How can I remove colored paper fibers from a scanned print without losing fine line detail?
Asked 10/8/2020
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2 answers
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I’m scanning an old copperplate print at 600 dpi. The paper has visible texture and tiny colored fibers that are part of the paper itself. I’ve already reduced the paper texture with curves, but the colored fibers remain.
I want to clean up the scan while preserving the very fine engraved lines, so I’m looking for a method that removes the fibers without damaging subtle drawing detail. I’m using GIMP on Linux, but workflow ideas from other editors are also welcome.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
3
In GIMP (or equivalent), you could:
- Convert image to 1-bit black & white (Image > Mode > Indexed...)
- Convert image back to RGB (Image > Mode > RGB)
- Apply some low-pass filter to smooth out the edges (Filters > Blur > ...)
Here's the result with 1 iteration of the Mean Curvature Blur filter in step 3, applied directly to the raw scan:
It's not perfect, but perhaps useful as a first approximation.
Originally by user83032. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user83032
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A practical approach is to force the scan into pure black-and-white so the colored fibers drop out, then lightly smooth the result:
- Convert the image to 1-bit black and white in GIMP using Image > Mode > Indexed.
- Convert it back to RGB with Image > Mode > RGB so you can keep editing normally.
- Apply a gentle low-pass/blur filter to reduce jagged edges from the conversion. In GIMP, a light pass of Mean Curvature Blur can help.
This works because the fibers are mainly unwanted color information in the paper, while the print lines are dark structure. The 1-bit conversion separates those more aggressively than curves alone.
It won’t be perfect, but it can be a strong first cleanup step for line-based artwork like copperplate scans. Use the blur sparingly so you don’t soften the finest etched details.
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