find that they all help somewhat, but none will be effective enough on it's own. Used together, I get pretty decent result.
Click to expand...

I've found this to be true as well. My negatives get very static-y and attract a lot of dust because of that. The environment I work in has a compressed air gun built into the building which is handy for getting rid of dust but does not work wonderfully. I've found that wiping down the (dry) negative works best, it is still certainly possible to scratch the emulsion or leave fingerprints so you have to be careful.
 
My vote -

I have been using an antistatic brush and canned air with good results.

I also tried using PEC cloth and cleaning solution on the negative, but all that did was to spread the fuzz around. I now use that to clean the scanner glass (and occasional water spot on the film).

Randy
 
patrickjames said:
They sell all kinds of crap for this, but the simplest way I have found is to get a large microfiber for a quick wipe of the glass of your scanner (assuming here that you have a flatbed) and a small microfiber of the type you clean lenses with for the negative. Wipe gently. If there are any water spots or other marks, use 91% isopropyl alcohol on the microfiber while holding the neg down on a clean surface and wiping in one direction only. I never use canned air. All it does is stir the air around where you are working so other dust will make an appearance.
Click to expand...

I have a dedicated scanner, and I always walk away from my work area and turn my back, when I use it.... With a Flatbed, you are right, canned air is not the best solution ..An Anti-Static cloth on the glass is the best... to remove any static on the glass that will attract dust.
 
I use a Nikon Coolscan V ED and have long since accepted that dust marks are part of the picture, so to speak, when scanning BW.

I wipe the negs with the cloth I use to clean my lenses and that reduces the amount of dust somewhat.

But you know what really helps? Using a Bamboo tablet when cloning etc in Photoshop. Perhaps you already do. If not I can highly recommend it over using a mouse. It is very much faster.

Cheers
Philip
 
Ever tried surgical gloves, or the gloves nurses use in hospitals ?

You buy them cheap in a box of 100 or so. They are light, you still have some feeling in your fingers, no dust or fibers, ...

Stefan.
 
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