Digital BW, The Print

Saturday, December 20, 2003, 3:11:43 PM, you wrote:

s> I have the Nikon Coolscan IV version 3.1.2 (driver)
s> I'm using a PC with Windows XP.
s> Digital ICE is turned OFF.

s> My problem is when scanning black & white negatives the scans come
s> out with a dark band (as much as a 1cm width when viewing the
s> preview images) that spills from the outer edge onto both short ends
s> of the frame, as if too much light was reaching that part of the
s> frame or something.

s> I am choosing Monochrome Neg and Grayscale when scanning.  The dark
s> bands appear in the small          s, previews, and actual scans.

s> As I crop when I shoot, the edges of my images are very important to
s> me.  I cannot afford to crop out this darkened edge.

s> This problem does not happen with slides or color negative film.

s> Can anyone help?

I use the same gear and have exactly the same problem.  It seems to be
mechanical, in that the negs are not "centered" in the scanning field.  It
is extremely annoying.

I eject the negative strip, and reinsert, sometimes inserting the other end
of the strip.  What is baffling is that it is not a consistent problem
either in when it happens, or to the degree of how much of the scan is
effected.

I assumed that my unit might be a lemon or just plain "broken" (I bought it
sight unseen on-line "used").  Hearing that another user has the same
problem I am somewhat reassured that this is a problem with our technique or
inherent flaw in design.

I'd be interested in any off-line responses you might receive.

best of luck
Jack McLain
Tucson, AZ
http://jackmclain-photography.dotcommunity.net