Epson v700 and Newton Rings

Hi,

I just joined the group today and have been reading some of the threads about the Epson v700 and Newton rings. I just bought the scanner and have just 14 days to return it if it doesn’t perform well. The main reason I bought it is to archive some old 8 x 10 color negatives, about 20 -25 years old. The film is mostly Kodak VPS I and II. Once scanned I want to make 20 x 24 inch prints on my Epson 7800.

I did a test scan or two from some 6 x 7 color neg film and found it to be pretty good. I have a Nikon 8000 and the v700 scan was on par with 8000 from the same negative.

Scanning the 8 x 10 negs has not gone as well. I am getting Newton rings no matter emulsion up, as Epson recommends, or emulsion down. I am using the area guide and that same setting in the document type. It is my understanding that when you check that option in the Epson software you are then scanning with the 4800 ppi lens which can cover the whole bed. And when you check film with holder, as with medium format or 35, you are scanning with the 6400 ppi lens which can not cover the whole bed. Is this true?

I have seen several posts about using ANR glass in the process to eliminate Newton rings. I can seem to put together exactly how this is done from what I have read. Can someone who is doing this describe the process in detail for me? And where do you get the 8 x 10 glass and how much does it cost? And does this give significantly less sharp scan as does my ANR glass carrier for my Nikon 8000.

Has anyone made a homemade holder of sorts to keep the 8x 10 negative from touching the glass? I’m going to give it a try today and will post the results.

I am actually impressed with the scans where there are no Newton rings and the neg is not curling.

One last thing I don’t really understand what the little feet are for on the holders. They are supposed to be adjustable but I don’t see how it is done.

I’m glad to have found this forum and is clearly inhabited by professional folks which is a pleasure. I thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Emulsion up, anti-newton ring glass over top, minimizes rings and assures a flat sheet of film.

Get your glass here: http://fpointinc.com/glass.htm

Always works for me.

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Has anyone made a homemade holder of sorts to keep the 8x 10 negative from touching the glass? I’m going to give it a try today and will post the results.

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I don't have the same scanner, but yes, I've done this. Basically, take a piece of glass, white plexiglass, anti-newton glass... big enough to hold the negative in question. Use something (I use tape) to form feet onthe four corners. The idea will be to tape the negative to the bottom of the flat plate, have the holder held at the right height, and have a mask on top of the plate to block extraneous light from around the negative. I put taped "handles" on the short ends of the plate to make it easy to lift.

To find the best height, scan a negative with emulsion down on the scanner glass, scanning just a small section is fine. Now scan with emulsion up. Compare the two. If the emulsion down is sharpest, well, then you'll probably have to wet mount on the scanner glass, using supplies from Kami or Prazio, in order to get best results. If the emusion up is sharper, then best focus is above the glass. Now tape your negative to the bottom of whatever flat object you use for your diy scanning plate. I use blue painters tape, and I fold over one end a little to make it easy to take off.

Once your negative is on, put a certain number of pieces of tape (I use clear packing tape) on each corner to act as feet. Make sure to keep track of the number of pieces of tape. Start maybe with enough to hold the negative about .5 mm above the glass. Used some opaque paper/plastic and cut an openning to act as a mask for the negative. Tape this on the opposite side of the diy scanning plate to block light from around the negative from causing problems. (Make sure not to block the part of the scanner bed used for calibration. See your Epson holders.)

Scan. Compare this scan with the scan of the negative on the scanner glass with the emulsion up. If the new scan is sharper, add a piece of tape to each corner of the holder, and scan again. Keep comparing scans until you find the best height. If the emulsion up on the scanner glass is best, you'll probably have to wet mount on the scanner glass.

Currently, I use white plexi as the holder, as I've been scanning some grainy film, and the more diffuse holder seems to minimize grain coarseness. I do occasionally get Newton's rings.

When I do, I use a carrier made from what framer's call non-glare glass. This stuff is horrible when used as glazing for a picture, as it causes a hugh loss of contrast, due to the texture, which is very similar to anti-Newton ring glass. Most frame shops will have non-glare glass, and it's cheap! Since the texture is above the negative, I haven't noticed any problems on the negatives.

Note that if you like, you can wet-mount on the DIY glass carrier.

Hi, as for the height adjustment for the film holders, the info is buried in the pdf manual. Essentially, here is what I recall: the film holders come set for a default height of 3mm, if you turn all the feet around to +, the height is raised to 3.5mm. If you remove the feet all together, the height would be 2.5mm.

Jon

As to film holders - the area for scanning with holders is smaller than 8x10". And as a holder would hold the film above the glass, it would be out of focus in "film area guide" mode. Adding another sheet of glass means adding two extra dust carrying surfaces, and you don´t have ICE in "f.a.g" mode. Ouch!

Thanks for all the helpful response. I took several of the ideas mentioned and came up with a couple of things that seem to work.

First I made a variation of the area guide using a piece of Epson Enhanced Matte paper. About .25 mm thick. I traced out the outer edges of the Epson area guide and then cut an opening slightly smaller than my 8 x 10 negs. I put my new and improved area guide on the bed glass and set my negative on top. The resulting scan was Newton ring free and sharp from edge to edge. I guess the thickness of the EM paper kept the neg off the glass. Is it sharp enough?

Just to compare I bought an 8 x 10 piece of non glare museum glass at a frame shop to use as a poor man’s ANR glass, cost 10.00. In this case I put my neg in the Epson area guide and put the non glare glass on top. No Newton rings and also sharp edge to edge. It looks to me that this scan is no sharper edge to edge than the one done by the method above. In fact the glass appears to be cutting into the overall sharpness just a bit. There are dust problems galore with the glass approach but using the adjusted size area guide seems promising .