Re: filmscanners: Negative cleaning

["Marvin Demuth" <mdemuth@polobeam.net>]

Michael, from looking at the TEKNEK web site (www.teknek.com), I feel
confident you have found an outstanding product. They are this large in the
"cleaning" field:  "Teknek employs 180 people at 2 manufacturing sites in
Scotland, and supplies to over 60 countries using our network of over 90
distributors and offices."  From looking at all they do in cleaning
materials of every kind, especially in the graphics industry, they have to
know their business.  From looking at the pages, I am surprised that you
found a source for buying a "hand-held" device.  Did you find it in a
graphics supply store?

I have only scanned about four films thus far in my scanning career... a
35mm color negative, a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 color negative, a 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 color
negative and a 4 x 5 (50 year old) B&W negative.  I scanned them into TIFF
format and then worked with them in PS.  I used a Microtek flat bed scanner
of some description at a multi-media firm in Memphis.  The 35mm scan was
not satisfactory.  I was generally happy with my first efforts with the
larger negatives.  I was not trying to be too critical in my evaluation.  I
was simply trying to get a feel for what is involved.  I do not recall
there was any dust or scratch problems with any of the images.

I have worked with photographic processing for 58 years.  I have worked
mainly with Omega condenser and diffuser-type enlargers.  The only
experience that I recall where I had excessive dust problems was about 15
years back when I tried to use a Philips (condenser) additive-system
enlarger.  The problems introduced were excessive.  From what I am reading
on this list thus far, it scares me to a degree, to think the scanning
system with many scanning units introduce this problem in the process.  It
also concerns me that the corrective process possibly introduces some
additional softening of the image.  Does the process introduce any more
softness than the standard color enlargers in use today?

I live with the softness of the color processes, but I would prefer more
sharpness.  You understand how soft the image is when you try to focus on
the grain in a quality color negative image, with a quality grain focusing
device, in the enlarging process.

Marvin


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From: Michael Wilkinson <michael@infocus-photography.co.uk>
To: filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
Subject: Re: filmscanners: Negative cleaning
Date: Saturday, February 24, 2001 3:01 AM

We use a device from a company called TEKNEK.
Its a hand held ,twin adhesive roller contraption.
the rollers are silicon rubber and tacky ,place the edge of the film in
,squeeze tight and pull through.It removes any surface  detritus and has
an anti static brush on the outgoing side to eliminate static.
It works very well and we have been using it now for 7 years.
to remove the accumulated debris we just run the rollers over wide
sticky tape ,perfect.
Michael Wilkinson. 106 Holyhead Road,Ketley, Telford.Shropshire TF 15 DJ
  michael@infocus-photography.co.uk      www.infocus-photography.co.uk
For Trannies and Negs from Digital Files