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S
SportingLife
Inspiring
September 16, 2021
Answered

enhancing an old newspapaper photo

  • September 16, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 6285 views

This is an old newpaper photo saved from a library microfiche as a Tiff and also in PNG and Jpeg formats. As a novice in Photoshop, opening it in Camera Raw, I've attempted a variety of approaches to improve the exposure, reduce graininess and generally improve the detail and overall appearance. Frankly, I'm at a loss as to what else can be done to improve this old image, if anything. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Correct answer D Fosse

There really isn't much you can do with a newspaper photo, except print it as is. The problem is the halftone dots.

 

This isn't continuous tone, there are no gray tones to adjust. It's just black ink dots on white paper. It's binary, either-or.

 

If it's a large image to begin with, so that you have more resolution than you need, downsampling combined with careful noise reduction can help you get rid of the halftone screen. Then you might have something to work with. But that doesn't seem to be the case here.

 

In short, it's like getting toothpaste back into the tube.

1 reply

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
September 16, 2021

There really isn't much you can do with a newspaper photo, except print it as is. The problem is the halftone dots.

 

This isn't continuous tone, there are no gray tones to adjust. It's just black ink dots on white paper. It's binary, either-or.

 

If it's a large image to begin with, so that you have more resolution than you need, downsampling combined with careful noise reduction can help you get rid of the halftone screen. Then you might have something to work with. But that doesn't seem to be the case here.

 

In short, it's like getting toothpaste back into the tube.

    S
    SportingLifeAuthor
    Inspiring
    September 16, 2021

    Thanks so much! Right to the heart of the problem. I figured it had to do with the orginal image as a newspaper photo. You've saved me a great deal of time and provided a fundamental insight that will serve me well in future encounters with these kind of issues - thank you.

     

    Ken

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