Scanning with ANR glass

[Ben Syverson]

I'm planning on ordering some anti-Newton Ring glass to use on my flatbed scanner (Epson 4990) for 8x10 negatives.

Does anyone have any advice/experience with this? Mike Sparks from Focal Point said that the standard procedure for my Epson was to place the neg emulsion-down on the scanner platen, then place the ANR glass over the top to make a sandwich.

[venchka]

Search here. I seem to recall lengthy discussions on this topic.

[Jeremy Moore]

How I scan 8x10 on my Epson Flatbed (V700):

Tape non-emulsion side to anti-newton side of the glass using safety-release tape. Pull it tight and tape all 4 sides right up to the image to reduce flaring.

Place the glass with the negative on the bottom on 4 coins you've pushed to the outer edges of the scanner platen. I use Sacajawea gold coins as they tested as being the best height from my options for MY scanner. Test this with pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and if those don't get it super sharp you can move to buying different thickness washers. Just do a high res scan of a small area with each and see which is the sharpest.

Scan with Vuescan set to the "8x10 Transparency" setting in 16-bit grayscale creating an Image file using the green channel.

[sanking]

You can do exactly as Jeremy but also fluid mount to the underside of the glass, which is separated from the scanner glass by the width of the coins. Tape the outside of the negative to the scanner glass and it will stay in place during the scan.

This method has an advantage over placing the negative directly on the scanner glass in that it allows you to find and use the plane of best focus of the scanner lens. And it also allows for fluid mounting, which I would not do directly on the scanner glass for fear of it getting into the scanner.

Sandy King




How I scan 8x10 on my Epson Flatbed (V700):

Tape non-emulsion side to anti-newton side of the glass using safety-release tape. Pull it tight and tape all 4 sides right up to the image to reduce flaring.

Place the glass with the negative on the bottom on 4 coins you've pushed to the outer edges of the scanner platen. I use Sacajawea gold coins as they tested as being the best height from my options for MY scanner. Test this with pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and if those don't get it super sharp you can move to buying different thickness washers. Just do a high res scan of a small area with each and see which is the sharpest.

Scan with Vuescan set to the "8x10 Transparency" setting in 16-bit grayscale creating an Image file using the green channel.

[Ben Syverson]

Thanks all, that's very helpful. The coin risers are a great idea.

[Jeremy Moore]

You can do exactly as Jeremy but also fluid mount to the underside of the glass, which is separated from the scanner glass by the width of the coins. Tape the outside of the negative to the scanner glass and it will stay in place during the scan.

This method has an advantage over placing the negative directly on the scanner glass in that it allows you to find and use the plane of best focus of the scanner lens. And it also allows for fluid mounting, which I would not do directly on the scanner glass for fear of it getting into the scanner.

Sandy King

I have been wetmounting using this exact method with mineral oil to a sheet of plate glass for my 4x5's (AN glass isn't needed if you're wet mounting), but tried out drymounting them to the AN glass and didn't see a a difference in the quality of the final inkjet prints: 24"x30". I find I have to spot more dust with the drymounting, but the setup/scan time is higher with wetmounting so it was a wash for me.

[Jon Middleton]

How do you clean your film after fluid mounting with mineral oil?

[Jeremy Moore]

How do you clean your film after fluid mounting with mineral oil?

I soak mine in a pH neutral dish detergent (I just ran around WalMart shaking them up and sticking some pH test paper into each one) for about 5 minutes followed by a 15 sec dunk/agitation in 1/2 strength photo-flo and distilled water.

[B.S.Kumar]

Is mineral oil plus pH neutral dish detergent a "safe" method for film? What about using Johnson's Baby Oil and lighter fluid? I'm having trouble finding Kami or Prazio products in Japan and they won't ship overseas.

Kumar

[sanking]

I have used Johnson Baby Oil and it worked fine for the scan but the negative required a lot of clean up. Mineral oil would be a better choice in my opinion if you can not get Kami or Prazio mounting solution.

Sandy




Is mineral oil plus pH neutral dish detergent a "safe" method for film? What about using Johnson's Baby Oil and lighter fluid? I'm having trouble finding Kami or Prazio products in Japan and they won't ship overseas.

Kumar

[B.S.Kumar]

Thanks. And pH neutral dish detergent or lighter fluid would be safe to use on the film?

Kumar

[Peter De Smidt]

I prefer Prazio mounting "oil". It's easier to use than Kami mounting fluid on flatbeds, although either can be used. Both are much less messy than mineral oil, although they are more expensive. I use Kami film cleaner before and after scanning, using either Kami or Prazio scanner wipes, after which the negatives are hung to dry.

Using water will cause the emulsion to swell, although having the right PH will minimize this. This should be ok, but the emulsion will be delicate, but then one should always treat a negative delicately.

Coins under the glass scanning jig may or may not be the right height. Personally, I use a given number of layers of tape to make the risers.

[jb7]

I got some non-reflective picture framing glass, which cost pennies compared to the ANR glass- so little, that you could afford to get a piece just to try-
It holds the neg flat on a V750, though I've only just got it, and haven't tested very much-

Rings are not a problem so far, with or without the glass-