Scan Problem, Image on Silk Finish Paper

[Jim Frazer]

Hi,

I have 3 photos from my inlaws' wedding that I want to scan and include in a DVD slide show. In the process there will be some restoration. I'm seeing horizontal bands in the scanned images that may be due to the silk finish on the paper used to make the prints. They are also 60 years old!

The attachment shows the problem. I tried various resolutions when scanning and some of the other features, but the banding is always there. Note that the attached image was rotated so the banding may appear vertical.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to reduce the problem by using scan parameters or in PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro.

Thanks,
Jim

[BillFrey]

Hi, Jim Frazer,

Do you have the scanner software's automatic enhancements turned off?

The scan looks sharpened and if the scanner is picking up the fabric, it's 'enhancing' it, making it more prominent. Turning off all enhancements won't get rid of the problem entirely, but it will make the scan more fixable.

Another thought is that it might be 'scan lines' but it's hard to tell with the small sample.

Bill

[Jim Frazer]

Hi Bill,

All enhancements are turned off. I tried the "Descreen" feature but it made things worse. I tried both gray scale and true color. Grey scale is just slightly better.

Jim

[BillFrey]

Hi, Jim Frazer

If the lines are coming from the paper texture, then you might try scanning twice, rotating the picture 180 degrees for the 2nd scan. Bring them into your photo editing software on layers, align them perfectly and set the uppermost layer to darken.

Because the scanner light is reflecting off the texture, it will reflect each scan from the 'other' side of the texture. Hopefully this will tone down those lines.

Good luck

[mistermonday]

Jim, a quick fix would be to run a noise filter on the image such as I have done with Noiseware. I applied it somewhat agressively. The shadows still need some evening out.
Regards, Murray

[duwayne]

If you can scan the photo again in color mode, then take a look a each individual channel. You may find the bulk of the texture is confined to one channel. Kill this channel and merge the other two together.

[Daviskw]

Hi Jim

I used Image Analyzer to get rid of some of the lines.
Then Neat Image for some noise.
Lastly a few layers set to darken or softlight to get rid of more noise in the shadows.

Butch

[Jim Frazer]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'll try the suggestions and let you know how it works out.

Jim

[Kraellin]

butch, did you use the fft of image analyzer to get rid of the pattern?

[Daviskw]

Yes Craig I did.... it did a pretty good job getting rid of the long lines anyway

Butch

[Kraellin]

thanks, butch. i may have to install that again. lost it when i lost my last computer.

[Jim Frazer]

Hi,

I downloaded Image Analyzer and will give that a try.

Jim

[Daviskw]

Jim if you have not used this type of program before try this;

Open your picture
Under Filters choose the Frequency domain filter

The window that opens looks confusing but if you look close you will see areas of clustered white or points.
Adjust your pen size if you like and take the pen(Your mouse) and click in the center of each cluster.
Use the arrow keys if you like to zoom out or in...sometimes this shows clusters you did not see before.

Stay away from the large upper center cluster... do NOT click in it.
When you have the centers filled with black click preview and check your picture. If it is still not as you like try blacking out more of the cluster areas... or and zoom in and out and see if any more appear.
When done click OK.

Butch

[Kraellin]

butch, thank you for all that. i installed IA again. i had IA installed once before but had never used it much, so that fft stuff was quite handy. much simpler than the adobe or psp method and seems to do a good job.