Cleaning Slides Before Scanning
Lisa Horton
which I use to gently wipe each slide. After loading them into the
carrier, I hit the slide with a spray can duster on both sides. I'm
in a very dusty environment (downwind from a huge construction site)
and this has taken care of most of the dust.
But I'm curious to see the other answers and see if I can improve my
method!
Lisa
Karl Swarzchild wrote:
>
> Greetings.
>
> I've just bought an Acer ScanWit 2720S film scanner. I would've
> preferred the 2740S, but I didn't have the $$$. Anyway, my new toy
> lacks the IR channel needed for a hardware-based dust & scratches
> filter. I have nearly 10,000 slides to sift through, some of which
> date back 40+ years, and many of which were not stored under ideal
> conditions. I know my way reasonably well around Adobe Photoshop,
> but the prospect of using the Clone tool to digitally remove dust/
> lint/smoke/hair/mold is enough to make me cry. There's no way I can
> do it all in software--certainly not in one human lifetime!
>
> What I need is advice on a hardware solution to my woes. Please
> advise on what sorts of brushes are available for cleaning slides.
> I also understand there's a special sort of anti-static brush made,
> but that there's some controversy connected with it. (Something about
> radiation? Is this correct? If so, how much radiation, and what kind?)
> I have heard that photographers also use various fluids to wash crud
> off of their film. What chemicals are these? Are they safe for humans
> to be near? Will they damage my slide mounts? Is using compressed
> air worth the trouble? After going to such lengths to clean my film
> before scanning, should I store it someplace other than the Kodak
> carousel trays they've been in? Aside from frequent vacuuming, what
> else can I do to help keep my scanning/computer room free of airborne
> garbage as I perform all of this scan work?
>
> This is my first experience with a film scanner. I now see that 2700
> dpi will detect everything I want from the film, plus everything that I
> *don't* want to see! Perhaps even more than tips on kinds/brands/prices
> of cleaning devices, etc., I could use help with proper techniques for
> using them. If I'm gonna do this much scanning, I have to get started
> on the right foot. TIA.
>
> Karl
> --
> To email me, remove the black hole.
>
Mike Farrell
>I know my way reasonably well around Adobe Photoshop,
>but the prospect of using the Clone tool to digitally remove dust/
>lint/smoke/hair/mold is enough to make me cry.
No matter how well you clean your slides, if your scanner doesn't have
an image-cleaning (e.g., Digital ICE) feature, you're going to have to
clone away a few specks of dust and other imperfections.
> What I need is advice on a hardware solution to my woes. Please
>advise on what sorts of brushes are available for cleaning slides.
Any VERY soft brush will work. However, I don't like using brushes
(see below).
>I also understand there's a special sort of anti-static brush made,
>but that there's some controversy connected with it. (Something about
>radiation? Is this correct? If so, how much radiation, and what kind?)
Yes, there is an anti-static brush that consists of a regular soft
brush with a piece of radioactive material (polonium, if I remember
correctly) in the handle to dissipate the static electricity. The
radiation isn't enough to be harmful.
I have never used one of these brushes and I've heard from some people
that they're great and from others that they are useless.
>I have heard that photographers also use various fluids to wash crud
>off of their film. What chemicals are these? Are they safe for humans
>to be near? Will they damage my slide mounts?
There are several emulsion-cleaning solutions on the market, probably
the best known of which is called PEC-12. It's safe to be around, but
I wouldn't recommend drinking it. :-)
If you're going to use a fluid to clean slides, you need to remove the
film from the mount prior to cleaning. If your slides are mounted in
cardboard, the mounts will be destroyed by the fluid and if they're in
plastic mounts, the solution will be drawn between the mount and the
film edges and will be hard to clean up. I recommend remounting in
Pakon Pro Mounts -- these plastic mounts are quite inexpensive and
it's easy to insert the film by hand using the little tool that comes
with them.
>Is using compressed
>air worth the trouble?
I think so. It's the easiest way to clean slides that aren't DIRTY but
do have a little dust on them. And whereas brushes simply push the
crud to the sides of the picture, compressed air will blow it into
oblivion.
And using compressed air doesn't have to be a lot of trouble. Cans of
propellant (usually tetrafluoroethane) are available from most photo
and office supply stores. These aren't very economical compared to a
compressor-air filter-nozzle setup, but they're easy to obtain and
use. Just be very careful not to allow the propellant in liquid form
to come into contact with your film. (This will be explained on the
can.)
