My technique to eliminate dust from B&W scans

[mauro_franic]

<p>I hear people complaining all the time about having to clone out all the dust specs after scanning B&W film. The matter worsens if using a glass holder.</p>

<p>This is my technique to deal with dust (both on the film and on the holder).<br>

1- Scan the film<br>

2- Wipe the film thorughly (dry only since wet can deform it)<br>

3- Slightly offset the position on the holder<br>

4- Scan again<br>

5- Align both scans on different layers in Photoshop (very easy using Difference merge)<br>

6- Set the merge to darken</p>

<p>This eliminates 100% of the dust on the glass holder even if you don't wip the film.<br>

This eliminate almost 100% of the dust on the film if you wipe it well.<br>

This does not eliminate scratches.</p>

<p>Enjoy.</p>

[mauro_franic]

<p>If the film has stains or stuck dirt, wash it and let dry before all the above.</p>

[timothygrayphoto]

<p>Interesting approach - I'll have to give it a try. though I don't have much give in my current setup to offset.<br>

My technique is a little bit different, but here in the spirit of sharing here it is:</p>

<ol>

<li>Clean film using PEC-12</li>

<li>Clean carrier glass(dry scan) & scanner bed using an appropriate solution. I use one by Calumet.</li>

<li>Check the negative for dust using either a lightbox or full spectrum lamp.</li>

<li>Optional - if dust remains brush gently using Kinetronics antistatic brush or similar.</li>

</ol>

<p>Regular maintenance to minimize dust in the scanning environment:</p>

<ol>

<li>Put a dust cover on the scanner when not in use</li>

<li>Vacuum the office/studio/scanning station on a regular basis</li>

<li>Limit use of ceiling fans during scanning</li>

<li>Optional - if dust is unusually problematic, use ionizer or similar HEPA air purifier to keep dust down.</li>

</ol>

<p> </p>

[mauro_franic]

<p>Timothy, what scanner do you use?</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Cute trick. Maybe I'll have to give it a try.</p>

<p>I've just decided that the best way for either color or B&W is simply to clean the negatives with soft brush and blower very carefully before scanning and then manually "spot" the scan. I have never had much luck with the automatic dust reduction techniques (on a variety of scanners), which seem to me, at least, to introduce artifacts in the images that are worse than the dust (unsharpness, especially, but not only).</p>

[mauro_franic]

<p>You can use it for spotting too with a layer mask.</p>

[dangoldman]

<p>I usally hit my film with a blower bulb a couple times then put it in the scanner... Usually dont have to do too much work. ICE works ok for me on my scanner for E6 and C41, but BW is obviously out and i dont think Kodachrome stands up to it too well.</p>

[mauro_franic]

<p>Kodachrome is fine with the Coolscan 9000. If you don't have to use/clean a glass holder, keeping the film neat is not too bad.</p>

[timothygrayphoto]

<p>Mauro: I use an Epson V750-M Pro with custom cut ANR inside the supplied 120/220 holder.</p>

[Dave Luttmann]

<p>Neat idea. I'll give it a try.</p>

[marc_bergman1]

<p>"2- Wipe the film thorughly (dry only since wet can deform it)"</p>

<p>So wet film cleaners are bad?</p>

[timothygrayphoto]

<blockquote>

 

<p><em>"2- Wipe the film thorughly (dry only since wet can deform it)"</em><br>

<em>So wet film cleaners are bad?</em></p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>I have no idea what this means. I use Pec-12 film cleaner (which is wet) and have had no problems.</p>

 

[mauro_franic]

<p>Marc and Tim,</p>

<p>Wet cleanning or even washing the film is all good. You just need to do it before the workflow I posted as you are superimposing 2 of the same images and you don't want to alter their size even at a microscopic level.</p>