Technical Basis of Fluid Scanning

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http://www.historicphotoarchive.com/stuff/wet.htm

From:
http://www.apug.org/forums/forum128/26216-wet-mounting-scanmax.html
Wet Mounting by ScanScience
Hi there,

I got from ScanScience (scanmax ) a wet mounting set for
a flatbed scanner. The results are stunning. I just tried
with a 665 Polaroid neg and the improvement is
incredible.
For people interested, it's really worth it!

G.

Fluid Immersion Scanning
Explained

FLUID SCANNING EXPLAINED

Origins in Fluid Immersion Microscopy

In Microscopy, Fluid immersion increases the resolution of the lens and that enables the lens to achieve higher magnifications. (The numerical
Aperture of the lens is proportional to its numerical aperture which in turn is proportioanl to the refractive index of the fluid). Similarly, LUMINA
Scanning Optical fluid has the effect of increasing the resolution of the scan. Nikon microscopy website has an excellent write up of oil immersion
microscopy.
http://www.microscopyu.com/tutorials/java/objectives/immersion/

The fluid Mount

For Fluid Immersion Scanning, the film must be immersed in fluid during the scan. This is accomplished by placing fluid between glass an film
and film and an optically clear overlay, as illustrated in the image to the right, Ideally the fluid and the film backing have the same index of
refraction or the closest the better.

Optical Benefits of Fluid Immersion Scanning

When the source light strikes the dry grain, some of it travels through and some is lost to reflection. When light strikes film immersed in
fluid, the light can travel through the grain without loss to reflection.
Reducing losses through reflection makes the image appear more brilliant and wth greater color saturation.
Grain rich areas of the film block the passage of light. When some of the light is lost through relfection, there is less light available to
illuminate the shadows and detail in the shadows are lost. Because there is more transmission integrity with fluid scanning, there is
better definition of the shadow areas, and greater dynamic range.

Elimination of Pepper Grain

Because losses through reflectivity at the grain are minimized with fluid scanning, less light is scattered as it hits the grain,-which results
in greater resolution. Reflectivity and light scattering also have the effect of emphasizing the grain, making it appear bigger and coarser
than it really is.
Cutting reflectivity cuts pepper grain. "Pepper grain" drives photographers to distraction but that only occurs to photographers that use
high quality film scanners like the NIKON 8000 and the Imacon (prior to the latest model) which use a highly collimated light source. That
collimated light source, increases the reflectivity of the grain and causes 'pepper grain'. The pity is that scanners that use a collimated
light source potentially produce sharper scans. Because fluid imersion undoes the negative effect of a collimated light, that potential is
fully achieved if such scaners are used as fluid scanners.
The pepper grain complaint is not attributed toFlatbed scanners, because only a very few of those can pick up grain detail. Drum
scanners, in spite of their high resolution, never get blamed for "pepper grain" because all drum scanners are fluid scanners.

Elimination / reduction of Dust & Scratches

Fluid scanning has a similar effect on dust and scrateches but while digital ICE generally degrades the image, fluid scanning uogrades the
image. The extra time soent on scanning with digital ICE is overcompensated bny fluid scanning, It takes kess time to fluid mount than to scan
with digital ICE.

Newton Rings- Good bye to the glass holder

Newton Rings are caused by reflections beween two surfaces when one of the surfaces is separated from the other at a slight angle.
Along the horizontal axis, of the projection of a sine wave, the reflections from the surfaces interact and either knock each other out or help
each other.
The the result is a series of concentric rings that alternate between dark and light. Newton rings are encountered in old fashioned devices
such as the glass holder for the NIKON and a difuser device that was sold to Minolta scanner users. People use these devices hoping to
restrain film curvature and achieve a flat film plane, although that only succeeds when the curvature is down on the glass. With fluid
scanning a perfectly flat film plane is a given, and without degrading the image as the glass holders do.
Fluid scanning attains film flatness utilizing the surface tension of the fluid to temporarily 'glue' the film to the glass. The detrimental
effects these old devices make them obsolete.

Newton Rings Goodbye to Anti-Newton Glass

Since with Fluid Scanning newton rings are a thing of the past, AN glass has outlived its usefulness. AN glass is glass which has
corrugations on the surface to break the Newton Rings but is detrimental the image. You would not put AN glass in front of your camera
lens.
The improvement in image quality between a fluid scan and a glass holder with AN glass is significant. The ScanScience System brings
you refraction-free Fluid scanning to film scanners at a fraction of the cost of glass holders, and AN glass

Limitations of dry Processes: Scanning , Enlarging, or Projection

All these processes are similarly impaired. The degradation of image quality due to the reflections and scattering at the film grain are shared
equally by all techniques.All these practices are similarly impaired. The degradation of image quality due to the reflections and scattering at the
film grain are shared equally by all techniques.

