scratched negs: cause

[dadsm3]

Hello: I've just started scanning some negs from my lab and they're all scratched. When I contacted them they said they see some more on some other films I have being developed now, but it's not happening with films from other customers. My prints from them are fine, but they said they have auto scratch detection and repair.....
I did use some really cheap Fuji Provia for this....hopefully defective or dirty felt. Funny the scratches are on an angle, if it were my pressure plate on the M6 wouldn't the scratches be straight? Obviously I don't know whether they were caused when advancing the film or rewinding....but there's another fainter scratch at her neck that's at a different angle than the main one.
Anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[kbg32]

Are the scratches in the same place on every roll?

 

[dadsm3]

yes....seems new ones as well...

 

[JohnM]

My guess is that the lab was a little careless - one particular lab used to scratch my negatives regularly. Had to switch to another.

 

[oftheherd]

My guess is that the lab was a little careless - one particular lab used to scratch my negatives regularly. Had to switch to another.

That would be my first guess too. Especially since the scratches are on a diagonal. That would be hard to duplicate in camera. Although truthfully, I am not sure how they would do that in the lab either, considering they should be doing it by machine also. However, if you have ever watched some of the places like Walmart, and the operators aren't careful, you won't wonder why they would have automatic scratch detection and removal. 😕

Try another lab and see if that cures the problem. If so, you have your answer.

 

[kbg32]

I would clean the camera out with some compressed air. If you roll your own film, make sure you blow out the cassttes as well. Plastic negative pages can scratch film if you're not careful. Handle your negs with cotton gloves. Could be the lab and they're passing the buck on to you. Try anoher lab and see what happens.

What scanner are you using at home?

 

[dadsm3]

Km Scan Dual IV......scanning other negs from diff cam now....I f inconclusive I'll whip over there and pick up my new negs, one set from the M6 and another from the M3, that should determine who's to blame.....

 

[kbg32]

Good luck!

 

[pesphoto]

Speaking from experience with labs, If it turns out to be the lab's fault they will do everything to make you believe the problem is in your camera or soemthing else you did. It's never them, unless it's an obvious situation. Good luck finding the culprit.

 

[kully]

I've noticed a huge improvement (scratch and cleanliness wise) since I stopped getting prints at the same time as developing and just got the negs for scanning.

But you don't seem to be in the same boat.

 

[Silva Lining]

On the first pic there are two major scratches that are non parallel, that is they are moving away from each other as you progress from left to right. These would lead me to suggest two seperate scratch making items, OR that the thing that made the scratch was dragged across the film twice each time at a slightly different angle.

On the second pic the effect is similar but not as pronounced. however the scratch is undulating in an 'on/off/on/off' fashion as if the item causing the scratch juddered or bounced across the film due to friction.

My first choice of culprit would be a pair of film squeegies as these can cause the undulating scratch pattern as they pass across the surface of the film, alhtough I can't imagine your lab would use them. On the second pic the scratch starts halfway across the neg , which seems odd for a permanent in camera issue and again suggests something like a squeegy.

To me the scratch appear to have been made by something travelling from left to right, which if it happend in camera would suggest during rewinding (?)

 

[John]

I have a similar scratch going on here;
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=28061

I am assuming this is from lab handling because the other 6 strips from the same roll do not have it? 🙂

 

[dmr]

Possibly stupid question here. Are you sure it's really scratches, or is it something that will come off with H2O and a cotton ball?

Last fall I had what at first appeared to be a horizontal scratch on a negative. Looking closer, it was a very thin line of something opaque, which caused the white "scratch" and it came off with a little H2O. I blamed the lab, but at the time I was not returning the exposed cartridges to the canisters, as I do now, and it may have been a piece of crud of some kind (I surmised a flake off of an eye pencil or something) that was wiped across the film when they loaded it into the processor via the felt.

 

[John]

Not a stupid question at all. I just wiped mine but they remain. Maybe next time though. 🙂

 

[dadsm3]

Just got back from my lab....she pretty well admitted to it; there's no way her auto scratch repair would have got rid of something that drastic, and her prints are nice....it must have happened after. Of course, she told me to blow out my camera and wipe down the pressure plate and any other contact points....but I don't see them on my new negs, and that's what's important. I'll be sure to remind her of careful handling in the future, and hopefully will post some decent 1812 battle shots later this eve. Thanks for input,
Mike

 

[Socke]

It could have happend when they sleeved the negs, that would account for the unscratched prints.