Cleaning a scanner....

[Allen in Montreal]

This weekend I started to clean up an old scanner I picked up. The negative tray has a smudge on the negative side of the tray which shows on a decent size scan. The manual recommends just a soft cloth, but that is not removing the smudge.
Any suggestions on fluids to safely and thoroughly clean the glass?

8x10 HP5, Fuji 250 6.7, one soft box, over exposed a half stop, under developed about 10 percent, scanned to output a 400dpi 40"x35".
(dry scan, no negative holder, just laid flat on the negative tray)
Nasty scratch, source unknown (on the negative)
Still a lot to learn about getting the most out of this process.

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/6179/kicky810testwebx.jpg (http://img32.imageshack.us/i/kicky810testwebx.jpg/)

Eye cropped out:


http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5845/kicky810testwebcropx.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/i/kicky810testwebcropx.jpg/)

[Peter De Smidt]

So you want to clean the glass scanning bed, right? First, brush off any dust with a soft brush, or use a stream of air blow the dust off of the glass. Compressors blow stuff beside air, and so don't use one. Canned "air" is okay as long as it's used correctly. Second, spray glass cleaner, I use Invisible Glass, onto a a soft cotton cloth, something like an old t-shirt. Don't spray right on the glass. Third, wipe down the glass with the t-shirt. Don't scrub hard. If that's got all the smudges up, move on. If not, repeat the cotton cloth step using a different part of the cloth. Fourth, get a good-sized microfiber cloth, the kind that feels very clingy when you touch them. Use the cloth to get rid of any haze on the glass. You can spray a little bit of glass cleaner on the cloth if needed. Keep the cloth in a zip lock bag, and don't use it for anything else. Occasionally, you should clean the cloth.

If you have scanning wipes, such as those carried by Prazio or Aztek, then you can use them in place of the cotton cloth.

[domaz]

What scanner? There are instructions for disassembling the various flatbeds Epson floating around the Internet. I still need to do this with my 4990 as it has the dreaded outgas fog on the bottom of the glass grrr.

[Allen in Montreal]

Thank you Peter,

I have placed an order for a wet mounting kit, film cleaners and a glass cleaner but that will take at least two weeks to get here, so in the mean time, I will try the Inv. Glass. The previous owner of the scanner had a rubber matt taped to the tray and over time it has left a few smudges.

The manual says to not use any cleaners on the underside of the negative holder as it has an anti reflective coating.


Domaz,

It is a Linotype Topaz, the negative tray comes right out.
I am just paranoid about damaging anything. :--)

[Allen in Montreal]

Step two....

Has anyone ever opened up a Topaz and cleaned the optical stage?
Any tips before I attempt it?

[Doug Fisher]

Go to Wal Mart or similar to the eyeglass department and get some of the non-ammonia-based cleaning spray for glasses. It is safe for anti-reflection coatings.

Doug
---
www.BetterScanning.com

[Allen in Montreal]

Thanks for the tip Doug,

It turns out there is a dust spec on the optical "eye" and I need to open the unit up and clean it according to Karl Hudson from Hudson Grapfik. he offered to send a tech, until he realized I was in Montreal. :(
He also thinks I should clean the mirror and the lamp housing.
Just on the off chance that someone has opened a Topaz before , never hurts to ask before diving in with a screw driver, wrench.....and hammer! :)

[Karl Hudson]

Hi Allen,
It's not too bad to try going into the optical section on a Topaz yourself. You have to remove the large silver cover in the back, then look towards the middle of the machine (where the lamps are) for a black piece of sheet metal with a large diamond-shaped aperture cut out of the middle of it. Remove this and you have access to the mirror. Clean the Objective Lens like you would a camera lens with some lens tissue. Use canned air on the other parts. Let me know if you have any questions along the way. I'm back in my office after three weeks of traveling Stateside. I quite likely will have a tech going to Toronto next week and we are looking into the costs for him to fly back from Montreal. I guess it depends on the rental car drop off charge for a one-way between Toronto and Montreal. I'll let you know when we have an estimate. Meanwhile try going in there and doing some light (and careful) cleaning. Also make sure the area under the Transmission Lamp (top one) is clean.
Kind regards,
Karl

[Allen in Montreal]

Thank you very much Karl, it is very kind of you to take the time, the manual only out lines cleaning the tubes.

So far I am enjoying the quality the scanner delivers and I am really looking forward to having in tip top shape and learning the ins and outs of it.
It is one of the most important municipal elections in a few decades in Montreal and I am working, so I will give it a go the following weekend.
Best regards,
Allen

[Allen in Montreal]

Karl,

Over morning coffee today I took the rear section of the Topaz apart.
Thank you for the tips, I cleaned the lens and the mirror, but I did not touch the sensor.

As you know, it is rather recessed into its housing and has a cover plate over everything but the smallest slot of the sensor. (the spared no effort making all those cast aluminum blocks and the machining of parts! It is really well made).

I see the four Allen screws on the top to remove the sensor from its block, but I worry about it being back in the same spot and being sharp afterwards.

Any words of wisdom before I attempt the sensor cleaning?

I am making an 8x10 scan now to check if I have removed the offending spec of dust, but I rather doubt that I have.

[Peter De Smidt]

If you need to clean the senor or the mirror, an Arctic Butterfly brush for cleaning cmos/ccd imaging chips would probably be a good choice.

[Allen in Montreal]

If you need to clean the senor or the mirror, an Arctic Butterfly brush for cleaning cmos/ccd imaging chips would probably be a good choice.

Hi Peter, The lens turned out to be a breeze to clean, the mirror also, thanks to Karl's advice. The sensor, I think, requires removing the entire unit from the mounting block, which I would rather wait to hear back from Karl before I attempt.

On the front end of the sensor, there is a matt black cover with a small slot opening, just enough for the ray of light from the lens to pass through, that is held in place with two screws. I suppose that cover plate could be removed and the sensor cleaned from the front, but again, being a bit of a Nervous Nelly with the unit, I will wait to hear back before i attempt it, it is tight in there.





http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/870/lensstagex.jpg (http://img39.imageshack.us/i/lensstagex.jpg/)