A quick guide on making custom hold-down plates for the Screen Cezanne, and likely other flatbed scanners. Also, you can use these for contact printing if you are careful while handling the acrylic (dust/scratches).
1.
P99 Acrylic, 1/8" thick
https://www.tapplastics.com/acrylic_...on_glare_clear
This non-glare acrylic prevents Newton Rings. For my Cezanne and scanning up to 12x20 film, I ordered the custom size of 13-5/16 inches wide, 20-3/4 inches long. Measure your scanner for exact sizing. Make sure the non-glare side faces AWAY from the scanner's light source. For the Cezanne, this means the NG side is facing down. I use the 0.118 (1/8) inch thickness. (PS: if your scanner requires the NG side up, these won't work for contact prints.)
2.
3/4" Metal Angle
https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-x...0887/204225761
This will be the handles and weight for the plate. My local HD only had 48" ones, but online it says they have 36" too. I cut off 12" and then cut the remaining 36" in half for two 18" handles. I used the angle because tall handles will actually intrude into the image area slightly due to the angle of the scanning lens at the periphery.
3.
After you have the handles ready, pull back about an inch of the protective white covering on the acrylic sheet that is going to be "up" (remember that this is the plain side for Cezanne, other scanners may vary). Use a bit of sandpaper to rough up one side of the angle that will contact the acrylic and make sure it's fairly clean. Center the metal angle on the long side and carefully apply a line of super glue pretty close to the edge of the acrylic. For me, I tried to only take up 3/8" of the acrylic with the handle so I can get the full 12" of the film, which means it hangs off the edge a bit.
Carefully attach the angle and press firmly along the whole length of the angle for 5-10 seconds. Do the same for the other side. If you want more weight, you could also make handles for the top/bottom. Personally, I bought some lengths of metal bar 1/2 inch square diameter, which I can put on the acrylic as heavy weights if needed. Many sites sell custom lengths of extruded metal. Once you are finished and they are dry and secure, remove the rest of the protective sheet on both sides. I would recommend finding a box or something to store the plate in so it doesn't get dusty.
Some pics:
Attaching the angles. Note the protective sheet is still on the bottom of the acrylic to prevent scratches.
On the scanner. The Cezanne is an X-Y scanner so the platen moves back and forth, and anything about an inch high will hit the edge of the bulb area. Hence the 3/4" angles which fit under with plenty of clearance.
12x20 negative ready for scanning. I use these plates for all films - I can scan several rolls of 35mm (cut to 10-shot lengths) up to this one sheet of 12x20. So I leave this in the scanner.
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Originally Posted by Corran
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