When you're using compressed air to clean a slide, it works best to
aim the air stream across the surface of the film, rather than
perpendicular to it. That way the dust will be carried off the film
with the least effort.
>After going to such lengths to clean my film
>before scanning, should I store it someplace other than the Kodak
>carousel trays they've been in?
As long as you keep the lids on the boxes, you shouldn't have much of
a problem. Of course you'll have to dust the slides before you scan
them next time, but they're not going to get really dirty as long as
they're stored properly.
I keep my slides in Logan group file boxes -- a double-decker box
holds about 1,200 slides in groups of 20 in about the same amount of
space as two Carousel boxes.
>Aside from frequent vacuuming, what
>else can I do to help keep my scanning/computer room free of airborne
>garbage as I perform all of this scan work?
Be sure that your vacuum isn't putting more dust in the air than it's
taking out.
Really, you don't have to keep the room where you'll be scanning
super-clean. Just as long as the slides and any surfaces on which you
set them down are clean, you shouldn't have any major problems.
> This is my first experience with a film scanner. I now see that 2700
>dpi will detect everything I want from the film, plus everything that I
>*don't* want to see! Perhaps even more than tips on kinds/brands/prices
>of cleaning devices, etc., I could use help with proper techniques for
>using them. If I'm gonna do this much scanning, I have to get started
>on the right foot. TIA.
I hope I've been of some help. If you have any further questions, feel
free to e-mail me.
--
Mike Farrell -- <farre...@altavista.net>
Peter Wear
find that negs give more satisfactory results and better subsequent prints? I
suspect there may be a lot of us with long-term slide galleries, and a long-time
slide shooting habit, who want to stick with our 35 mm. cameras, film stocks and
the unbeatable joy of projection, but would like to go digital for cataloguing,
archiving and printing. But does the contrast latitude of slides work against
this as a realistic solution? Does a neg shot side by side with a transparency
produce a better scan and print every time?
Peter Wear
Tony Spadaro wrote:
> I wish I could report that the anti-static brushes will make your life
> easier - but they never did much for mine. I use a soft (camel hair)
> artist's brush of about one inch width to brush the loose junk off slides. I
> used to use one of those radioactive source brushes and found it was pretty
> much as ineffective as the others. I gave it away before I started glowing
> green.
> For any more serious cleaning I recommend scanning first - then if
> anything goes wrong you will have the scan.
> PEC is the only film cleaner I have found that actually does any good. I use
> it in conjunction with PEC wipes and Q-tips. Some will say Q-tips leave
> cotton embedded in the emulsion. I have not found this to be true, and it is
> the only product I've found that really is all that effective.
> If you have fungus on slides - I leave such slides alone. The fungus eats
> the emulsion, frequently leaving clear film when you clean it off.
> I would never have started on my old slides without ICE. There simply
> isn't enough of life left to do some of them. From the links page of The
> Camera-ist's Manifesto you can get to my ICE demo page. You can also link to
> Dark Alley where there are a couple articles on scanning - mostly under
> "Photoshop Tips". There is also a link to Wayne Fulton's scan tips site.
>
> --
> Tony (the gimp) Spadaro
> http://tspadaro.homestead.com/ArtShow.html
> Chapel Hill artist and author of
> The Camera-ist's Manifesto
> http://home.nc.rr.com/tspadaro/
> a Radical approach to photography
Mike Farrell
>Without taking this too far off thread, do those scanning slides and negatives
>find that negs give more satisfactory results and better subsequent prints? I
>suspect there may be a lot of us with long-term slide galleries, and a long-time
>slide shooting habit, who want to stick with our 35 mm. cameras, film stocks and
>the unbeatable joy of projection, but would like to go digital for cataloguing,
>archiving and printing. But does the contrast latitude of slides work against
>this as a realistic solution? Does a neg shot side by side with a transparency
>produce a better scan and print every time?
In a word, no. It all depends on the film, the scanner, the software,
the post-scan editing, the final output device and, most importantly,
the user. I am usually able to get better scans from transparencies
than negatives, but I've heard the exact opposite from many users.
Qualifier: I don't have much experience with making prints from scans.
When I need to make a color print I do it the "wet" way because I
don't own a color printer but I do have access to color enlargers and
RA-4 and Ilfochrome print processors. However, I would imagine that
the quality of an inkjet/Lightjet/Pegasus/whatever-they-come-up-
with-next print has more to do with the post-scan editing than with
the original film stock.
