RE: filmscanners: Cleaning slides

["Laurie Solomon" <laurie@advancenet.net>]

> It really does look like a different image,
>color is restored and defects are gone.

You know what they say. "if it looks to good to be true; it probably is."
They also say something about "if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck,
and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck."  :-)  You have no way of knowing
for sure and have to go on trust that there is truth in advertising when it
comes to things like this.

I am a cynic and skeptical about these sorts of ads.  There is nothing to
say that they (a) have not gone through a multitude of images to find the
one which worked the best and showed what they wanted it to show in a
dramatic fashion before selecting it for use in the add; (b) they did some
touching up and retouching after the scanning and prior to its being sent to
the press for printing and publication; or (c) they had technical experts
who helped develop the scanner do the scans and tweak the scanner when
necessary to accomplish the scan in way the ordinary user might not be
familiar or skilled with.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
[mailto:owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk]On Behalf Of Arthur Entlich
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2001 3:14 AM
To: filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
Subject: Re: filmscanners: Cleaning slides




Kevin Power wrote:

> Can I ask members to detail the way they go about cleaning slides. In my
own
> case, I use an aerosol spray designed for this purpose, then run cold
> running water over them and then dry them off by using the aerosol spray
> once more. Seems to work OK. Kevin Power.
>

I'm really beginning to wonder just what it is I'm not doing to my
slides that everyone else is doing which makes them mine not require
cold running water, ammonia, kim-wipes, PEC, and so on...

I mean, I know B.C. is known for it's pristine water and air, but what
exactly is it that you guys are finding all over your slides that
requires such drastic measures?

I'll admit, I have a few that have been mistreated, usually by the
processor, and sometimes they benefit from a good rewash in warm water
and a spot reducing agent like photoflo, but they are relatively rare also.

If I do anything, I give them a blast with compressed air, in most cases
that's all that's needed.

On a similar topic, today I saw an ad for Nikon's ED 4000 scanner, and I
have to admit the ad is pretty impressive.  They show an image of a
gorilla which is very dirty, dusty, scratched, badly faded and other
wish abused.  They then show the result from the ED 4000 after
application of ROC and ICE.  It really does look like a different image,
color is restored and defects are gone.

Art

>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Arthur Entlich" <artistic@ampsc.com>
> To: <filmscanners@halftone.co.uk>
> Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2001 6:45 PM
> Subject: Re: filmscanners: Cleaning slides
>
>
>
>> The reason I say eeek, is because I was a mouse in a former life, and
>> its habit...
>>
>> No, really, because you're are playing with the pH of the film.  Ammonia
>> is very base (alkaline), and I have no idea how it responds with
>> formaldehyde hardener, etc.  I do know that I once was playing with
>> household chemicals on some B&W prints and full strength household
>> ammonia dissolved the emulsion right off the print.
>>
>> Unless I read an authoritative source that says a certain concentration
>> of ammonia is safe for film emulsions, you'll excuse me if I run into my
>> hole in the wall and shiver ;-)
>>
>> Art
>>
>> Colin Maddock wrote:
>>
>>
>>>> I use cotton bud dipped in a diluted ammonia based household cleaner -
>>>
> it works wonders on the mould too.
>
>>>> Colin Maddock
>>>
>>>
>>> Art said:
>>>
>>>
>>>> All I can say is eeek!  stay away from my film!
>>>
>>>
>>> Why do you say "eeek" Art? Needless to say, the above cleaning method
>>
> has no adverse effect on the film. In fact it is "squeeky clean". No
smears,
> no marks, a scan looks perfect. These are old slides that I am talking
> about.
>
>>> Colin Maddock
>>>
>>
>>