Possible dry mount solution for Drum scanner?

[zhengjdc]

Apart from applying anti-newton spray, which destroyed one of my picture (sprayed too much), does anybody experimented a dry-mount approach?

I would think about putting the emulsion side towards the lens in hope it might eliminate the annoying newton ring problem, or I should press harder to eliminate all the gaps?

My current wet mounting approaching isn't quite sucessful, due to cheap 3M tapes doesn't work too well with KAMI fluid and cheap mylars bought from arts store ain't too clear for scanning.

[IanMazursky]

Dry mounting was a common practice back in the good old days to speed production and avoid the cleanup of mineral oil (before kami came on the scene).
MO is an alternative to Kami except on certain films, it will absorb into the emulsion and possibly stick it to the drum.
I stopped using it 10 years ago but i think the Kodak E series of chrome films didn’t work out to well with MO.
Thats not to say it wont work, you just need to test. Btw, the cleanup of MO and anti newton spray are both a pain.
ANS can scratch your drum and film if cleaned up dry. MO sticks to just about everything and is very gooey.
You need a good solvent to clean it up, something like Varn Film Kleen will do the trick for both.

A big issue with not using mylar is if your tape doesn’t hold tight the film could come off.
Drums spin at hundreds or thousands of RPMs, even a corner lifting up will get clipped off by the analyzer lens.
I went to a friends shop many years ago and witnessed this in person. A spectacular way to ruin film and an afternoon of vacuuming out the scanner.
If the film is slightly slack against the drum, it will be out of focus in some areas and have newton rings in others.
You will never truly eliminate newton rings without some kind of anti newton spray or wet mount.
Some people have had luck with corn starch but remember scanning at over 2-400% will show the little dots that make up the powder.
If Kami isn’t working for you, try MO. It has no solvent so most tapes will work and its thicker so it wont run all over the place.
Just remember a little goes a long way.

Try contacting any graphic arts suppliers in your area. They will most likely have a stock of mylar and Film Kleen or they can order it for you.

[vinny]

Get the kit from Aztek and be done with it. Drum scanning is a lot of work to do right and there's a steep learning curve.

[IanMazursky]

Get the kit from Aztek and be done with it. Drum scanning is a lot of work to do right and there's a steep learning curve.

Very true. Once you get your workflow down, its really easy.
You do need good materials, Aztek has some really good mylar.
Kami is really worth the trouble. It takes sometime to get a rhythm down but give it another go with better tape and mylar.