Looking at this stuff.... 2 things come to mind!

1. Your scans are giving you more work to do! You really need a good scanner. I know I am lucky that I have a $100k scanner, but really, if you are doing this seriously, you need to re-think. Some of the work can actually be done at the scan stage.

2. You really should look into traditional photography.... Removing stains, be it ink or paint, can be don really easy, if you now your processes and emulsion types! especially when it come to B&W!

ftp-jeff,

very good points. bear in mind retouchpro only allows for 100k images (patrons at 200k). so, even the best of scans is going to show up...uh, less than the best here.

and i totally agree about traditional photography being an aid to restoration work... if you've got the print/slide/negative to work with. but, i'd love to see any reference sites/links you could provide to working directly on images, rather than digital. one of the problems we see here fairly frequently is pictures stuck together, usually from having been exposed to water. stains and ink are another. any links you provide for handling those directly would be great.

Looking at this stuff.... 2 things come to mind!

1. Your scans are giving you more work to do! You really need a good scanner. I know I am lucky that I have a $100k scanner, but really, if you are doing this seriously, you need to re-think. Some of the work can actually be done at the scan stage.

2. You really should look into traditional photography.... Removing stains, be it ink or paint, can be don really easy, if you now your processes and emulsion types! especially when it come to B&W!

what kind of scanner do you have?...most drum scanners have fallen so far in value, you can't even give them away...

what kind of scanner do you have?...most drum scanners have fallen so far in value, you can't even give them away...
I have an ICG 360i If you can find me a free one, I'll have it, as mine works for 6 hrs a day!

Photoflo and water to get print off glass.

I think I may start a site for all my old cheats and tricks.... If only a day was 56 hours long eh?

Jeff

the place i used to work at mothballed their scanner, it needed a new PMT and they didn't really want to go after any scanning work as the profit margin was very slim....i saw a Fuji Celsis with the mac interface for 2,000 "or best offer" on ebay

These days, you can find very good scanners for a decent price. I use a HP Scanjet 4890. It has many modern features including back light for film, and can handle up to 19200 ppi. It is only 8.5 X 14 in, but anything larger I either do with multiple passes, or switch to a camera.