Best products to clean a scanner with?

[contributor_M]

I have a canon MP80 scanner (It's actually a printer, fax, scan combo :P) and after scanning a few documents, it seems that no matter what I clean it with... I can't get it clean enough that my photos don't have any white stuff (dust) and other particles on them.

e.g.


Check near left (your right) eye.

This is really annoying me. What do you guys/gals use to clean your scanners with?

[Lupe Talamantez]

I have an Epson Perfection V500 Photo flatbed scanner. Tiny particles of dust always seem to land on the glass no matter what. Seems that this is a common thing with our present Texas environment and not just in my room or yours.

For cleaning the glass, I use Pearle Vision's Lens Cleaner and clean cotton cloth handkerchiefs found at Wal Mart. The lower-priced lens cleaners found in pharmacies don't seem to do well. Pearle Vision's Lens Cleaner does not seem to attract dust like what I used previously.

The outside side of the glass is easy, but you might want to consider checking the inside side of the glass. It may be that the dust is on the inside.

Last year, I noticed that the glass had a rainbow-colored haze on the inside side of the glass. I observed this haze upon immediate power up of the scanner while the lid was up. Did the factory assembly personnel not notice the haze, or did it develop over time? I don't know how it got there.

After much reading on the Internet and with an expired warranty plus a few brewskies to settle the nerves, I took it apart carefully. The glass was placed on a clean towel and wiped on both sides. Holding it up to the sun verified when I could stop buffing with clean hankies. Reassembly and all is well but the dust never goes away.

Before laying down anything on the scanner, I now give the glass and whatever I am scanning a few blasts from a Giottos Rocket Air Blower - (Large) 7.5" AA1900 B&H Photo . So far, so good.

I hope that this helps.

[zachary]

Its not possible to get a completely clean scan. Just get it as clean as you can and then spot heal in photoshop.

[contributor_M]

Originally Posted by Lupe Talamantez

I have an Epson Perfection V500 Photo flatbed scanner. Tiny particles of dust always seem to land on the glass no matter what. Seems that this is a common thing with our present Texas environment and not just in my room or yours.

For cleaning the glass, I use Pearle Vision's Lens Cleaner and clean cotton cloth handkerchiefs found at Wal Mart. The lower-priced lens cleaners found in pharmacies don't seem to do well. Pearle Vision's Lens Cleaner does not seem to attract dust like what I used previously.

The outside side of the glass is easy, but you might want to consider checking the inside side of the glass. It may be that the dust is on the inside.

Last year, I noticed that the glass had a rainbow-colored haze on the inside side of the glass. I observed this haze upon immediate power up of the scanner while the lid was up. Did the factory assembly personnel not notice the haze, or did it develop over time? I don't know how it got there.

After much reading on the Internet and with an expired warranty plus a few brewskies to settle the nerves, I took it apart carefully. The glass was placed on a clean towel and wiped on both sides. Holding it up to the sun verified when I could stop buffing with clean hankies. Reassembly and all is well but the dust never goes away.

Before laying down anything on the scanner, I now give the glass and whatever I am scanning a few blasts from a Giottos Rocket Air Blower - (Large) 7.5" AA1900 B&H Photo . So far, so good.

I hope that this helps.

Helps a lot. I'm off to walmart tomorrow to get some supplies. Cheers! :)

[wclavey]

There are some non-ammonia glass cleaners (most use alcohol) that work great on the inside of the glass - - the electronics and the plastics out-gas solvents that form a film on the inside that the dust and humidity stick to and the ammonia cleaners do not clean them well...

For the outside glass, I agree that a good glasses cleaning solution (I use a spray from the optometrist) and a microfiber cloth work well... then I finish it off (and also in between scans) with a wipe from an anti-static microfiber cloth (one of those you can buy at the camera shop) and finally a blast from the rocket blower.

I also have an antistatic microfiber negative brush that I use on the negatives followed by a rocket blower blast, just before I do the scan. These things help, but as Zach said, you can't get rid of the dust completely.

[heespharm]

A product from the autozone called invisible glass... Works great

[Buddha]

Around my house we use vinegar to clean glass, and wipe it off with a rough cloth. Works great for that.