Scanning & Newton's rings

[john_b]

I usually use a film scanner to process 35mm slides and negatives but I find myself trying to scan some older format film - I think it may Kodak 848 - which won't fit my scanner.

The film is in strips of four frames. The images are 28mm square and the film itself only has sprocket holes along one edge. So one edge is almost 5mm wide while the other is only 1mm at most.

I thought I'd try a flatbed scanner and put the film strip on the platen with a thin sheet of glass to hold it flat. At first I thought I was doing quite well but it's only when you look closer that you start to see what I thought were some sort of diffraction patterns - swirly ellipses and so on - which I now find are called Newton's Rings. Bummer!

The best I can do is to put the film strip emulsion side down on the platen and try to hold it flat along the edges only, but since one edge is at best 1mm wide, this is a frustrating business to say the least.

If I had any hair left, I'd be pulling it out. I wonder, though if there's any other solution? Can you get some sorth of glass that doesn't cause this effect? I tried holding the film flat with a clear plastic CD jewel case lid but that's no use either...

...it was never going to be easy...;-(