- Joined
- Feb 6, 2015
- Messages
- 1
I am keen to scan in a trove of slides and negatives from my beloved grandfather, back to about 1940. There are many hundreds of WWII and family photos I would like to capture. I have spent the last several months reading DPUG and various other sources to develop a plan. I am not looking for museum quality but want to have a decent return on my time and capture some family legacy for myself and others to enjoy. I am using an epson V750 with SilverFast to capture and lightroom to catalog.
The slides and flattened film (35mm and MF) have been easy enough to capture. But the curled up film I am struggling with. On the recommendation of several posts I put a bit of the 35mm in warm water with a microdrop of detergent to 'rehydrate' the film, they said, before planning to hang it with weight to straighten it. As I placed it in the water, I watched as the picture floated away. Fortunately I used a sacrificial bit that I did not plan to scan. So next I thought perhaps a wet mount. Following instructions found here and elsewhere I have tried mineral oil & naphtha (not together of course). mineral oil is the biggest mess ever and I couldn't get the air bubbles out despite many attempts to do so. Naphtha evaporated before I could get the negative flattened out. I tried both wet mounting and dry with a piece of ANR on top to weight it down, but I need more weight to defeat the curl.
Incidentally I have not been very successful cleaning it with PEC 12 either. I tested a corner as the directions instruct and did not experience any gooey mess as they suggest, but trying clean the negative with a drop or two, took the shiny surface off and left am oily smear. Fortunately I am careful and tried it first on an overexposed frame that was no good.
Can anyone, who has actually done this, provide any advice? I am patient and willing to wait for the film to flatten if there a non-destructive means to do so. But trying to hold down this heavy curl at scan time is a losing battle. I'm not willing to sacrifice any good film on what I think now were the untried guesses of others. Or is it the age of the film that's a problem with these modern techniques? Are there any professionals or seasoned veterans that have worked with this age of film that would share how to clean and prepare without destroying, please?
Thank you very kindly for your time.
The slides and flattened film (35mm and MF) have been easy enough to capture. But the curled up film I am struggling with. On the recommendation of several posts I put a bit of the 35mm in warm water with a microdrop of detergent to 'rehydrate' the film, they said, before planning to hang it with weight to straighten it. As I placed it in the water, I watched as the picture floated away. Fortunately I used a sacrificial bit that I did not plan to scan. So next I thought perhaps a wet mount. Following instructions found here and elsewhere I have tried mineral oil & naphtha (not together of course). mineral oil is the biggest mess ever and I couldn't get the air bubbles out despite many attempts to do so. Naphtha evaporated before I could get the negative flattened out. I tried both wet mounting and dry with a piece of ANR on top to weight it down, but I need more weight to defeat the curl.
Incidentally I have not been very successful cleaning it with PEC 12 either. I tested a corner as the directions instruct and did not experience any gooey mess as they suggest, but trying clean the negative with a drop or two, took the shiny surface off and left am oily smear. Fortunately I am careful and tried it first on an overexposed frame that was no good.
Can anyone, who has actually done this, provide any advice? I am patient and willing to wait for the film to flatten if there a non-destructive means to do so. But trying to hold down this heavy curl at scan time is a losing battle. I'm not willing to sacrifice any good film on what I think now were the untried guesses of others. Or is it the age of the film that's a problem with these modern techniques? Are there any professionals or seasoned veterans that have worked with this age of film that would share how to clean and prepare without destroying, please?
Thank you very kindly for your time.