Digitizing Polaroid SX-70 / Impossible images

[jsch]

Hi,

I started to work with Polaroid SX-70 / Impossible material. Now I want to digitize the images. If I use my Epson V750 scanner I get a lot of very visible Newton rings.

Is there a best practise to scan these images. I guess the transparent glossy mylar layer of the Polaroid material is the problem.

Is it better to digitize them with a digital camera?

Who has experience with this? I already tried my luck in an other forum but no answers so far. Perhaps I can find help here.

Best,
Johannes

[Asher Kelman]

Hi,

I started to work with Polaroid SX-70 / Impossible material. Now I want to digitize the images. If I use my Epson V750 scanner I get a lot of very visible Newton rings.

Is there a best practise to scan these images. I guess the transparent glossy mylar layer of the Polaroid material is the problem.

Is it better to digitize them with a digital camera?

Who has experience with this? I already tried my luck in an other forum but no answers so far. Perhaps I can find help here.

Best,
Johannes


Johannes,

Just using Impossible™ is already a good thing. The more support the better!

I do not know how the print would benefit from anti Newtonian glass or stand up to mounting fluid. Try adding a sheet of glass over the print to weight it down and obliterate the curves. Alternatively use a cutout of fine card to elevate the print a mm or so from the glass. Don't scrub the glass or print and make a static charge as that will pull the surfaces together, Try a pieces of card or newspaper instead to get ride of dust. Spot out any remaining defects.

However, for me, I'd not bother with the scanner if these solutions didn't work immediately. Instead I'd photograph it! The shiny surface has issues of non-flatness. I'd secure the edges all around to get it as flat as possible and use lights at 45 degrees to each side and take the picture with a DSLR. At 600 dpi, that's about the max resolution of the print for scanning and that can be covered with 4 MP digital camera. That's what I'd do. Some would polarize the lights.

That should work.

Asher

[Asher Kelman]

Photograph it with cross polarized lights and a polarizing screen on the lens. Can't get much simpler than that. Avoids all the pitfalls of pressure on the original image as you try to flatten it in a scanner.

Yes, Dakotah, but with cautions.

For many cases cross polarization is the solution. In some cases, however, it can cause problems, for example if the gloss is uneven. Even in the best of cases, the colors will be different and need to be profiled.

Pulling the camera away and using a longer lens and broader light sources at 45 degrees can also help, before polarizing filters are even considered. Even then, scatter can cause a veiling glare and loss of saturation and contrast. So polarizing can address that. Even then, there are caveats as life isn't perfect and a color checker is needed to profile the file back to what it should be.

Betterlight (http://www.betterlight.com/downloads/conference10_speakers/guyer_Polarization.pdf) has a useful PDF with great illustrations to download.

Asher

[David Higgs]

I've been scanning them ok on my V750 - I've only had Newton Rings once, shimming the print off the glass worked well.

I've enlarged a few images up to 16 inches, and yes they are soft, thats the look, but they are impressive non the less.

The UV silver shade works well, the 680 colour - hmmm - pretty hit and miss