Ink Cleaning, White Border Removal & Image Restoration

[prbp]

Hello,

I have a couple of queries.

1. Is there any why I can remove WHITE BORDERS automatically from my images
using some automated tool / process?

2. I have scanned quite a lot of old handwritten documents. Now many docume
nts have ink marks of back page visible on this page in reverse. Is there so
me way I can remove them or lighten them? Due to age they have turned yellow so color selection at times selects entire image

3. The handwritten documents are mostly in pencil so have lightened due to a
ge. Is there some way I can darken these marks.

Thanks in anticipation of positive reply

[llinares]

Sometimes you can look at the color channels and find that the ink will show mainly in just one channel, often the blue channel. You can then edit that channel or if discard it if you are converting to black and white.

[Caitlin]

Someone in another thread suggested placing a black sheet of paper behind the document when you scan to minimise 'print through' - I haven't tried it myself but it sounds like a good suggestion.

Photoshop (not sure which versions) also has a crop and straighten function under FILE/AUTOMATE that will probably remove your borders.

Use levels to adjust the look of the text by improving black and white levels.

[deadants]

I don't think recording an action would work unless all the photos were the exact same size. But I haven't tried it; it just sound like a definite cropping size would be needed.

I think the black paper does work. I tried it with kitchen cooking paper, which is extremely transparent and there is a marked improvement.

I have been trying different effects to eliminate the text from paper, which has been scanned without the black paper, but I haven’t had a successful result yet.

As you can see the faded hanwriting is is only a matter of adjusting the levels.

[Caitlin]

Boy Deadants - you've given yourself one mightly tough experiment there! I'm hoping we never have to scan off see-through kitchen paper!! *lol*

I tried using levels with your first test - and the results are indeed slightly better with the black backed version (on the right) - though neither are great. But with more normal thickness paper I think it would be more successful.

[deadants]

It was the only thin transparent paper in the house. If it works on that stuff, normal paper should be a breeze.

[prbp]

Hello,

I too tried the levels. But if you see along with the handwriting the backpage reflection also darkens. What I wanted is just darken the handwriting part, which is not possible.

But i had seen demos of a couple of document scanning softwares and at the click of a button it is done! I dont understand how but the back page marks disappear to a great extent. I tried the THRESHHOLD tool and under the B/w mode am able to reduce. But is there some way I can keep the colors intact while increasing darkness?