Malcolm Stewart
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK
"Tony Spadaro" <tspa...@ncmaps.rr.com> wrote in message
news:9MUm6.2317$sd6.2...@typhoon.southeast.rr.com...
snip
> I would never have started on my old slides without ICE. There
simply
> isn't enough of life left to do some of them. From the links page of
The
> Camera-ist's Manifesto you can get to my ICE demo page. You can also
link to
> Dark Alley where there are a couple articles on scanning - mostly
under
> "Photoshop Tips". There is also a link to Wayne Fulton's scan tips
site.
snip
Paul Ferrara
need to replace the cartridge every so often. That and/or compressed air is
about all I ever need. But Edwal makes a product called Anti-stat that you
should be able to get anywhere darkroom supplies are sold.
Paul
Karl Swarzchild <ergos...@BLACKHOLEsnip.net> wrote in message
news:1ephtzi.1u0...@sarc2a116.snip.net...
> Greetings.
>
>
> I've just bought an Acer ScanWit 2720S film scanner. I would've
> preferred the 2740S, but I didn't have the $$$. Anyway, my new toy
> lacks the IR channel needed for a hardware-based dust & scratches
> filter. I have nearly 10,000 slides to sift through, some of which
> date back 40+ years, and many of which were not stored under ideal
> conditions. I know my way reasonably well around Adobe Photoshop,
> but the prospect of using the Clone tool to digitally remove dust/
> lint/smoke/hair/mold is enough to make me cry. There's no way I can
> do it all in software--certainly not in one human lifetime!
>
> What I need is advice on a hardware solution to my woes. Please
> advise on what sorts of brushes are available for cleaning slides.
> I also understand there's a special sort of anti-static brush made,
> but that there's some controversy connected with it. (Something about
> radiation? Is this correct? If so, how much radiation, and what kind?)
> I have heard that photographers also use various fluids to wash crud
> off of their film. What chemicals are these? Are they safe for humans
> to be near? Will they damage my slide mounts? Is using compressed
> air worth the trouble? After going to such lengths to clean my film
> before scanning, should I store it someplace other than the Kodak
> carousel trays they've been in? Aside from frequent vacuuming, what
> else can I do to help keep my scanning/computer room free of airborne
> garbage as I perform all of this scan work?
>
> This is my first experience with a film scanner. I now see that 2700
> dpi will detect everything I want from the film, plus everything that I
> *don't* want to see! Perhaps even more than tips on kinds/brands/prices
> of cleaning devices, etc., I could use help with proper techniques for
> using them. If I'm gonna do this much scanning, I have to get started
> on the right foot. TIA.
>
>
Jim Davis
wrote:
>At the suggestion of a local lab, I got an Ilford Antistaticum cloth,
>which I use to gently wipe each slide. After loading them into the
>carrier, I hit the slide with a spray can duster on both sides. I'm
>in a very dusty environment (downwind from a huge construction site)
>and this has taken care of most of the dust.
>
>But I'm curious to see the other answers and see if I can improve my
>method!
>
>Lisa
Lisa, the Ilford anti static cloth is excellent. Just keep it
clean and in the bag when not in use. You don't even need to touch the
surface to get effective anti static help. The shots of canned air
really help too. You won't find a more effective dust removal method,
keep doing it.
One thing never forget to do is: always brush all strokes in
the same direction. That is, on the reverse side, stroke the same
direction. Otherwise, it negates the first stroke. You might
experiment to find out which orientation works best for your scanner.
One direction might be more effective than the opposite, but I'd
suggest stroking in the opposite direction of insertion for starters.
webpage: http://www.kjsl.com/~jbdavis/
Tony Polson
> Greetings.
>
>
> I've just bought an Acer ScanWit 2720S film scanner. I would've
> preferred the 2740S, but I didn't have the $$$. Anyway, my new toy
> lacks the IR channel needed for a hardware-based dust & scratches
> filter. I have nearly 10,000 slides to sift through, some of which
> date back 40+ years, and many of which were not stored under ideal
> conditions. I know my way reasonably well around Adobe Photoshop,
> but the prospect of using the Clone tool to digitally remove dust/
> lint/smoke/hair/mold is enough to make me cry. There's no way I can
> do it all in software--certainly not in one human lifetime!
>
> What I need is advice on a hardware solution to my woes. Please
> advise on what sorts of brushes are available for cleaning slides.
I am very susceptible to static electricity and have always had problems
with static dust, whether with vinyl records or with film. I use a
Zerostat anti-static pistol which applies a charge of one polarity and
then removes it with another of the opposite polarity. I also use an
aerosol can of gas to blow off dust.. The can is intended for photo use.
