joe_flippin Loc: Texan living in Brazil, SA

The scanner I have scans slides and 35m negs just fine, I am very satisfied with but these negs ( about 50 or so) are too big for the slots.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

I scan 4" x 5" negatives with the V500 just by scanning half at a time and stitching them together in photoshop. Works just fine.

mickley Loc: Schenectady NY

I suggest that you buy PEC-12 photo emulsion cleaner and use it with PEC pads. I get mine on Amazon, because I have to deal with some pretty cruddy photo (and slide and negative) donations.

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

Joe, I am not aware of any printer that will print negatives.
As I said earlier, the V500 you have is NOT a printer, it is a scanner. That is you have to scan your negatives and turn them into digital files (usually .jpg files), which then in turn can be printed from your computer onto photo paper or even just plain inkjet paper - they just won't look as good if you use the latter.
The problem with your medium format negatives is the width of the "light path" that does the scanning.
What you could try, if you have the patience, is to make two scans of the negative: first the left half plus as much more as will fit under the light, then the right half plus as much more as will fit under the light. After that you could stitch the two halves together with software.
I just saw your next message come in. "50 or so" negatives isn't that many, really, so you could do it with taking two scans of each negative.
Instead of using the holder that came with my scanner, I have used two pieces of clear glass and put the negative between them. I found this works exceptionally well with negatives that have started to curl along the edges.
Your biggest problem with using glass is that it could cause Newton rings in you scanned images. Not necessarily so, but it could. I found that moving the negative up or down a bit between the glass, helps. You can buy anti-Newton-ring glass but it is very expensive.

PeterM Loc: Scio, NY

The B&W film doesn't bite - its quite durable and not prone to the mold that sometimes effects slides. I'd be interested in film type - if you can read the print on the margin. Kodak made a film cleaner Cat 195 6986 and that or an Ilford product is probably still available online (heptane & an ethane).

I see that you're in Brazil but are a Texan. Hunker with some local photogs or college fine arts people. You could learn a bit about BW printing - the negs are large enough to make contact prints. You might enjoy learning the craft.

As other have said, your Epson should work if you use professional mode and define the size of the negative in the software. I have a Epson Perfection 4490 and it allows larger negs.

The third alternative is to make a digital internegative by placing your neg on a light box and using a copy stand to take a picture with your DSLR. Then reverse it to a positive with your software.

Feel free to PM me if I can be of further assistance. - Peter

MW

If SilverFast is comparable with you scanner you can install that and it will convert the negative to a positive and save it as a .tif file. The tif can then be opened with Lightroom or even various free software's from who h it can be printed on most inkjet printers.

mldavis2

Couple of things here:

Flatbed scanners today do an amazing job at scanning negatives. There are some settings that create problems with some scanners. On my Epson 4870 Photo scanner, there are negative type settings, dust removal and other features such as descreening which can help with the rings. But scanners have an amazing depth of field that many are not aware of and have been used to scan 3D objects such as flowers, so it's desirable but not critical that a negative be perfectly flat.

Also be aware that some of the scanner settings for dust "removal" do not work on some negative types and must be turned off, so check that your settings are appropriate for the negative type you are scanning.

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Originally the negatives were developed in distilled water plus a chemical to bring out the image then rinsed in tap water all at around 70 degrees F. I usually added a drop of wetting agent to the final rinse to eliminate water spots. I would try using a couple drops of Dawn dish detergent in a bowl of 70 degree water to get rid of the grease and grime. Use a very soft cloth and do not rub hard. Rinse thoroughly in clean water at 70 degrees and finally rinse in distilled water with wetting agent added. Hang to dry using non-metallic clip such as wooden or plastic clothes pin. Let us know if this works.

jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

When you say the epson scanner won't take the negs, what exactly do you mean ? I scan all sorts of sizes on my Epson 4490 scanner its pretty old too. What I do is to go to my nearest glass supplier, and get two pieces of plate glass cut- 4mm thick by what ever size i want to scan;
then I just put the negs under the glass, and that it ! Takes a while, but it works a treat.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

I have not done this, but could you cut a frame in some matte board, use that to hold the negative, go into preview and select the area containing the negative and then scan it? Just what you might do with an old picture?

joe_flippin Loc: Texan living in Brazil, SA

Thank you, I will try that.

joe_flippin Loc: Texan living in Brazil, SA

Peter, thank you very much, you have been very helpful. I will try what you suggested.

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

If you are not a photo lab person, KEEP AWAY FROM WATER, with or without wetting agent.

What museums (and many lab people) use to clean prints and negatives from just about all things is PEC-12 with dust-free Pec-Pads (best)or Kimwipes.

http://www.adorama.com/CHPEC12Q.html?gclid=CMaS3PfMgL0CFeY-Mgod_DAAoQ

http://www.adorama.com/CHPECPP.html

You FIRST want to use a static free brush to remove the moveable surface dust.

http://www.adorama.com/CPSW4.html

Pec-12 can be used on both sides of the negative, GENTLY, generally using a circular, GENTLE motion.

As to the Epson scanner not scanning... this is an operator or software issue. It will scan just about everything sub 8x10. Get Vuescan software. It is cheap and downloadable.

http://www.hamrick.com/

alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas

They can be cleaned with PEC-12, PEC pads, and a rocket blower. Be careful.

Bobbee

I have been bringing my Photo boxes from NY to Tampa every week since I am bouncing back and forth. I found some slides and wanted them digitized. I used this place. They were fairly cheap for the process and you can ship alot for a little price. I am waiting my first order due in 3/18. they do cleaning and correction.

http://www.scancafe.com/index.php?cid=logoOrdSCNV1