Cleaning dust from slides

A really basic question, I searched but could'nt find where it had been discussed before. I recently joined the digital age, and discovered the wonders of digital photo editing. I bought a DiMage Scan Dual IV to scan in some of my photo collection which goes back to the 60's. I discovered that my slides, even though archived in plastic sleeves, had acquired dust and it affects the scanned image. So what now? Air in a can?

Fun, isn't it :rolleyes: ! Yes, canned air will work (don't shake the can when spraying) or an anti-static brush made for film. I also hold the slides up at an angle to my halogen desk lamp to make sure I've got it clean. Even then, one of the first things I do in Photoshop is to clone out the remaining dust.

Some film scanners have Digital ICE which does this automatically. Unfortunately, it can't be added to a scanner later or I'd have it myself.

To add to Steve's post, make sure you keep the canned air VERY level, and liquid spray will permenantly mark the slides, I learned the hard way. Luckily it wasn't an important series of shots, as the spray covered about three frames.

Thank you for the replies, canned air it is. My scanner does have a dust removal system, but according to the manual only works on fine specks that can't be mechanically removed.