In nearly all cases the combination of the Zerostat pistol and can of
gas removes all the dust.
> Aside from frequent vacuuming, what
> else can I do to help keep my scanning/computer room free of airborne
> garbage as I perform all of this scan work?
Try a room ioniser. Negative ions help precipitate dust from the air.
--
Tony Polson
Lisa Horton
Seriously, this makes a difference? I had no idea. I've actually
been wiping back and then forth before dusting, so it sounds like I'm
not getting full benefit from the cloth. Thanks for the tip!
Lisa
Bill Tuthill
When Costco, whom I no longer patronize, left lots of dust on my negatives, I
resorted to a brush (also provided by H/P) then the blower bulb. The blower
bulb is great because nothing touches your film. Canned air is too forceful,
and contains slime if you shake it accidentally beforehand.
In rec.photo.film+labs Peter Wear <pw...@powerup.com.au> wrote:
> Without taking this too far off thread, do those scanning slides and negatives
> find that negs give more satisfactory results and better subsequent prints?
Both are fine, but each has limitations. With negatives you can scan right
to the edge of every frame. You can't do this without taking a slide out
of its mount. Slides are generally less dusty when first processed, but much
dustier in the long run, especially if projected and left in a carousel or
tray. Plastic sleeves keep negatives clean.
> But does the contrast latitude of slides work against this as a realistic
> solution? Does a neg shot side by side with a transparency produce a better
> scan and print every time?
Depends what you want. My friend Andy has been shooting whitewater kayaking
photos with Provia 100F, and I've been using Supra 400 or 800. It's evident
that Supra retains more simultaneous detail than Provia F in bright foamy
whitewater and shadowy rock cliffs or forests. However Provia F is less
grainy than Supra 800, and looks better on the lighttable. ;-)
Kirk
ergos...@BLACKHOLEsnip.net says...
> Greetings.
>
>
> I've just bought an Acer ScanWit 2720S film scanner. I would've
> preferred the 2740S, but I didn't have the $$$. Anyway, my new toy
> lacks the IR channel needed for a hardware-based dust & scratches
> filter. I have nearly 10,000 slides to sift through, some of which
> date back 40+ years, and many of which were not stored under ideal
> conditions. I know my way reasonably well around Adobe Photoshop,
> but the prospect of using the Clone tool to digitally remove dust/
> lint/smoke/hair/mold is enough to make me cry. There's no way I can
> do it all in software--certainly not in one human lifetime!
>
> What I need is advice on a hardware solution to my woes. Please
> advise on what sorts of brushes are available for cleaning slides.
> but that there's some controversy connected with it. (Something about
> radiation? Is this correct? If so, how much radiation, and what kind?)
> I have heard that photographers also use various fluids to wash crud
> off of their film. What chemicals are these? Are they safe for humans
> to be near? Will they damage my slide mounts? Is using compressed
> air worth the trouble? After going to such lengths to clean my film
> before scanning, should I store it someplace other than the Kodak
> else can I do to help keep my scanning/computer room free of airborne
> garbage as I perform all of this scan work?
>
> dpi will detect everything I want from the film, plus everything that I
> *don't* want to see! Perhaps even more than tips on kinds/brands/prices
> of cleaning devices, etc., I could use help with proper techniques for
> using them. If I'm gonna do this much scanning, I have to get started
> on the right foot. TIA.
>
>
> Karl
> --
> To email me, remove the black hole.
>
>
While enlarging, I've used Ilford Antistaticum for a couple of decades
and like it a lot. I've tried the polonium antistatic brushes and
haven't found them as effective.
Something else, though, that worked well was an antistatic gun that
was sold in record stores in the pre-CD days. You can probably still
find them in some shops, and perhaps in Radio Shack. But you can't
have mine.
Generally I give a negative a couple of shots with the antistatic gun,
a couple of shots of canned air, some light rubs with the Ilford
cloth, then some rather firm rubs with the cloth. That normally does
it.
A benefit of enlarging is that you can then hold the negative at an
angle under the lens and illuminate any remaining dust mote brightly,
then remove each one with a flick of a fingernail.
--
Kirk
Experience is the best teacher...
But her pop quizzes can be mighty tough.
Mark Bergman
a new cartridge. Where do you find them?
"Paul Ferrara" <pa...@nospam.columbusoft.com> wrote in message
news:97hep...@news2.newsguy.com...
Alan Browne
1) Handle slides (or negatives) with an antistatic cloth lying on the
table.