Fluid Scanning techniques for film and flatbed scanners by ScanScience well established for Drum Scanners

First used in drum scanners and now with the advent of ScanScience it is universally used on all scanners.
Because drum scanners are fluid scanners by definition, their uniquely saturated and sharp quality and smoothness made it the choice of
connoisseurs.
With the advent of ScanScience, all other scanners can benefit in the same measure from fluid immersion scanning. Significantly, users
that have access to a drum scanner are finding that fluid scans with their NIKON, IMACON and EPSON scanners rival drum scans.

Fluid scanning with ScanScience's LUMINA Optical Super Fluid is easy and quick, it takes very little time and requires no post operative cleaning
and drudgery. Compared to digital ICE it saves time: You can assemble a wet mount faster than you can scan with digital ICE and it upgrades the
image instead of degrading it like digital ICE.

FILM FLATNESS PRE-CONDITION TO
SHARPNESS
Depth of Field and Scan Sharpness
Scanners optics are close-focusing devices with shallow depth of field.
To obtain a sharp image the film must be placed at the scanner's
Plane of Optimum Focus (POF).
Film, on the other hand, is never flat. Any one that has studied physics
knows that the lateral tension required to make a string suspended
between two points adopt a perfectly straight shape, is infinite. Film
flatness can not be attained by tensioning the film. Overcoming the
film's natural tendency to curl requires applying a perpendicular force
to the film through the whole area. The surface tension of the fluid,
provides that perpendicular force in the way that no tensioning devices
such as spacers provided with specialty holders can.

Refraction

is the bending of light

as it travels

from

one medium to another with a

different

refractive

index

Refraction

degrades

the image since not all light

rays are perpendicular to the glass,

and instead

of pinpoint landing on the sensor

as a

perpendicular light

ray would, it

scattered over several

sensor

corruption of

the original

image impair

esolution,

contrast and

saturation

To see the effect of fluid scanning look at any of the several images provided. The fluid scans are

notable

because of their higher

resolution and

contrast, dynamic range and greater color

saturation than dry scans.

REFRACTION AND THE FLATBED SCANNER

In Flatbed Scanners the glass comes with the

package, and

the refraction

of the

glass

bed

unavoidable.

Fluid scanning involves

additional

glass but the

glass need

not be in the

path between the light emerging from

the film and the

optics. Epson V

750

scanners are

provided with a wet

mount tray which require

that the film be placed

on top of the glass when

wet mnounted. This

results in

double refraction

caused the

In additional

chunk

glass

effectively

subtract

ing

some of

the benefits gained by fluid

scanning.

ScanScience's

simple answer to the problem is to

provide an

adapter that

avoids

glass

between the film

and the sensors.

fluid

mounting

plate

faces the

lamp,

with

the film

being

placed

under the glass

he image

going to the

sensors

untainted

additional

refraction

from the fluid

mounting plate.

REFRACTION AND THE FILM SCANNER

Film Scanners have the inherent advantage over

flatbeds that they

are not

refraction

limited

The absence of the extra glass, potentially

gives

film

scanners

an edge but

does not solve

the problem of dry

film curvature.

SHOULD YOU USE A

GLASS HOLDER

Owners of film scanners try overcoming the film

flatness problem by

using

glass

holders

is physically impossible to attain film

flatness

with

glass

only on one

side

of the film, unless

the film curves in such a way as to have

its curvature

against the

glass. When

this happens

the result

Newton

Rings.

ScanScience's

simple answer to the problem is

fluid scanning. With

the

glass on

the

side

of the

lamp so that

there is no glass

between

the film

and

the sensors

This

results in the

flatbed scanner not being subjected to

double refraction, and

the Film

scanner to no

refraction at all,

preserving its

inherent advantages.

SHOULD YOU USE

ANTI-NEWTON GLASS ?

AN glass

has a microscopically rough surface

intended

to break up

Newton's

interference

reflections

which

cause Newton

rings.

When the light reflected

from two surfaces at a slight

angle

and a short

distance to

each

other

meet, it can

interact

con

structively or

destructively

according to their

phase,

causing

Newton

Rings.

AN Glass

has tiny corrugations that are not visible to the naked eye but it

can not be

perfectly clear glass: if

placed

in front of the

lens it

would

detrimental to the

image

just as it is when placed ahead of the scanner optics.

When AN glass is part of the film carrier in a film

scanner,

the film is placed

against

the

glass which is

the light path from the film to

the

scanner

sensors.

This

not only

adds

the

degrading

effect of

AN surface

to the

degradation

the image

but adds

the

additional

refraction

of the glass

both detrimental to the image.

A full

discussion of

Newton Rings appears in the ScanScience manual provided with the Kits.

ScanScience

Fluid Scanning Technology