Digital BW, The Print

A couple of ideas, one slightly expensive, the others not, but a little 
helpful.

First the issue of not running anything other than photoshop . . . couldn't 
agree more. Most of us have so much crap buried in the innards of our 
computers and we seem to forget about it, SO,  . . . consider going to one 
of the big box stores and buying another "low-end" computer . . . $500-600 
ought to do it. Then put all the junk from your present computer on the 
cheapo unit (with the exception of your image-editing-manipulating programs) 
. Wipe your disc entirely on your present computer . . . don't argue, just 
do it . . . you will be presently surprised at how fast your "old" computer 
is when you re-install just the operating system and photoshop. I have three 
computers, one is a desktop (4 years old) with only imaging tools and 1.5g 
of rambus (it is very, very fast), a laptop that follows me around like a 
faithful dog, and an old mac that holds the door open and sometimes plays 
games.

The dust? well, I scan 6x12 on a flatbed and sometimes use polaroid's dust 
removal tool (it is free from them), not the greatest widget in the world, 
but it is passable at times, and I use silverfast's tools. Otherwise, the 
same fastidiousnous that you would have excerised in the darkroom . . . keep 
the local humidity high . . . orchids help, because you need to keep them in 
a tray of stones with water, or one of those really, really, cool 
sooper-dooper zen, stoopid looking "ionic" lamps, you know, the ones with 
the vapour pouring all over your room and your karma (sheeesh!), and a cute 
trick I learned from one of America's best commercial shooters back in the 
day when we were all shooting everything on black plexi 'cause it looked so 
coooool . . . (plexi in a product shot is a nightmare because of the dust 
issue) . . . keep a very small fan (like those silly battery powered 
portable thingys you find stuck to hats or whatever . . . it needs to be a 
WEAK fan) just outside of your critical area. You won't eliminate all the 
dust with those techniques, but instead of twenty or thirty points to 
attack, you might only have four or five . . . a radical improvement.

Not a panacea for your problem, but some medication . . . take two with your 
meal and call me in the morning ;-))

good luck
Paul Aparycki