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Thread: Banding in scans / negatives?

  1. #1

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    Banding in scans / negatives?

    Hi everyone,

    while scanning some of my negatives (Epson V700 with BetterScanning holders), I discovered some strange banding:



    Slightly processed:



    Does anyone recognize this? I am not sure if this is on the film itself or has been introduced by the scanning. It's on multiple scans, but only at the edges of the negative.

  2. #2

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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?



    Even without the holders - when placing the negatives directly on the glass - I get the same thing with my Epson V700. It appears along the film adjacent to the blank edge, especially when the subject is light-colored.

    Notice that it follows the shape of the edge.

    I have tried to reduce it by orienting my film at a 45 degree angle, but that strikes me as a queer solution.

    It's been a while since I ran my tests: my recollection is that the banding appears with both EPSON and VueScan software.

  3. #3

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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?

    If I've had banding on a scan it has usually been due to dust in the calibration area. I've been able to fix it by cleaning all glass surfaces thoroughly, unfortunately that can often mean taking the scanner apart.

  4. #4

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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?

    Can you point us to instructions on how to take the scanner apart for cleaning ?

  5. #5

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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?

    I've not noticed this on my v750 scans, but maybe it's happening with the shift from density to no density along the edge of the image? And maybe the opposite happens when scanning chromes? one way to test would be to use something (maybe cut up an bad negative?) to mask the edges and extend the area away where the scanner shifts from dark to light away from the edge of the image.

  6. #6

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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?

    I've done it with a Epson 4990 and an HP G4050, it is just simply a matter of unscrewing the case and cleaning the glass, I don't remember reading any in depth instructions on how to do it. The main thing is to check the calibration area of the glass for dust on the inside, and see if it is in line with the banding you are getting.

  7. #7

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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?

    Quote Originally Posted by Tobias Key View Post
    I've done it with a Epson 4990 and an HP G4050, it is just simply a matter of unscrewing the case and cleaning the glass, I don't remember reading any in depth instructions on how to do it. The main thing is to check the calibration area of the glass for dust on the inside, and see if it is in line with the banding you are getting.
    Thanks, I will give it a try. Fingers crossed.

  8. #8
    2 Bit Hack
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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?

    dust on the lamp as well.
    Regards

    Marty

  9. #9

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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?

    Quote Originally Posted by bRokEnVIEW View Post
    Hi everyone,

    Does anyone recognize this? I am not sure if this is on the film itself or has been introduced by the scanning. It's on multiple scans, but only at the edges of the negative.
    Looks like it is most likely mild dust or grease marks on the calibration area. The banding that runs along the film edges is a weird reflection of some sorts; I've seen it before with my 4990 as well.

    Disassembling a flatbed scanner for cleaning is usually quite easy. The tricky bit is to find where the screws are; some of them tend to be hidden underneath small covers that you need to pry out first (as is the case with the 4990). The most frustrating thing, however, is that it's nearly impossible to clean the glass completely. Once you've reassembled the scanner, you notice the wiping marks and leftover (or even new) dust on the glass... Note that it is usually not necessary to open up the scanner to clean the calibration area, since most of the dust will be on top of the glass, not on the bottom.

  10. #10
    Resident Heretic Bruce Watson's Avatar
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    Re: Banding in scans / negatives?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Lee View Post
    Notice that it follows the shape of the edge.
    This one I understand. Look at your holders. The plastic hold down rails that hold the film against the back plate aren't properly dull. What you're seeing there is reflections off the hold down rail inner surface -- the surface that's at 90 degrees to the film plane. Doesn't really matter unless you are shooting into the sun, or some other basically specular light source is in the frame. And since you are scanning, you can fairly easily touch that out.

    Easy enough to get rid of -- five minutes with some emory paper. I've tried it, I know it works. But.... that creates dust. In your film holder. So before you do this, ask yourself if you're sure the risk of mirror finish hold down rails give you a little edge banding is worth the certainty of putting a bunch of dust in your film holder (I had to clean that holder over and over and over (probably 20-30 times) before it was once again clean enough that I could put it back into the regular rotation)

    The decision was pretty easy for me. I don't like shots into the sun much anyway.

    Bruce Watson

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