(Ilford "Antistaticum" (orange)) is the one I use.) Don't bother
wiping the slides with the cloth: will scratch the emulsion (actually dust
will scratch the emulsion as driven by the dust).
2) Gently blow on the slides while gently brushing with a camel hair brush
as it lies on the antistatic cloth.
That's it.
Every once in a while "snap" the anti static cloth to bump off the
accumlated dust.
Store the antistatic cloth in the bag that it came in..
There are cans of high pressure air as well. BEWARE: if you tilt them too
far, the propelent will escape and permanently and violently destroy the
emulsion side of the slide if it get in contact with it. I don;t find the
high pressure air as effective as the gentle blowing and the camel hair
brush.
MO.
Alan
Karl Swarzchild wrote:
--
Lert's live longer.
Be A Lert.
Alan Browne
ICE.
Alan
Tony Spadaro wrote:
> I wish I could report that the anti-static brushes will make your life
> easier - but they never did much for mine. I use a soft (camel hair)
> artist's brush of about one inch width to brush the loose junk off slides. I
> used to use one of those radioactive source brushes and found it was pretty
> much as ineffective as the others. I gave it away before I started glowing
> green.
> For any more serious cleaning I recommend scanning first - then if
> anything goes wrong you will have the scan.
> PEC is the only film cleaner I have found that actually does any good. I use
> it in conjunction with PEC wipes and Q-tips. Some will say Q-tips leave
> cotton embedded in the emulsion. I have not found this to be true, and it is
> the only product I've found that really is all that effective.
> If you have fungus on slides - I leave such slides alone. The fungus eats
> the emulsion, frequently leaving clear film when you clean it off.
> I would never have started on my old slides without ICE. There simply
> isn't enough of life left to do some of them. From the links page of The
> Camera-ist's Manifesto you can get to my ICE demo page. You can also link to
> Dark Alley where there are a couple articles on scanning - mostly under
> "Photoshop Tips". There is also a link to Wayne Fulton's scan tips site.
>
> --
> Tony (the gimp) Spadaro
> http://tspadaro.homestead.com/ArtShow.html
> Chapel Hill artist and author of
> The Camera-ist's Manifesto
> http://home.nc.rr.com/tspadaro/
> a Radical approach to photography
--
Tony Spadaro
instead of the NikonScan software I do get better grain and colour - just
not up to slide quality on my scanner though. Theoretically print film is
better for those scanning, but in practice I've done much better off
slides - I am also00 a lifelong slide shooter and that may have something to
do with it.
--
Tony (the gimp) Spadaro
http://tspadaro.homestead.com/ArtShow.html
Chapel Hill artist and author of
The Camera-ist's Manifesto
http://home.nc.rr.com/tspadaro/
a Radical approach to photography
"Peter Wear" <pw...@powerup.com.au> wrote in message
news:3A9C1B1C...@powerup.com.au...
Tony Spadaro
forums that other shave not either. I assume there is a reason why Nikon
recommends against it, but I'm dimmed if I know it.
Kodachromes do tend to scan "blue" and there is not a single quick
correction for it, each slide is unique (for me) so it does take a lot
longer to scan them.
Fred Miles
They are made by NRD, Inc. in Grand Island, NY at 800-525-8076
Regards,
Fred
"Mark Bergman" <mb5...@navix.net> wrote in message
news:97hndt$o3k$1...@iac5.navix.net...
Tom
I like the canned air for some of the stuff that won't go away with the
soft blower action of the bulb/brush and I'd rather not use the brush on
old slides.
____AND____
He sure is right about gettin some of the liquid out of the can and onto
your slides!!! Instant disaster.
Tom
Alan Browne
Cheers,
Alan
Tony Spadaro wrote:
--
Tony Spadaro
Alan Browne
Netscape's newsreader (Communicator) is the best basic reader there
is... (IMO)
Cheers,
Alan
Tony Spadaro wrote:
--
Peter Leyenaar
Swarzchild) wrote:
For really dirty slides I use "Anti-stat " film cleaner
It states on the label that it contains Isopropyl alcohol
I tried it on a slide that I wouldn't keep and the liquid
didn't do any damage, I cleaned some dirty slides and obtained
reasonable results, although it didn't clean the slides completely
I bought this film cleaner in one of the local photography stores.
It is made by Edwal,Falon safety products, Branchburg NJ 08876
Hope this helps,Peter
Russell
Im just being an arse :-) good luck!
Russ.
Tony Spadaro wrote in message ...
Lisa Horton
Lisa