Digital BW, The Print

> > From: tynmansystems@...
> > Subject: Film scanning and scratches
> >
<snip>
> > My question is: is there something inherent in film scanners that
> > magnifies film scratches? I have seen the dust and scratch removal
> > software (e.g. Nikon's Ice software) touted in scanner
> > advertisements, but assumed these would be necessary only for old,
> > mis-handled, damaged film. Is this scratch magnification an attribute
> > of film scanning that we just don't talk about in public, or is it
> > just me?
<snip>

Yes. If you use a scanner with a LED-type light source. This is the
equivalent of a collimated light enlarger. Scanners with diffuse light
sources (typically flat-beds with tube-light sources) are in my view similar
to diffusion enlargers which are easier to work with as they 'hide' dust
etc, but also tend to result in softer prints or scans.

It is a good scanners capability of picking up scratches that makes the
choice of who develops your film far more important, in my view... not just
with those pernicious little marks or scratches on the film from the machine
(+ watermarks etc), but also such simple things as do they follow your
instructions to cut film in a way you want? Like for slide film, labs tend
to cut in 8's - but my scanner takes 6's at most... so I ask for them to cut
in 6's and when they don't, I get mighty pissed off :) Simple stuff like
that can make a really big difference to scanning efficiency when you want
to thumbnail a film.

Nij