Anti-Newton spray -- anybody using it?

[Jack Flesher]

I get faint Newton rings even when scanning the emulsion side of my 8x10 tranny's and negs on my 4990. I am wondering if anybody uses an A-N spray product and can comment on its effectiveness.

Thanks,

[Walter Calahan]

I use a piece of anti-newton glass. Works great.

http://www.fpointinc.com/

[Bruce Watson]

All an Anti-Newton (AN) spray does is add a tiny bit of texture to whatever it's sprayed onto. This slight bit of texture can be read by the scanner. Most drum scan shops advise against AN spray for enlargements of 4x and greater for this reason -- you can see it in the print.

If you are looking for smaller enlargements, an AN spray might be just the thing for you. Be sure and buy film cleaner and scanner wipes so you can get the AN spray off your film when you are done.

[Michael Mutmansky]

Bruce,

That's in line with the general recommendations I have seen as well; you can use AN spray up to about 1000 SPI, but below that, the negative should be mounted in another manner (wet being best).

I use AN spray for my 8x10 and larger negatives, but rarely use it for anything smaller due to the reproduction ratios involved.


---Michael

[Jack Flesher]

Thanks for the info guys -- that tells me that it aint gonna work for my use.

Walter, where did you get your A-N glass?

Thanks,

[Jim Jirka]

Jack,
Is that the same spray that makes apples fall upward? ;-)

[Walter Calahan]

Jack, click on the url link in my original post. It will take you directly to the on-line shop. The fellow is in Florida.

[Brian K]

There's another method. If you spray a fine mist of corn starch into the air and then pass the film through the tiniest bits that are still floating they will stick to the film, not permanently, and will give the slightest bit of texture needed. You can then just blow them off the film. They are so fine as to be invisible under reasonable magnifications.

[Jack Flesher]

An update:

I got a crazy idea at lunch and bopped over to my local framing shop to try an experiment... There I picked up a sheet of "Anti-Glare" framing glass. Before I get slammed, I know this is not true Anti-Newton glass, but I thought it was worth a shot. They had two types, anti-glare on both sides or just on one side -- I got the later. I had it cut it to 8-7/8" x 11-7/8" so it just fit on the existing 4990 surface so I could place it directly on top of the 8x10 scanning mask Epson provides with the scanner.

I laid an 8x10 C41 neg base-side down directly on the anti-glare surface and scanned the full neg at 1600DPI (1 gig at 16 bit). The result was superb! I only did the one scan, but there were NO Newton-rings and moreover the neg is surprisingly sharp! I am confident it is more than good enough to make an outstanding 40x50 print without any interpolation.

Offered FWIW...