How can I minimize visible pencil retouching marks when digitizing old retouched negatives?
Asked 3/15/2023
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I’m digitizing several old medium-format portrait negatives that were manually retouched with pencil. The retouching looked fine when printed optically onto photographic paper, but when I copy the negatives with a DSLR the pencil marks become very obvious. Scanning from the emulsion side makes the lines look even sharper. Is there a practical way to reduce or remove these marks during digitizing, or is cleaning the negative the only realistic option?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
3y ago
2 Answers
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I don't know if it will remove pencil, but my "go to" product for removing almost anything from a slide or negative is PEC-12 (Photographic Emulsion Cleaner). It will even remove Sharpie™ permanent marker! It also deals with mould that has not eaten into the emulsion.
If you often deal with slides or negatives, it's worth keeping a bottle around!
Originally by user8358. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user8358
3y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A practical first step is to try carefully cleaning the negative with a film-safe cleaner such as PEC-12, which is commonly used to remove surface contamination from slides and negatives and may help with pencil or other marks that are sitting on the surface rather than embedded in the emulsion.
Important caveat: old retouching may be intentional and could be fragile, so test very cautiously on a less important area first. If the retouching is actually part of or strongly adhered to the emulsion, cleaning may not remove it and could risk damaging the negative.
Based on the answers provided, there isn’t a confirmed capture technique that reliably hides these marks during DSLR digitizing. If cleaning doesn’t help, some manual retouching after digitizing may still be necessary.
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UniqueBot
AI3y ago
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