scan good - print has marks

[njh411]

Hi
i had a film negative scanned, it looked fine, no issues. I sent it off for a darkroom print 8x10 ilford fb paper. when it came back it had 2 fine marks on it. I checked the neg with a magnify glass and could see the marks.
personally if i was printing this i would inform the client and not just print it and send it, but thats me.
i dont understand how the scan could be good but the print show the fine lines. is this normal ? is it difficult to get a print that is free of markings, carless handling etc ?

let me know what you think please, are my expectations too high ?

 

[znapper]

Was this b&w or color ?
Color-scans may have automatic Ice applied.

Ice does not work on monochrome, but other automatic dust/speck removal tools may have been applied to the scans.

A wet print is normally prepared by blowing dust off the negative, but other marks may not go away, then you need to spot the print itself.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Usually if you send a lab a digital image (including a scan of film), they do not do any retouching. Its assumed that you prepared the file and fixed any defects; they will do it if you ask, but will charge you for it.

 

[taylan]

As a darkroom printer, I would say that they could not inform you. We are seeing that kind of minor spots after printing. Thus it is almost impossible to know it before. Nevertheless if these marks are small and just two, they should spot them.

 

[njh411]

not sure if you can see this , but here is a zoom in of the print

 

[taylan]

It looks like some kind of scratch or emulsion problem. That kind of spotting is a little hard. It is darker then it use to be. So firstly they should scratch it then spot it. It takes some time and will not look good especially glossy papers. I would prefer to do noting 😀 😛

not sure if you can see this , but here is a zoom in of the print

 

[willie_901]

Did you have the opportunity to examine the scanned image in detail?

If those artifacts were not on the negatives, they must have been generated during the scanning process.

These would be trivial to repair with simple image processing software before the image is printed. This tedious and it is easy to miss something.

 

[froyd]

Willie and Chris,

I think there's some confusion here. I believe the OP had the following distinct processes done: 1- a scan, 2- a WET print from the negative, not a print form the scan.

If my understanding is correct, the OP should provide the detail requested in post #2: was the film C41 or silver based? The scan could have been edited digitally before delivery to the client, either automatically via ICE for C41 or even with spotting/cloning if the scanning service inclides this option.

Since the spots and lines are visible on the negative, it's no surprise they turned out on the print if the printer did not offer a special retouching service.

 

[njh411]

Thanks mate, but they are prints from negatives. the scans are only used as a kind of digital contact sheet. Perhaps thats where i went wrong.

 

[njh411]

Did you have the opportunity to examine the scanned image in detail?

If those artifacts were not on the negatives, they must have been generated during the scanning process.

These would be trivial to repair with simple image processing software before the image is printed. This tedious and it is easy to miss something.

I looked at the neg after i got the print back and yes has the marks.....the scan i got done before i sent to printer and the scan has no marks. maybe the scan software cleaned the marks off the scan. i think using scanns as a contact sheet is not a good idea.

 

[njh411]

Willie and Chris,

I think there's some confusion here. I believe the OP had the following distinct processes done: 1- a scan, 2- a WET print from the negative, not a print form the scan.

If my understanding is correct, the OP should provide the detail requested in post #2: was the film C41 or silver based? The scan could have been edited digitally before delivery to the client, either automatically via ICE for C41 or even with spotting/cloning if the scanning service inclides this option.

Since the spots and lines are visible on the negative, it's no surprise they turned out on the print if the printer did not offer a special retouching service.

for me i would not deliver the print and take money for a print in this condition, so i was dissapointed in this regard. I think the lesson i have learnt out of this is to find a way to check the negative is good before sending to darkroom printing. The only way i can think is a contact sheet. not a good idea to use a digital scan to check.