If you would like to repair scratches to the non-emulsion side of your 35mm negatives or slides, we can suggest three ways in which to achieve this. A new chemical made in the USA, Hide-A-Scratch, will help if the scratch isn t too bad. It s designed for negatives or slides that are being enlarged, ideally in a glassless negative carrier, and then cleaned off after use. You paint it on with a brush and works by filling-in the indentations. Once dried, the varnish has the same refractive index to the base of the film, so that when light falls on the point, that has been treated, the scratches appear invisible. You can also repair scratches digitally. Even inexpensive software programmes like PhotoShop Elements offer digital scratch removal. If you are using a film scanner, you can often find this option built into the scanner software. Nikon film scanners (Coolscan V and 5000) use the Digital ICE technology for automatic dust and scratch removal. The scanner supplies an extra channel with an infrared scan of the film surface, which you can use by the scanning software to remove the scratches. We really rate this option as reviewed on page 33. Finally, if you are using E-6 slide film, you can sometimes remove scratches by having the film run through the entire E-6 process again by your film laboratory
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