Scanning with the emulsion facing the wrong way

pkr1979

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2019
Messages
515
Location
Oslo
Format
Multi Format
Hi all,

So, I am scanning with my ScanMate 11000. And as its been some time since the last time Ive ended up attaching all the negatives with the emulsion facing out instead of in. Does anyone know how much this will affect the scans? I am considering if I need to re-scan it all.

Cheers
Peter
 

Don_ih

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Messages
7,852
Location
Ontario
Format
35mm RF
I've never noticed a difference. I will put the negatives in a negative holder (in an Epson V600) in whatever way keeps the surface of the film off the glass. If there's no choice (as in, some 120 will fall on the glass in the middle no matter what), I'll put it emulsion side down to avoid newton rings.
 

radialMelt

Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2022
Messages
248
Location
Canada
Format
35mm RF
Same experience as Don_ih here. I've scanned both ways (similarly, to avoid newtons rings in glass holders) and not noticed any differences.
 

Don_ih

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Messages
7,852
Location
Ontario
Format
35mm RF
Do a check. Scan the same negative twice, both ways (emulsion in, emulsion out) and compare. That will give you the answer.
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
53,214
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
This may depend slightly on how much base fog you are dealing with.
I would aim for having the emulsion closest to the scanning sensor.
 

brbo

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
2,145
Location
EU
Format
Multi Format
Don_ih said:
Do a check. Scan the same negative twice, both ways (emulsion in, emulsion out) and compare. That will give you the answer.
Click to expand...

Easier said than done when negatives are already mounted on the drum. Mounting fluid, mylar and all...

@pkr1979, scann a small section of one negative and see if auto-focus picks the proper (emulsion) side. I don't know the SM 1100, but if it has a way to manual focus the scanner that would probably be the best in this situation. A lot will depend on the chosen scanning aperture, you might get away with a larger aperture, but know that mylar can't offer the uniformity of the drum on the contact with the emulsion.
 

Don_ih

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Messages
7,852
Location
Ontario
Format
35mm RF
brbo said:
Easier said than done when negatives are already mounted on the drum. Mounting fluid, mylar and all...
Click to expand...

No, I mean a separate test. Scan a negative, scan it again facing the other way, compare. That should indicate if it mattered all along and show whether or not some of the previously (backward-mounted) scanned negatives need to be scanned again.
 

brbo

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
2,145
Location
EU
Format
Multi Format
Of course, but that is a lot of work if, like OP, you have the entire drum mounted with various strips or even tens of individual frames and you don't have another drum to make the test for comparison prior to scanning the already mounted drum. Entire drum at high resolution means a full day of scanning on a "desktop" drum scanner.

Anyway, it just dawned on me that I used to deliberately mount the film with emulsion away from the drum when I only had a drum with slight crazing. That way the crazing was less noticeable in scans and quality was still good.

But, if OP can't do a comparison, somebody else surely can...

So, here we go....

Mounted properly:



Mounted with emulsion facing away from drum:



(click for full resolution)


If your auto-focus can pick the emulsion side or you can focus manually, I wouldn't worry and scan the film...
 
Last edited:

koraks

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Messages
23,379
Location
Europe
Format
Multi Format
Alan Edward Klein said:
Wouldn't you get moire patterns if the film is against the glass?
Click to expand...

The film is fluid-mounted on the drum; this prevents Newton rings from happening.

brbo said:
But, if OP can't do a comparison, somebody else surely can...
Click to expand...
That's pretty compelling. In the sense that I really don't see much of a difference at all.
 

brbo

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
2,145
Location
EU
Format
Multi Format
Yes, virtually no difference. Maybe scanning a fine-grain slide film with the smallest aperture (this was with the second smallest aperture) would show an observable difference, but I doubt anything as big as to require going through the pain of remounting the film on the drum.
 
OP
OP

pkr1979

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2019
Messages
515
Location
Oslo
Format
Multi Format
Thanks guys! So, to avoid brain-itch I re-scanned the negative emulsion the right way. I cant see any difference at all. @brbo - what scanner are you using?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…