Cheaper Alternatives to anti-newton glass

[sully75]

Hi there,

I'm looking to make a film holder for my Epson 4870. I can't afford any of the available options at the moment. I was going to make my own with a piece of anti-glare glass but just priced an 8x10 piece of glass at $19.

I was wondering about lightly grinding a piece of picture frame glass to take the shine off and using that. I can't figure out why that wouldn't work. If the glass is going behind the picture, it seems like something like ground glass would work really well.

Am I wrong? Please stop me now before I grind!

Any other tips for a do it yourself holder would be welcome. I'm planning on making a platen the size of scanner bay with a hole the size of the light out of thin plastic, and then adding spacers to the platen until I get the glass at the correct height. And then taping negatives to the glass, on the underside.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!
Paul

[mrred]

ANR glass is more than glass with the smoothness taken off. I agree that much of it is overpriced, but it's the etched pattern that's important. If this is what you need, you need to pay for this one. ANR glass without a suitable holder is kind of pointless. If you lay the film in the scanner glass, the scanner glass must be made ANR as well. You would also experience some focus issues,

I have a 4490, which replaced your unit. I had to make a wet mount holder because no one actually made one for this unit. Although I use regular glass (8x10 clip frame glass, $2) and acetate ($3 a sheet), I have to buy scanning fluid (consumable, $25ish for 8oz). There is a cost associated with everything.

I have ANR glass, replacement holders, and now a fluid mount holder. None are a magic bullet. You will get more mileage from getting more out of your software and work-flow. Scanning *IS* a black art and takes time to get it right. When you budget can stretch then entertain going down this road.

[sanking]

Hi there,

I'm looking to make a film holder for my Epson 4870. I can't afford any of the available options at the moment. I was going to make my own with a piece of anti-glare glass but just priced an 8x10 piece of glass at $19.

I was wondering about lightly grinding a piece of picture frame glass to take the shine off and using that. I can't figure out why that wouldn't work. If the glass is going behind the picture, it seems like something like ground glass would work really well.

Am I wrong? Please stop me now before I grind!

Any other tips for a do it yourself holder would be welcome. I'm planning on making a platen the size of scanner bay with a hole the size of the light out of thin plastic, and then adding spacers to the platen until I get the glass at the correct height. And then taping negatives to the glass, on the underside.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!
Paul

Paul,

There is an anti-glare glass that you can buy at framing shops that will work just as well as AN glass for scanning. Buy a piece of the regular anti-glare glass cut to the size of your scanner bed. Fluid mount a negative to the underside of the glass (clear) side, with the AN side facing up. Usw spacers such as dimes and pennies at the corners and test for the optimum plane of sharpness. You can also dry mount the negative to the glass, but if so mount it with the emulsion facing the anti-glare side of the glass.

What I have described above works in theory like the Betterscanning mount, which has a more sophisticated method of testing for position of best focus.

Sandy King

[sully75]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Wondering about fluid mounting. My bedroom is my darkroom. Sounds like this fluid is stinky, is there any non-stinky mounting fluid that it would be ok to sleep near?

[sully75]

And to confirm: there would be a problem with using ground glass? I can't figure out why that wouldn't work.

[sanking]

And to confirm: there would be a problem with using ground glass? I can't figure out why that wouldn't work.

Scanning fluids are not sticky. They are solvents and usually evaporate easily from the film. The tape you use to secure the film may dissolve in the fluid and become tacky and you don't want to get this on the negative. Normally I fluid mount the negative using an over-size piece of mylar on top, with the mylar taped at the edges. This prevents any of the sticky stuff from the tape getting on the negative. BTW, for flat bed scanning with fluid mounting I use the plain blue line masking tape that you can get at hardware stores. It actually works better (less sticky!) than the tape sold for fluid mounting with drum scanners.

AN glass is used in two ways. One way, when you place the negative in contact with the AN side, has as its purpose the elimination of Newton Rings. The other way is when you fluid mount a negative to the clear side of the glass, and face the AN side toward the light. The purpose here is to diffuse slightly the scan, which is often desirable. However, if the AN side is too coarse, as might be the case with ground glass, it is possible that you would get too much diffusion, and some loss of sharpness.

Sandy King

[sully75]

Ok proved to myself that the ground glass idea doesn't work. yep. grain city.

Thanks!
Paul