Scanning film and film holders

goob4114

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I just got some film back from the lab, and I'm trying to scan it on my Epson V550. The film is so curled that it is almost impossible to get it to even stay in the holder. What's the story on the focus for these flatbeds? I tried to order something called an "Anti-Newton Ring Glass" for my holder, but the only place I found is currently out of stock. In the meantime, I'd like to get these scanned. I've tried putting the film directly on the glass without the holder and it's in better focus than inside the holder, BUT my scanner isn't able to detect individual pictures. It's cropping them in the middle of each picture - very odd. Any suggestions? I've developed film myself, and on only one occasion has curl been an issue, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't get it to stay in the holder.
 
You may try pressing the curl out. Get some archival paper, and place a sheet on both sides of the film. Place it on a flat surface and put a weight on top of it. It may take some time.
 
You may try pressing the curl out. Get some archival paper, and place a sheet on both sides of the film. Place it on a flat surface and put a weight on top of it. It may take some time.

Yes, I've done that before, and it did take a while. I did it with the one roll I developed and had the bad curl - but still wasn't as bad as this. I was mainly wondering how to get my scanner to see the pictures right when putting the film directly on the scanning bed without the holder. Inside the holder, the middle of all the frames are out of focus because of the curl running the length of the film. It looked pretty sharp directly on the bed, but they weren't cropped right. This is just a temporary issue as I will get one of those glass inserts at some point.
 
There should be a way to switch from a thumbnail view to...I don't know what it would be called, but the other view basically lets you see the entire strip and you can select the frames yourself. I use a Canon, so I can't tell you how to find that setting on the Epson, but I would be very very surprised if there isn't an option to switch the view.
 
First, make sure your lab will furnish un-rolled negatives inserted in flat plastic sheet. They should cut the film in short lengths and then insert in these sheets before mailing to you. If the lab is decent, they will do this for you. I use LTI Lightside in NYC.

If you're having trouble with the scanner detecting individual frames, switch from Thumbnail to Normal and draw the frame around each image.

Good luck.
 
First, make sure your lab will furnish un-rolled negatives inserted in flat plastic sheet. They should cut the film in short lengths and then insert in these sheets before mailing to you. If the lab is decent, they will do this for you. I use LTI Lightside in NYC.

If you're having trouble with the scanner detecting individual frames, switch from Thumbnail to Normal and draw the frame around each image.

Good luck.

The rolls are cut and sleeved. The curl isn't from being rolled - that would actually work. The problem is that it is curled the other way - like along the entire strip of film.
 
There should be a way to switch from a thumbnail view to...I don't know what it would be called, but the other view basically lets you see the entire strip and you can select the frames yourself. I use a Canon, so I can't tell you how to find that setting on the Epson, but I would be very very surprised if there isn't an option to switch the view.

I hope there is a setting like this. I will look for it.
 
AhAA! There is. When I click to the "normal" tab instead of the "thumbnail" tab, it show the entire scan, and I can manually crop. This will get me by until I get the insert. Thanks a lot for your help, limr and Alan!
 
When you say they are cut and sleeved, do you mean in a flat plastic sheet?

Yes. The curl is down the length of the film. Not like it's trying to roll back up, but in the other direction. So curled, that they are too skinny to fit in the holder. Curled like a tape measure. Does that make sense? It's even hard to get them in and out of the sleeve.

On a different note, I've been looking at pictures on Flickr of medium format film scanned on a scanner similar to mine, and your pictures have popped up. They are beautiful. I've seen your pictures over the last few weeks, and particularly your landscapes; that's what I'm after - and I just visited your Flickr link you post here, and I was like, "Hey! I've seen these before!". Small world, I guess! Do you do much editing after you scan? I pop mine into Lightroom and do some adjustments on some of them, but I don't want to have to do that because I like the "look" of film so much. That's the whole point of using it.

It's the first time I've used a lab, and I was very frustrated. I am glad to hear that apparently, they shouldn't be. It's a local lab here in Dallas (where I'm from). They don't do E-6 process, so I sent a couple of rolls to a lab in California. North Pacific Coast Photography I think is the name of the lab. I should get those back tomorrow. I actually mailed them out the same day I took my color negs to the local lab here. I got the developed negs back today, and I expect the developed slide film from California tomorrow. If they come back good, I'll probably use them in the future since the turnaround is about the same - - even though they are in California.
 
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Thanks for your comments. Yes I do a lot of editing after the scans. It's required for what I'm looking for. But if you want something else, then just do what you need to do to get what you're looking for. Everyone has their own taste. Good luck.
 

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