Why is this happening?? WHY!?

[mtbbrian]

I have trying to scan a particular slide recently and I keep getting a strange line across it.
As far as I can tell, there is no scratch on the slide.
I have moved the slide to the other spots on my scanner I have even orientetated the slide differently when I scanned it and the line still shows up!
I am attaching a sample of the slide where the line has been showing up.
The line shows in different places, it seems anyway, no matter the orientation.
Thanks?!
Brian

[mtbbrian]

Either a defective CCD or dust. Cleaning these things is a royal pain though.

Maybe, but this is the first time this has happened and it seems to be happening on just this slide.
Brian

[Sebastian]

Either a defective CCD or dust. Cleaning these things is a royal pain though.

[Trevor Ash]

This is going to sounds crazy, but try opening the scanned photo in a different application and see if it shows there too.

[mtbbrian]

Recently, I have been doing things a little differently.
In Photoshop, I have been "Importing" the scanned slide from the scanner.
Which was the case here.
So I will do what was doing before then.
I was scanning and saving the scanned file and working it from there in PhotoShop..
Why is it happening when I do it this way?
Brian

[masdog]

Are you sure the problem is with the scanner? Does it only happen with this slide?

First thing to do, after what Trevor suggests, is to try scanning a couple of different slides. Use a few from that rolls and a few from other rolls. If the problem shows up on all of the scans, then you have a problem with the scanner and need to get it serviced.

If the blue line only shows up on that one slide or slides from that roll, then it might be something from the film being developed.

[mtbbrian]

The best I can tell, this particular slide does not have a scratch on it.
As I mentioned, the sample here, shows the line in a different place from when I did first.
In this sample, I oriented the slide differently from when I scanned it the first time.
The first time, the line was vertical in the frame and another color.
Brian

[masdog]

Well, you can't rule anything out. Like I said in my previous post, do what Trevor Ash suggested first. Go back to the way you were scanning before. If the problem is still there, you've narrowed the problem down to the scanner or the slide.

Try different slides. Take some from the same roll and some from different rolls. If you get the same problem, you know that there is something wrong with the scanner. If the line doesn't show up on other slides, then you know it is something with the slide that is causing the problem.

Yes, it is time consuming, but you have to narrow down the problem. If you go into the doctor complaining of pain, a good doctor will listen and diagnose it. He doesn't assume it is the first ailment that has some symptoms, but he tests a number of things to eliminate possible causes.

You have to do the same. You can't just assume that one thing is causing it. You have to narrow your problem down, otherwise you'll be dealing with it multiple times.

[SmartWombat]

My first thought is "Newton's Rings" which is an interference phenomenon.
Is the slide glass mounted, or bare?
You can get strange efects with glass mounts, where the distance between the glass slips varies only by a few wavelengths of light (or nine tenths of stuff all really).

[mtbbrian]

My first thought is "Newton's Rings" which is an interference phenomenon.
Is the slide glass mounted, or bare?
You can get strange efects with glass mounts, where the distance between the glass slips varies only by a few wavelengths of light (or nine tenths of stuff all really).

I kind of thought that too Paul, but the slide has no glass and it just laying on top of the glass of the scanner. The scanner is a flatbed type.
There is little or no weight applied to the slide.
Brian
Still
;)

[SmartWombat]

OK that's the obvious optical problem out of the way.

>> The line shows in different places, it seems anyway, no matter the orientation.
I wonder if this is due to the slide being very slightly curved in the mount?
I know when I used to mount my own (cheapskate!) that was one of my biggest problems.

[Photo-John]

My first thought is "Newton's Rings" which is an interference phenomenon.

It's not Newton Rings. I used to deal with those all the time in the photo lab, with masked transparencies. They're never in a completely straight line and they always look like a little rainbow. What I'm seeing here is too straight. It looks like some sort of scan line. If you can rotate your transparency and the line changes position but looks the same, then it's definitely a scanner problem, and probably with the sensor.

Still under warranty?

[mtbbrian]

It's not Newton Rings. I used to deal with those all the time in the photo lab, with masked transparencies. They're never in a completely straight line and they always look like a little rainbow. What I'm seeing here is too straight. It looks like some sort of scan line. If you can rotate your transparency and the line changes position but looks the same, then it's definitely a scanner problem, and probably with the sensor.

Still under warranty?

Well, you know I have since scanned this slide and it was OK.
I bought the scanner in June of last year and Epson has a year warranty..
Should I contact Epson?
Brian

[another view]

I bought the scanner in June of last year and Epson has a year warranty.. Should I contact Epson?

That's what I'd do. Very strange that it's always in a different place. With my limited experience on this, sending the scanner back sounds like the best bet.

[2kids2shoot]

I don't have a great deal of experience with scanners but have some familiarity with how they work. I do work on printers and this looks an awful lot like a bad nozzle. If I understand how scanners work, I think the head with the CCD array scans whatever it is you've got on the platen. If one of the CCD's was flaky (like the red one), it might give a streak that looks like that. It would not show up in the same place (like a scratch) since the head is moving to capture your image.