scan old slides

[gotrocks]

Greetings,
I'm in the process of scanning a bunch of old 35mm slides.
Would like to know a fast efficient way to "clean" them before scan.
Some are just dusty, others have been in plastic pages and have stuck to the plastic but seem to release OK but have a slight "ring" where they were adhered to the plastic.
Any suggestions?
Thank you.

[Greg McCary]

I haven't tried very old negs, but newer ones that have gotten dirty I just re washed them just like I did when I developed them. You can buy negative cleaner from B&H.

Cleaning 35mm Slides, 35mm Film, 35mm Negatives and Other Films

[gotrocks]

Thank you Greg.
I'll try some of the suggestions in the link you provided.
I really don't want to remove the "frames" so I'll get some
cleaner and q-tips and a soft cloth.
It's a slow tedious process for me. Takes about 20+ min. for
4 slides the way I'm working.

[Franglais]

I usually use a good size lens blower. Most of my slides have a few specks of dust. I wouldn't do this with a slide covered with abrasive particles:

- First I try just blowing.
- If that doesn't work then I very delicately use the hair brush of the blower, while blowing at the same time

If that doesn't shift it - it's stuck. Too bad. There are lots of other slides.

I never use a "canned air" blower. This contains a product which comes out of the nozzle freezing cold and may arrive on the slide in liquid form. The slide is ruined after that.

[freygr]

Which side the emulsion is facing makes a large difference in the scan quality. The emulsion must be facing the sensor for best results. My film scanner focuses on the emulsion, small surface scratches unless they effect the emulsion do not show. It takes about 3 to 5 minutes a slide using the Nikon LS-40 film scanner. It was faster before Windows XP and even slower on Windows 7 now the scanning is so slow.

[shaner01]

i had a similar problem