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Scratch and dust removal

Slides and film scratch very easily, they also collect tiny dust particles and although you may not see the scratches or dust with the naked eye, they will certainly be noticeable after scanning. So we remove them for you using automated detection software called Digital ICE.

Digital ICE 4 is used on all scans as standard (unless you are a professional user who has requested us not to use it) to remove scratches and dust from the scanned image. Before each item is scanned it is cleaned with filtered compressed air, anti-static brushes and lint free cloths in order to remove as much of the loose and stubborn debris as possible. Only then do we believe the items are ready for scanning.

As you can see from the images above, the Digital ICE software has removed the majority of the scratches and dust marks form the image.

Finish processing, by hand

The manual finishing service goes a step further with dust and scratch removal. Our technicians check each image in Adobe Photoshop and remove any remaining imperfections by hand, leaving you with a cleaner image.

Below is typical example of an image before and after our manual service. The two marks on the wall are too large for Digital ICE to remove effectively, also notice the colour and contrast improvements our manual service generally offers.

Limitations of Digital ICE

• Slight loss of detail. Digital ICE technology and the software used to remove and blend the marks on the scan can cause a slight loss of the fine details in the image. Normally this is fine and the majority of users do not detect any discernible lack of quality especially with older films that may be lacking in fine details anyway. The benefits of removing the marks by using Digital ICE tend to outweigh the slight loss of detail. Because of the slight lack in details, some professional users may wish for us not to use Digital ICE and for that reason it is an option in our pro options section.
• It can't repair large scratches. As in the example above, some scratches and marks may remain on the scanned image. This is typical for large scratches and marks and in our experience the only way the way to these is by using our Manual repair service.
• It can't repair major damage. The software detects large areas of damage and ignores them as it cannot repair these automatically. Our Manual service will repair small imperfections, but larger areas will require our dedicated photo repair and restoration service.
• It doesn't work on black & white films. The silver halide chemical typically found on black and white images interferes with the infrared light used to detect the imperfections on the film surface, rendering the process useless on the vast majority of black and white film. The only solution to remove the dust and scratches is our Manual service.
• It doesn't work on photos and documents. Digital ICE relies on infrared light passing through the film and being captured by the sensor in the scanner. Photos and documents, being paper based will block the infrared light, rendering it useless.

Thinking of removing the dust and scratches yourself?

Removing the dust and scratches by hand is a tedious, labourious and time consuming process, which is why we recommend and include Digital ICE on all our scans.

The Digital ICE software is very good at removing the vast majority of dust and scratch marks, but if you prefer that we do not apply the Digital ICE software, then you can de-select it from the quotation. Removing Digital ICE reduces the unit price slightly, but will lead to marked images being returned to you.