scanning of old photos - photopaper with texture

[Andra_M]

hello group,

I have a good quality photograph, and by my human eye when I look straight at it I cannot see anything particular about it. If I look at it sideways and closely then I see that the paper has a regular texture. But! the scanner is tooooo sharp-eyed, unnecessary sharp-eyed, and this texture appears in the scanned image. There are several scan options but not like “texture remove”. Is there a way to avoid the texture?
Scanner: CanoScan 8800F

[Fen]

May sound silly, but try turning the photo around 90° and scanning it again. It sometimes helps, but can't guarantee it

[zx9]

Not knowing the Canon software, my reply is a bit of a guess but here are some ideas.

Are you scanning at too high a resolution? For prints as the original you do not need to use a very high resolution, all it will do is increase file size.

Has the software got a setting for aliasing / anti-aliasing? It could be that the line frequency of the scan is 'amplifying' the effects of the paper's texture.

Edit :

Is the scan software using USM sharpening? I find that by setting USM in Photoshop, I can 'pre sharpen' the image but not the grain, before doing any other editing. I would expect the paper texture could be reduced by pre-sharpening at say amount 200, radius 1, level 10. Some experimentation will be required but these settings are my starting point when trying to play down grain on the Epson.

It's a bit of a shot in the dark as I have an Epson and use it for scanning film, but hopefully a Canon user will turn up sooner or later.

[Fen]

Keith,

It's not about the scanner. I've worked on photos like this before, they're are printed onto a textured paper and it's covered with lots of tiny dimples. I've found that changing the alignment of the photo can sometimes help in getting an image without too many of these dimples showing in the scanned version.

[zx9]

Keith,

It's not about the scanner. I've worked on photos like this before, they're are printed onto a textured paper and it's covered with lots of tiny dimples. I've found that changing the alignment of the photo can sometimes help in getting an image without too many of these dimples showing in the scanned version.

Point taken Fen, I still think the surface texture is acting as a raster which could be reduced in the scan processing, after all moving the print a fraction (or by rotation) to reduce the effect is 'hardware' anti-aliasing.

In a 'lounge' discussion I would have said the OP should iron the print to reduce surface texture Thinking about it, fluid mounting should do it. Please do not try the last two.

[Andra_M]

thank you both,

turning by 90 degrees didn’t help anything.
I tried different dpi and WxH in pixels – the texture (more or less visible as dots or actual pattern) is there. Actual size is 18x13 cm, on the screen it looks quite well when I zoom out till 6x4.5cm.
Image settings available:
1) Auto tone – ON, OFF
2) Set Unsharp Mask to ON - Sharpening slightly blurred images
3) Set Descreen to ON - Reducing gradations and stripe patterns
4) Reduce Dust and Scratches - None, Low, Medium, High
5) Fading Correction - None, Low, Medium, High
6) Grain Correction - None, Low, Medium, High
7) Backlight Correction - None, Low, Medium, High
8) Gutter Shadow Correction - None, Low, Medium, High
+ Color adjustment:
9) Adjusting Saturation and Color Balance
10 ) Adjusting Brightness and Contrast
11) Adjusting Histogram - a graph showing brightness distribution
12) Adjusting Tone Curve - a graph of brightness balance
13) Setting Threshold - Sharpening characters in text documents and reducing back-printing

[cdhs]

Unsharp Mask should be off and any other sharpening options. Sometimes placing something like a hardback book over the print and applying a slight pressure downwards on the book produces a better scan (leave scanner lid up)

[Nod]

I had the same problem scanning some pics for my Grandfather (from magazine type prints). I use a CanoScan 8000F so I suspect the setting will be similar. Under the settings tab in the ScanGear dialogue, check the Descreen box in the Filter Processing area; that should help reduce the regular blotchiness. IMO, all the other adjustments are better done in your usual PP software where you have more control. HTH.

[Andra_M]

It seems I'm leaving this as it is. Thank you, guys.

[RogerMac]

Sorry if I am butting in but I have found a similar problem with my scanner that can be bypassed by rephotographing the original image. Seems to avoid the problem completely and is a lot quicker than scanning

Roger

Edit: Typo