How too remove vertical lines from scanned matt photo

[jparnold]

I thought that I had previously posted this question but after not receiving any replies looked and could not find my post, so here it is again (sorry if it is a repeat but I couldn't locate my original new topic).

I want to copy a black and white photo which was printed (old original 'wet' method) on matte paper.
When I scan it the scanned image has thin white vertical stripes through all the dark areas of the photo.
I have located a method of removing them using Photoshop (using layers etc) but cannot duplicate those 'instructions' using PSP X2.

Does anyone know how I can remove these thin stripes (they make the photo look like everyone one is wearing pin striped clothing).

Thanks

John

[see3]

I thought that I had previously posted this question but after not receiving any replies looked and could not find my post, so here it is again (sorry if it is a repeat but I couldn't locate my original new topic).

I want to copy a black and white photo which was printed (old original 'wet' method) on matte paper.
When I scan it the scanned image has thin white vertical stripes through all the dark areas of the photo.
I have located a method of removing them using Photoshop (using layers etc) but cannot duplicate those 'instructions' using PSP X2.

Does anyone know how I can remove these thin stripes (they make the photo look like everyone one is wearing pin striped clothing).

Thanks

John

I have PSP9 but...

Have you tried Deinterlace? Click Adjust > Add/Remove Noise > Deinterlace.
Edit NOTE: Deinterlace only works with horizontal lines so you'll have to rotate the image 90 degrees first.

Or maybe you could try Edge Preserving Smooth. Click Adjust > Add/Remove Noise > Edge Preserving Smooth.

Maybe someone with X2 will have better suggestions. : )

[jparnold]

Thanks for your reply and suggestion. Unfortunately neither worked.

I just noticed that when I zoom in, the vertical lines disappear BUT are replaced by what is best described as speckle (small white dots covering the entire scanned image). This is probably caused by the lamp in the scanner reflecting off the matte surface (I can see this on the actual photo when I look close up and get a light to reflect off the surface at an angle).

I tried adjust>add/remove noise>despeckle which makes NO difference.

Maybe I will try using a camera to take a photo of the photo with no light reflecting off the surface - unless someone can come up with a better solution.

[see3]

Thanks for your reply and suggestion. Unfortunately neither worked.

I just noticed that when I zoom in, the vertical lines disappear BUT are replaced by what is best described as speckle (small white dots covering the entire scanned image). This is probably caused by the lamp in the scanner reflecting off the matte surface (I can see this on the actual photo when I look close up and get a light to reflect off the surface at an angle).

I tried adjust>add/remove noise>despeckle which makes NO difference.

Maybe I will try using a camera to take a photo of the photo with no light reflecting off the surface - unless someone can come up with a better solution.

Taking a picture of a picture could help but you'll probably lose detail... don't know.

Try a re-scan by twisting the pic about 45 degrees. Maybe it will change the reflection to something you can fix.
Or try putting a layer or two of smooth plastic wrap, between the pic and the scanner glass, to help filter the light.
Try not to trap any air bubbles between the plastic layers and/or the glass.

[photodrawken]

If you wouldn't mind posting a sample image, we can offer targetted suggestions.

I suspect that the photo paper had an embossed texture, most likely a series of vertical and horizontal lines. That would explain why it looked like a series of vertical lines when not displayed at actual size -- it's an artifact of the rendering process.

Twisting the photo on the bed of the scanner is a good idea. Sometimes just a 15 degree angle will do it.

[jparnold]

Thanks

Yes the photo has an embossed texture like closely woven fabric.

I have cropped the photo for smaller upload reasons and here it is (terrible eh?)

[photodrawken]

Those white "spots" will be hard to remove. Any technique will be a balancing act between blurring and retaining the sharpness.

Here's my result (done with PSPX5):

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

1. Apply an Adjust...Digital Noise Removal with these settings:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

2. Apply an Adjust...Add/Remove Noise...Automatic Small Scratch Removal with these settings:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

3. Duplicate the layer.

4. Change the blend mode of that duplicated layer to "Multiply".

5. (Optional) Apply an Adjust...Sharpness...Unsharp Mask with these settings:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Obviously, it would be best to adjust your scanning to eliminate or reduce the appearance of the texture.

[see3]

Thanks

Yes the photo has an embossed texture like closely woven fabric.

I have cropped the photo for smaller upload reasons and here it is (terrible eh?)

