Lines in scans from Canon 8800F

[02Pilot]

OK, I'm coming to the conclusion that my scanner may not be long for this world, but I figured I'd see if anyone had any ideas. Canon 8800F flatbed. I'm getting a dark line in the same spot across all my scans; the thinner the negative, the more apparent the line.

I've read all the internet sources that say this is likely caused by dirt in the calibration area, so I went in to see if that was it. I cleaned both sides of the glass, including the white strip that I can only figure is the calibration area. On the advice of one post, I even taped a piece of white paper over the calibration area. I opened up the scan head and blew clean the internals (mirrors and what is presumably the sensor). None of these altered the situation whatsoever - the line is still there in exactly the same place. Everything is as clean as it can be. Should I assume this is a sensor fault and start shopping, or have I missed something?

 

[johannielscom]

Speck of debris on the scanning lamp? Might pull a shadow over the whole negative! I've seen it happen

 

[02Pilot]

I looked closely at it and I don't see anything, either with the internal lamp or an external one. I cannot, however, figure out how to get inside the lid (non-destructively) to inspect more closely.

 

[johnf04]

I have one of these - I get a line if I scan 35mm slides, or 6 x 6 negatives. It's caused by a mark on the lamp cover, made by the centre separator of the 35mm negative carrier - most of my scans are 35mm negatives.

 

[02Pilot]

Interesting, but I don't think my problem is the same; the location of the line is offset well to one side, and appears in both 35mm and 120 negatives.

Still, I really want to figure out how to open up the lid without destroying it. Even the Canon service manual doesn't say anything about it. I've removed the 5 screws from the underside, but everything still seems tightly joined together. I'm sure there are a bunch of plastic clips that have to be popped, but which way and in what sequence I'm not sure.

 

[xvvvz]

In case you didn't see my reply to your other post, it seems like you have done the most common fixes. If you can't get the line to move position by putting the scanner on its side at about a bit less than vertical, then tapping the scanner gently while you run the scanner through a scanning motion, you may have an issue that won't be a simple fix. I don't think the issue is due to something in the lid of the scanner. That most likely would not produce a sharp line in a scan.

Doug

 

[02Pilot]

I think I've solved it. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I actually physically cleaned the mirrors. I couldn't get to the sensor, so I left it alone; I doubted it was the source of the problem. The mirror cleaning didn't help, so I broke into the lid, which is a pain but in the end it's just a few screws and a lot of semi-fragile plastic clips. The diffusion glass wasn't bad, but the lamp had a ton of dust stuck to it. That cleaned off easily, and having done so, the lines seem to be gone.