Problems with scanned "Pebble Surface" photographs

K
Posted By
klikmaker
Feb 4, 2004
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1122
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10
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I need to scan a bunch of color photographs that no longer have negatives. Most of the prints are the textured, "pebbly-surface" kind of paper. Great for getting rid of glare, but lousy for scanning: the scans have lots of little white dots where the pebbling occurs. This really shows up when I lighten the image.

I’ve been using the Dust & Scratches filter, which is working sort of adequately. Is there a better way to fix this problem? I’m using Photoshop CS

Thanks,

Dale
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H
Ho
Feb 4, 2004
I have never resorted to this, but some folks advocate lying the photo on the scanner glass in a liquid such as glycerin to rid yourself of the texture. I would ask around before I attempted this move… it may do the trick but I’m not sure what happens to your prints after scan.

You might want to ask or search here:

Google scan groups < http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&a mp;safe=off&group=comp.periphs.scanners>
RH
r_harvey
Feb 4, 2004
The new Epson 4870 scanner uses two lights, which might reduce the shadows.
DN
Douglas_Nelson
Feb 4, 2004
I’ve found no reliable way to fix this in Photoshop. The most reliable way is to shoot them with a digital camera rather than scanning. Use a diffuse light source (daylight on an overcast day works great).

If you must use a scanner, we’ve had some success with scanning more than once at different angles, then combining.

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K
klikmaker
Feb 5, 2004
Thanks for the tips. I’ll give them some serious consideration.

Dale
RH
r_harvey
Feb 5, 2004
See also Problems with scanned "Pebble Surface" photographs <http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?13@@.2ccfc86c/0> in the Photoshop/Macintosh forum. It’s a tough crowd over there.
DM
dave_milbut
Feb 5, 2004
if they’re as old as you say they are in the mac forum, i’d be careful about using any solvent, including glycerin on them.

is "pebble surface" a special kind of paper or is it just photos with a "matte" finsish. kind of bumpyish. my parent’s used to get all their pix developed w/matte finish. there was a little box on the form you checked for "glossy" or "matte" finish. big rage (at least at my house) in the 70’s. is the "pebble" paper more pronounced than a run of the mill get it developed at shop-rite "matte" finished pic?
RH
r_harvey
Feb 5, 2004
If it’s really pebbly and there’s a slight luster, it’s probably not more than 25 years old. If that’s the case, it’s likely an RC (Resin Coated) paper, which doesn’t get wet how you’d like, but dries very fast (since it doesn’t absorb water). Soaking it (not to the point of shorting-out the scanner) will probably cause Newton rings, and generally not prove to be a very productive experience–though educational.
FN
Fred_Nirque
Feb 5, 2004
Klikmaker,

See my post in your thread in the Mac forum for a solution, although it may not be practical given the equipment required. You may have to approach a pro studio/lab that prctices the method I outlined to get it done & save you heaps of time – though the expense of this may mean the option is not viable.

Whatever, it is one way of getting results.

A much friendlier place, this Widoze forum, though I (now) reluctantly admit that I was a son of the Mac.

Fred.
BO
Burton_Ogden
Feb 5, 2004
Dale,

I agree with Douglas Nelson that you need to photograph the pebbled photos under diffuse light. You could use a digital camera or a film camera.

For a possible software solution to the pebbled pattern highlights, try the free demo of Neat Image.

<http://www.neatimage.com>

— Burton — (not associated with Neat Image)
K
klikmaker
Feb 6, 2004
Thanks to everyone for the help and suggestions. —Dale

Let me share a technique suggested to me in the Yahoo ProDesign forum:

* ********************************************** Some things work sometimes, and not others, depending on the image.
Here’s a couple of tools from my arsenal:

Change the mode to LAB color, Gaussian blur the A & B Channels, try varying amounts of Dust & Scratches on the lightness channel. You may be able to reduce the spots without loosing too much detail. You can also UnSharp Mask the lightness chanel (gently) without screwing up the color. That may make up for any slight loss from the D&S. The trick is to make a "Just-noticable" difference, not horse it up.

In CMYK mode, look at each channel separately. You may want to D&S or G-blur the Y & M channels separately, and/or combined. I’ve had some old B/W photos where the silver has started to crystalize on the surface, making small dots that are a lot like the pebble finish artifacts. I scan them in color, since they are usually somewhat sepia-tones, with image subtleties that get lost in a GS scan. The color scan also makes it easier to clean out stains. Copying the Cyan channel and pasting it into the black layer, then reduce the effect, or change it to a "multiply" of some percentage, which may eliminate the dots without altering the color (much). The cyan channel is often similar to the black, but usually brighter (depending on the individual image). So you can use the C chanel to reduce or eliminate the spots in the K channel, at least in some images. If the black buils up to much, simply adjust the K curve with all channels selected- so you can see any color change.

Those are the most efective tricks that I’ve used, lately. Jeff

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