I just bought a new Epson V 600 scanner to finally scan in photos going back 40 years. The photos in the oldest albums are “stuck” to the back of the page and I fear pulling them out will tear them. I started to scan with the plastic cover still on. The photos are ok but not great. Some show the glare of the plastic. Any suggestions on how to scan better with the plastic cover on? Any suggestions how to remove old photos from the album sheet without damaging them? Thanks so much for your help.
Can you cut them out and just remove the viewing side of the plastic?
Now there is an idea. Thanks !
par4fore wrote:
Can you cut them out and just remove the viewing side of the plastic?
With any luck that could work. The only problem to be careful about is whether the photo is also adhering to the plastic. I’ve had that happen in some albums from the 1950s.
DirtFarmer
Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
Warm the album a bit (not hot). That will make the plastic more flexible.
Usually you can peel back the plastic and scan the photos still stuck on the back to the page.
Try the combine use of a light meter with a booster. The booster is designed to get the reading of light reflection off the plastic or any reflective material e.g., glass, mirror, plastic, even bright snow. Boosters aren't used much, but for your challenge it might prove very useful. I have the Sekonic L-508 light meter that I use with the Sekonic Booster to get the correct metered lighting from reflective objects.
Hope this helps.
About 4 years ago, I also had the same problem. I slipped a 4-inch putty knife under the photos, moving the putty knife slowly until the photo was free. They came out nicely - no tears, no rips, no curls.
raypep wrote:
Now there is an idea. Thanks !
If you have pictures on both sides of the page, cutting them out could be tricky. Can't you just remove the plastic?
Before you try and remove the plastic cover get the best scan possible of the photo. The photo may get damaged and the resulting scan may be worse than with the cover still on.
Cotondog wrote:
About 4 years ago, I also had the same problem. I slipped a 4-inch putty knife under the photos, moving the putty knife slowly until the photo was free. They came out nicely - no tears, no rips, no curls.
Putty knife ! Never thought of that. Thanks .
raypep wrote:
I just bought a new Epson V 600 scanner to finally scan in photos going back 40 years. The photos in the oldest albums are “stuck” to the back of the page and I fear pulling them out will tear them. I started to scan with the plastic cover still on. The photos are ok but not great. Some show the glare of the plastic. Any suggestions on how to scan better with the plastic cover on? Any suggestions how to remove old photos from the album sheet without damaging them? Thanks so much for your help.
Scanners are great, until they aren’t! Take a different approach entirely.
When confronted with customer originals in albums, I often resort to macro copy photography. It can be faster and better than scanning.
If pages are removable (and replaceable!), remove them from the album. If plastic is removable easily (and replaceable!), peel it off.
Use color correct, photo grade, 5000K to 5500K CFL or LED lights, 37.5 to 40 degrees above the copy surface, equidistant from the copy board, and feathered to create perfectly even illumination.
Use full manual exposure in reference to a custom white balance target, and be sure to lock it down for every exposure at the same distance! Record raw data files for post-processing.
Use a TRUE macro lens for best results without distortion.
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