When not in use, cover the scanner with a towl, a shoebox, a toaster cover, or whatever, to physically keep dust out (are you a smoker like me?) A post by Ralf R. Radermacher on cleaning the Nikon scanner, from another newsgroup: "Dust collects on a mirror that is easily accessible from the front of the scanner. Try this: 1. Remove any film carrier from the scanner. 2. Turn the scanner on, and wait for the carrier to advance towards the front of the scanner. 3. As the carrier moves close to the front, turn the scanner off to stop it. 4. You'll be able to see the mirror and the lens of the scanner by looking at the inside of the scanner. The mirror is probably covered with dust. 5. Gently clean the mirror. I try to blow dust off of it, then carefully clean it with a Q-tip and some Kodak lens-cleaning fluid. 6. Replace the film carrier and turn the scanner back on, and scan a test image. It should look far better after the mirror is cleaned. Good as new, in fact. The lens typically does not become dirty, so you don't have to clean that." Maris Qkano wrote: > A couple of weeks back I placed an image in the gallery of a black and > white cat. > Comments about "soft focus" effect made me realise that it wasn't my > eyes but the scanner that was failing. > > I've put up a page showing before and after scans (of the cat and this > week's "insect" submission) > http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/photoforum/scanner/ > > > Comments welcome: how do you stop dust getting into the scanner? > > Bob Talbot
