KAMI wet mount scanner kits

[PMahoney]

Any recommendations as to where I can purchase (online) a wet mount kit for an Epson 4990?

Thanks in advance,
Peter

[Bruce M. Herman]

Peter,

The Kami fluid is highly flammable. You may have trouble having it shipped. When I purchased it for a standard flatbed scanner some years ago, I contact the US distributorship and they were able to give me the name of a local company that could order it. I still paid the shipping, but somehow they could get what I could not.

Best wishes.

[paulr]

a local service bureau might sell some to you if you ask nicely.

[Kirk Gittings]

try

http://www.aztek.com/Products/Aztek%...lies(main).htm

and

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/W...guid=197497774

and

http://www.wetmounting.com/

[Chris Strobel]

Any recommendations as to where I can purchase (online) a wet mount kit for an Epson 4990?

Thanks in advance,
Peter

I got the kit for my 4990 from these guys.Got both 4x5 and 8x10 adapters.Works great!

http://wetmounting.com

[PMahoney]

Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate the help.
Peter

[Ron Marshall]

How much does wet-mounting improve contrast, sharpness, etc. in scans compared to dry-mounting, with consumer scanners.

[Greg Lockrey]

Thanks, Kirk.

[sanking]

How much does wet-mounting improve contrast, sharpness, etc. in scans compared to dry-mounting, with consumer scanners.

I fluid mount 5X7 and 7X17 negatives with flatbed scanners, and medium format negatives with a Leafscan 45. There is a significant increase in contrast, and especially with something I will call micro-contrast. There is also a reduction in grain appeareance, and any scratches on the base of the film are eliminated or minimized. Newton rings are also eliminated. Resolution is not improved.

Some of the scanning kits are reasonably priced, but one can make their own for practically nothing. All you need is a piece of glass about 1mm thick X length X width to fit over the glass of your flatbed scanner and a few pieces of aluminium about 1/32" thick X 1/2" to 1" wide. Cut the aluminium to size to form a frame the size of the largest negative you plan to scan, center it on the glass and glue it down with epoxy. To scan, you pour some mounting fluid in the frame, put the negative emulsion side down, and tape it down. The frame is important because it forms a damn that prevents the scanning fluid from running off the glass and possibly into the scanner.

I have used the Kami fluid but find that it sometimes evaporates with very long scans so I use Johnson Baby Oil whenever the scan will take more than about five or ten minutes. After the scan I wash the negative in a tray of hot water to which I add a degreaser, then hang to dry. This is all very easy to do and does improve significantly the quality of the scan.


Sandy King

[Ron Marshall]

Thanks Sandy, I will give it a try.