In Photoshop fix old photos that have an overall textured paper surface that creates a pattern

[Lysa5FFD]

I'm working with old photos many of which are printed on fiber paper or paper that has dots or ridges or photos that were printed on "canvas." They are overall patterns that cover the entire photograph. It's not a moire effect - these textures are an integral part of the paper. It's the "finish" style. For example, back in the old days you could specify that your photos be printed out with a glossy or matte finish. This is an extreme version of that. I'm trying to edit these photos in Photoshop and it's a nightmare. The only solutions that I've found are complicated and I haven't had much luck in creating a successful result. Here are the ones that I've found: 1. FFT (fast fourier transform) I'm not nerdy enough to figure it out. It's like old HP calculators that used "reverse Polish notation." 2. scan the photo once and then rotate it 180 degrees and scan it again, then merge the two like photographic plates. I won't live long enough to do that with all the photos I'm editing. 3. It was rumored that in the next update that SilverFast (Laser Soft Imaging) might have a solution in the next update and theoretically also be Apple Silicon (M1 etc) compliant. Currently, I have to start the app using Rosetta 2 so the app will run in an Intel mode. As far as I can tell, the app hasn't been updated for the feature I need. OTOH, it's so kludgy with an antique GUI that it might be what's baffling me. Help me Adobe! You're my only hope!

[D Fosse]

Since you say you are "working" with these photos, I assume you have the originals still accessible?

Don't scan! Scanners use one-directional light. Photograph them, and work a little with the light setup. Two lights at 45° angle to the sides should normally be enough to kill any texture in the paper.

Fixing this in Photoshop is a lost battle right from the start.

[Lysa5FFD]

Hi @D Fosse - thanks for the quick reply. I wish it were as simple to do as your genius suggestion! I do have the originals but they are in one of many banker's boxes and as they haven't been catalogued yet it would be next to impossible to retrieve them. I literally am working with 1,000+ images. 

[D Fosse]

The only thing I can think of to do this, is an AI-algorithm. This is where AI could really do someting useful.

But I don't think I would hold my breath. A while ago someone asked about a very similar situation, getting rid of the interference lines from shooting in flickering LED-light with a silent-mode (line scanning) mirrorless camera sensor.

That should be even simpler, but nothing came of it and to this day I haven't heard of any such algorithms.

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

Another option is a FFT filter:

http://ft.rognemedia.no

Fixel FFT Wizard 2

https://fixelalgorithms.co/news/2018/07/fixel-fft-wizard-1-ps/

However, it is often a photo-by-photo method, not for batching (although they do mention it being applicable to actions and scripts).

[Lysa5FFD]

@D Fosse wouldn't an AI filter be amazing?! I dropped a note about it in Photoshop beta. Maybe they'll take the hint.   😉

[Lysa5FFD]

hi @Stephen_A_Marsh I appreciate the idea; however that was one of the apps that I tried with not much luck.  😞

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

Hi @Lysa5FFD would Neural Filters/Photo Restoration work?

[davescm]

If you are stuck with not being able to re-photograph the images then an FFT filter will be the next best chance of removing the pattern

This was : https://ft.rognemedia.no/

I had trouble trying to run it in v25 so used v24 where I had previously installed it and it ran without issue. That is not to say it won't run in v25 just that I need to test further.

Dave

[Lysa5FFD]

@Kevin Stohlmeyer - that's v interesting!! Did you tweak the default settings?

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@Lysa5FFD yes I started as a Smart Object with Skin Smoothing:

Then added the Photo Restoration (beta)

Obv both of these can be tweaked for a better result, but this is what I did for a similar project with the same Kodak print texture.

[Lysa5FFD]

@davescm  cool!! I should get you to fix 'em for me lol. Unfortunately, it won't work on my Mac: "For Windows and Intel-based Macs (not M1 or newer, unless through emulation)." I have a Mac Mini with a M1 chip. 

[davescm]

You could try running Photoshop v24.x under Rosetta and see if the FFT plug in will work that way. Unfortunately, I cannot test here as I only have PCs.

Dave

[Jeff Arola]

Yes both the Fixel FFT Wizard 2 and rogenmedia plugins work under Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3) processors if one runs photoshop 2024 under Rosetta.

[davescm]

Thanks for confirming Jeff

Dave

[Lysa5FFD]

@Jeff Arola thanks for the tip! I'll give that a shot. I appreciate all the assistance and thoughtful suggestions given in this thread. I'll report back on my results.

[Lysa5FFD]

@davescm and @Stephen_A_Marsh I need to give y'all credit, too - I've downloaded the Fixel FF2 and I'm fiddling around with it. I'll post when I have a solid example. Thanks again, everyone!