Rainbow stripes in my slide scans (Polaroid SprintScan 35 Plus/VueScan)

[sashiwahara]

I have a Polaroid SprintScan 35 Plus. I am using VueScan version
8.0.17.

I've noticed that in the past couple of months, I'm finding a very
pale, rainbow-colored stripe across some of my scans. It's definitely
not on the slides. And if I scan the same slide a couple of times,
sometimes I get the rainbow, sometimes not.

And it's very faint -- I can usually only see it against a light
background or blue sky.

Does this sound like a hardware problem? Or maybe I'm not using VueScan
correctly? I am not a technical person, so I am really at a loss here.

TIA,

Mallomar

 

[Dan M]

I used to use Sprintscans at work. Stripes usually happened when it was
time to change the bulb.

BTW, I had some success using a standard fluorescent bulb found at Home
Depot for about $3. If I remember, the cool white bulbs worked better
than the warm ones. I never really did tests though to see how much of
a color difference there was between an actual Polaroid replacement
bulb and one of these.

Dan

 

[-]

Sounds like you might be experiencing "Newton Rings". Could it be that your
slide film is sagging in its mount and thus touching the glass? Google the
term to find out more.

Doug

 

[sashiwahara]

If it's the bulb, that's good news -- I do have a spare, IIRC. I'll
change the bulb this weekend and do some scanning and see if it fixes
the problem.

BTW, never occurred to me to look for a bulb at Home Depot -- I assumed
I'd have to buy them from Polaroid, probably at a vastly inflated cost!

Thanks,

Mallomar

 

[sashiwahara]

Fascinating! I found some really cool photos of Newton rings.

They were all actual rings, though -- my rainbows are straight lines
running the entire length of the image.

FWIW, the slides all seem to be pretty tight in the mounts.

Mallomar

 

[Dave]

I have a Polaroid SprintScan 35 Plus. I am using VueScan version
8.0.17.

I've noticed that in the past couple of months, I'm finding a very
pale, rainbow-colored stripe across some of my scans. It's definitely
not on the slides. And if I scan the same slide a couple of times,
sometimes I get the rainbow, sometimes not.

And it's very faint -- I can usually only see it against a light
background or blue sky.

Does this sound like a hardware problem? Or maybe I'm not using VueScan
correctly? I am not a technical person, so I am really at a loss here.

TIA,

Mallomar

Hi Mallomar,

I has a Microtek 35t Plus which I believe is the same scanner as your
Polaroid. I also had the "rainbow colored lines" that you describe. If
the lines run in the same direction as the scan I think what you are
dealing with is just dust on either the bulb or glass. I used some
"canned air" and blew out the whole scanning area from the side slots
and haven't had the problem since. I now cover my unit with a drugstore
bought inexpensive shower cap. You'll need one big enough and with
elastic around the opening edges.

Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[Dan M]

Dave is right. I forgot to mention that you might clean off the bulb
first. RE: the Home Depot bulbs, they come in cool and warm white. I
tried the warm white which added a slight reddish cast to the scans. I
haven't tried the cool white (or whatever else might be out there now),
but I always assumed it would give a slightly better scan. No
guarantees, but at $2-$3, it's worth a try. Last time I ordered a bulb
from the camera store it was over $20.

DAn