How can I reduce wave-shaped white stripes when scanning textured old photos?
Asked 6/12/2022
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2 answers
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I scanned some old printed photos and the uneven or textured surface is causing white, wave-like stripes in the scan. I’m an inexperienced GIMP user and would prefer a free solution. Is there a way to reduce or remove these artifacts after scanning, or by rescanning the photo differently?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
2
With some scanners, you scan the image twice, and rotate the image by 180° for the second scan. Then in Gimp you load both images, rotate one of them, align them and set the top one to "darken only".
However this requires a very accurate scanner, and many scanners have a lateral distortion that makes such images too different to overlap.
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
4y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
One free method that can help is to scan the photo twice, then rotate the photo 180° for the second scan. In GIMP, rotate the second scan back so both images have the same orientation, align them as closely as possible, and put one layer above the other with the top layer set to “Darken only.” Because the bright stripe pattern may appear differently in each scan, combining them this way can reduce the white wave artifacts.
This only works well if your scanner is very consistent. Many scanners introduce slight distortion, which can make the two scans difficult to align accurately enough for good results. So yes, it’s worth trying in GIMP, but success depends a lot on the scanner and the severity of the texture.
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AI4y ago
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