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Photography is crossing a major divide between the traditional and the digital worlds. Society struggles with the decisions, the costs and the perception of benefits. FocalPlane believes that traditional photography will continue to have a major role to play in recording producing high quality imagery. But the digital era is creating a situation where many traditional techniques are no longer the preferred choice. Moving with the times, FocalPlane strives to offer a bridge to the new technology, providing cost effective solutions.
Photo Restoration
All photographs decay with time. Fortunately modern digital techniques allow for the restoration and reconstruction of old photographs. FocalPlane has the necessary equipment and software to copy, manipulate and re-print versions of old photographs. A relatively simple, straighforward example from an old family album is shown below:
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Before . . .
Several examples of what happens to old photos can be identified from this example.
Corners are missing or faded and stained.
The surface of the print has numerous small blemishes which cannot be physically removed from the print. Several small scratches are also evident.
But most important, the overall quality of the print has suffered due to the emulsion fading over time and with poor storage.
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The original picture was scanned, using a Nikon flatbed scanner. The image was saved as a high definition digital file. The priginal print, damaged as it is, remains of value, so it was placed in a sealed archival sleeve for long term storage.
Next, the image was manipulated using various digital tools available with "high end" professional software and the final version was saved and printed. The finished results are shown below:
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After . . .
The print is bright and clean.
Printed on archival quality photo paper, the new print will outlive the original!
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Photo Restoration Price List
Download a one page PDF file that contains the basic information needed to make decisions on how to start preserving those often priceless old photographs. Or send us an e-mail.
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Scanning
FocalPlane owns and operates several scanners including two 35 mm film and slide scanners with resolutions up to 4,000 dpi ( This approaches the quality of high end and very expensive drum scans). Scanned images are rarely flawless as a result of miinor dust and scratching so the scanning process usually includes some digital clean up. At this stage it is also possible to make corrections for poor exposure, cropping to improve composition, etc.
Preparation for the Travelogue "Asia in the 1970s" illustrates what can be done with scanning and digital manipulation of thirty year old slides (some of which were heavily damaged by poor storage conditions including tropical fungi). Although it is often difficult to achieve the original color balance of films that were inevitably prone to fade, the results speak for themselves.
Many old photos are only available as paper prints and these require scanning using reflected light. Inexpensive table top scanners are capable of producing good results but the scanning software that comes free with such machines lacks the tools to manage consistently good results. FocalPlane offers a superior product.
Scanning Price list
Download a one page PDF file that contains the basic information needed to make decisions on how FocalPlane can scan slides and prints and provide superior quality digital files. Or send us an e-mail.
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Data Archiving
Having gathered digital data from existing traditional film media, it is important to keep it safe. The compact disc (CD) is currently the best archival format. FocalPlane can create CDs of all the digital files created and make extra copies as needed.
Data Archiving Prices
Copying files onto a CD costs $10. Additional copies of the CD made at the same time cost $5 each. (These prices are included on the PDF files for Photo Restoration and Scanning). A CD holds up to 700 Megabytes of data. A high quality color scan from 35 mm slides (4,000 dpi) occupies 56 Megabytes of raw data. Many image files are much smaller and images may also be compressed as "jpeg" files to save disc space.
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Digital Printing
Digital printing equipment is improving steadily and some commercial systems are already challenging the very best custom wet chemistry print techniques. Standard home-based photo quality printers provide excellent results but many inks and papers cannot provide archival quality.
FocalPlane uses and recommends a range of digital photographic papers that provide textural advantages for different subject materials. For example, water color papers, specially formulated for digital printers, have a distinct texture that sets off black and white, sepia and pastel shade prints, while glossy papers are capable of capturing the minute details contained within high quality scans.
Currently the largest paper size handled in-house is Super A3 (roughly 13 inches by 19 inches). However, larger print sizes can be out-sourced.
FocalPlane also offers a matting service at extra charge.
Digital Printing Price List
Download a one page PDF file that contains prices for digital printing services. Or send us an e-mail.
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