Alternatively you could try: Adjust > Add/Remove Noise > Moire Pattern Removal

1. Moire Pattern Removal: Fine details: 2, Remove bands: 0
2. Soften 2 times. (not Soften More)
3. Sharpen 4 times. (not Sharpen More)
4. Brightness/Contrast: Brightness: -16, Contrast: 0

In PSP9 the above settings completely remove the white dots but there's still a slight vertical grain and it's not as sharp. Or maybe it is as sharp? It's hard to look-past all the white dots in the original. : )

[photodrawken]

I did some research and got a very interesting result using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) plugin from the link on this site:
http://www.3d4x.ch/?c=16,35

You only need to copy these filters
FFT_RGB.8bf
IFFT_RGB.8bf
into your PSP plugins directory.

1. Run the FFT plugin (under the Fourier Transform plugin) to get this image:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

2. Use Image...Split Channel...Split to RGB.

3. Switch to the Green channel image, which looks like this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

4. Use the Makeover Tool's Blemish fixer to clean up the stars, lines, and central rays to get an image like this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
N.B. It's important to not eliminate the two central intersecting lines nor the central bright spot.

5. Use Image...Combine Channel...Combine from RGB to get this (new) image:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

6. Run the IFFT plugin of the Fourier Transform on that new image to get this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
which is a good starting point for further editing. For example, duplicating the layer and changing the blend mode of the duplicated layer to "Multiply" yields this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
and you're off to the races!

[see3]

Thanks

Yes the photo has an embossed texture like closely woven fabric.

I have cropped the photo for smaller upload reasons and here it is (terrible eh?)

This is my result after adding 2 more steps:

1. Moire Pattern Removal: Fine details: 2, Remove bands: 0
2. Soften 2 times. (not Soften More)
3. Sharpen 4 times. (not Sharpen More)
4. Brightness/Contrast: Brightness: -16, Contrast: 0
--------------
5. Edge Preserving Smooth: Amount of smoothing: 3
6. Gamma Correction: 0.88 (Link box is checked)

It's still not as sharp as the original but the vertical lines, I listed above, are gone.

[jparnold]

Thanks for the work you both have obviously done.

When I get some spare time I will try.

John

[photodrawken]

Just to finish up....

After obtaining an image using the FFT technique, I used the Frequency Separation technique (http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php ... separation) to refine the image.

1. Use the Makeover Tool's Blemish Fixer on the "Texture" layer to remove as much of the remaining vertical lines from the people as possible.

2. Copied the "Texture" and "Colour" layers and merged those two copied layers.

3. Duplicated that merged layer and set the blending mode of the duplicated layer to "Multiply".

4. Merged the two layers from step #3 and used the Blemish Fixer on the merged layer for final touchups.

The final result:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Much thanks to John for asking the question and graciously posting an example of the problem image. I learned a lot with this exercise -- the important thing being that one does not necessarily need to compromise on sharpness to get a corrected image.

[see3]

Just to finish up....

The final result:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. ... -- the important thing being that one does not necessarily need to compromise on sharpness to get a corrected image.

Of course this is all up to John, but...

Is there a way to filter out the polka dots in the white areas? Or decrease the grainy look? Or lighten it back closer to the original?

IMO most filters suck. They add or take away too much. That being said... I use them as little as possible. Most of my editing is done manually... over time. : (

[photodrawken]

see3,

What you see is what you get from running the FFT. The Web sites that describe the process make a point of saying that the technique won't cure all the problems on every image. As I said, it's a good starting point for further editing.

The "darkness" of my image is obtained from duplicating the first result and changing the blend mode of the duplicated layer to "Multiply". That step is entirely optional.

The image can be softened by using any of the blurring effects in PSP, and any other retouching can be done manually -- that's entirely up to the user.

[see3]

see3,

What you see is what you get from running the FFT. The Web sites that describe the process make a point of saying that the technique won't cure all the problems on every image. As I said, it's a good starting point for further editing.

The "darkness" of my image is obtained from duplicating the first result and changing the blend mode of the duplicated layer to "Multiply". That step is entirely optional.

The image can be softened by using any of the blurring effects in PSP, and any other retouching can be done manually -- that's entirely up to the user.

So what you're saying is that after further filter-editing, i.e. lightening, softening, you basically end up with what my image looks like? Using zero plug-ins?

You didn't mention the polka dots. Lightening or softening won't get rid of these.