Scanning / curled neg strips: just got an Epson V850 scanner; 1st attempt at scanning 35 negs years ago resulted in 2 low a resolution when I sent negs to print labs; suggestions...

Ed Chu Loc: Las Vegas NV

just got an Epson V850 scanner; 1st attempt at scanning 35 negs years ago resulted in 2 low a resolution when I sent negs to print labs; suggestions appreciated

lot of 35 negs badly curled; only suggestion I found on web is to wet them and hang them with weights; this was not successful - anyone have a better idea ?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ed Chu wrote:

just got an Epson V850 scanner; 1st attempt at scanning 35 negs years ago resulted in 2 low a resolution when I sent negs to print labs; suggestions appreciated

lot of 35 negs badly curled; only suggestion I found on web is to wet them and hang them with weights; this was not successful - anyone have a better idea ?

1. Scan at a higher resolution? (I'll guess when you sent the files to the print lab.)

2. Curled end to end, the weights should have worked. Unless maybe you didn't let them soak long enough. When I did B&W developing, the clips were enough to stop the end to end curl. Sprockets to sprockets curl is much harder. I have some that did that on me. the negative carrier flattens them.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Ed Chu wrote:

just got an Epson V850 scanner; 1st attempt at scanning 35 negs years ago resulted in 2 low a resolution when I sent negs to print labs; suggestions appreciated

lot of 35 negs badly curled; only suggestion I found on web is to wet them and hang them with weights; this was not successful - anyone have a better idea ?

Use the Epson supplied film holder. Do not put bare negatives on the scanner glass.

Third party Epson-compatible film holders are sold on Amazon for odd sizes (110, 126, 828, APS, 616, etc.)

Scan 35mm film at 2400dpi. More than that adds little to nothing except file size.

Scan 16-bit per channel TIFF files of important images. They preserve maximum image quality.

Learn how to use all the professional controls in your scanner driver to PRE-process the images before they are saved to disk.

Realize that ALL digital files require sharpening, due to the technologies involved in scanners and cameras. That's what post production software is for.

IF you have a digital camera with a macro lens, consider that as a viable option to scanning. Here's a white paper on the topic:

>

This is a PDF file...
Attached file:
(Download)

Ed Chu Loc: Las Vegas NV

Longshadow wrote:

1. Scan at a higher resolution? (I'll guess when you sent the files to the print lab.)

2. Curled end to end, the weights should have worked. Unless maybe you didn't let them soak long enough. When I did B&W developing, the clips were enough to stop the end to end curl. Sprockets to sprockets curl is much harder. I have some that did that on me. the negative carrier flattens them.

not sure what the response to 1 meant

as for 2, just to be sure, the curl runs the length of a strip; the carrier will hold the strip in place, but the curl "bulges" and obviously can't be sharp

Quixdraw Loc: x

What about this? Haven't done it, but some apparently do with considerable success. https://www.japancamerahunter.com/2016/11/wet-scanning-your-film/

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ed Chu wrote:

not sure what the response to 1 meant

as for 2, just to be sure, the curl runs the length of a strip; the carrier will hold the strip in place, but the curl "bulges" and obviously can't be sharp

1. What resolution did you use for the scanner setting when you scanned the negatives? Try a higher resolution.

2. How much of a bulge? You should maybe post a sample resultant image?

spaceylb Loc: Long Beach, N.Y.

quixdraw wrote:

What about this? Haven't done it, but some apparently do with considerable success. https://www.japancamerahunter.com/2016/11/wet-scanning-your-film/

Bill_de Loc: US

burkphoto wrote:

Use the Epson supplied film holder. Do not put bar... (show quote)

Good info in the download. Thanks!

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burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Bill_de wrote:

Good info in the download. Thanks!

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Glad you liked it. It was a hit in the Negative Lab Pro forum.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Ed Chu wrote:

just got an Epson V850 scanner; 1st attempt at scanning 35 negs years ago resulted in 2 low a resolution when I sent negs to print labs; suggestions appreciated

lot of 35 negs badly curled; only suggestion I found on web is to wet them and hang them with weights; this was not successful - anyone have a better idea ?

I went to a frame shop, and bought a piece of non-glare glass. I covered the edges with strong packing tape (the kind that looks like there are threads woven into the tape). On the corners I left the tape an inch or so longer than the edge of the glass, to have "handles" for picking up the piece from the scanner. Then put the negatives on the scanner, piece of glass on top of them, and scanned.
BTW, also kept glass-cleaner and wipes handy. In spite of the "handles" I still managed to get fingerprints on the glass and certainly did not want them to show on the scans.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I keep my negs on sleeve pages. Some of them came from the developer with lots of side-to-side curl, and that gets compounded when put into books. Recently I took out a page and set it on the counter. I put a piece of glass over it and put a weight on it. I left it there for several days. It flattened out the negs sufficiently that I could scan them. However, the curl returned when I put the page back into the book. I don't know why some are curled and some are flat. But it's a pain.

ptk Loc: Oregon, USA

What I do:

If I can wait: reverse roll them in the film canister for a few days, or put them in sleeved pages and use weights to gently hold them flat for a few weeks. Then scan them lying flat in the Epson film holders.

If I can not wait: use the film holders for my Epson, with the film bulged upward (mirror flip the scan result if appropriate), and place anti-newton-ring (ANR) glass on top of them to hold them flat. I have ANR glass pieces to fit my Epson film holders from Scan Tech (http://scan-tech.net).

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Ed Chu wrote:

just got an Epson V850 scanner; 1st attempt at scanning 35 negs years ago resulted in 2 low a resolution when I sent negs to print labs; suggestions appreciated

lot of 35 negs badly curled; only suggestion I found on web is to wet them and hang them with weights; this was not successful - anyone have a better idea ?

I own an Epson V850 PRO scanner. Use the glass lined negative holders provided by Epson. Yes, now you have 6 surfaces to keep clean. But also the negative strips should be perfectly flat.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Ed Chu wrote:

not sure what the response to 1 meant

Ref 'low resolution', he / everyone probably meant increase the pixel resolution of your scanning parameters. This is best done in the 'professional' settings. This link is V600 specific, see what / if any of the ideas apply to the software provided for your newer V800:

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-689142-1.html#12074449

Ed Chu Loc: Las Vegas NV

AzPicLady wrote:

I keep my negs on sleeve pages. Some of them came from the developer with lots of side-to-side curl, and that gets compounded when put into books. Recently I took out a page and set it on the counter. I put a piece of glass over it and put a weight on it. I left it there for several days. It flattened out the negs sufficiently that I could scan them. However, the curl returned when I put the page back into the book. I don't know why some are curled and some are flat. But it's a pain.

This sums up my situation