High resolution scans of a continuous tone print- or even better- a continuous tone negative are the best when making a reproduction.

In order to print photographs on an offset printing press, it is necessary to “screen” images or reduce them to evenly spaced rows of various sized dots. The resulting image is called a halftone.

In our business, we often have to copy halftone or screened images. We’ve been working on some new processes to remove halftone screens and patterns from those images. Sometimes, a printed photo is all we have- the original has been lost, destroyed or, for whatever reason, we just don’t have access to it.

Unfortunately, when we try to reproduce a halftoned image, the new image generated by a printer or a monitor usually shows an undesirable, Moiré pattern. The pattern comes from the array of dots or pixels in the reproduction fighting with the scanned dot pattern in the original image- whether it is depicted on a monitor or on a printed sheet.

For years, when we wanted to reproduce a screened image, we would simply set the camera a little out-of-focus, so the individual dots wouldn’t be a problem. And in the digital age, we would use a “Gaussian blur” to achieve the same result.

But, we always lost details. The halftone process lost details that were present in the original image, and then, blurring a halftone for reproduction would cause a loss of even more detail.

Now, however, we have some powerful, new tools to remove these regular, mechanical patterns from a printed photo. And we can hold onto more detail than we’ve ever been able to, before.

Here are some of our first test images looped with the initial results.

In 2018, Imaging Specialists worked with the library to develop a printed companion to their Veterans History Project, an online archive of veterans with ties to Ashe County, NC.
We designed the cover and pages using photos and text from their growing libguide database.
This year’s cover design incorporates an image from a World War I era War Bonds poster painted by Howard Chandler Christy in 1917.

We’ve been working on a new documentary for the Alleghany Historical – Genealogical Society, about Minnie Lou Edwards Irwin.
The negative, above, was made by Thelma Davis, at her studio in Sparta, NC on October 26, 1945. It’s one of the first we have copied from her extensive collection, which she gave to the Historical Society a few years back.
Imaging Specialists is honored to be involved with the television project to memorialize Mrs. Irwin and the project to archive the photography of her friend and colleague, Mrs. Davis.

This backlit, projection setup will allow us to copy a large number of negatives faster and more efficiently than we could with a scanner. The low resolution images will be ideal for internet access.
In this way, the Historical Society (and anyone with an idea for an online archive) can share low res images quickly and easily. Anyone needing larger files can order high resolution scans or prints to be made and proceeds from those sales can help pay for the access site and storage of the data.

ISI works with our customers to develop effective, attractive social media posts that inform and entertain visitors.

Elements like links and tags develop interaction and improve visibility. We pay close attention to statistical information provided by Facebook so that we know our audience demographic, what they like and when they’re online.

Imaging Specialists not only develops social media posts but we also help administrate those type of pages. We monitor post responses and interact with site visitors, answering questions and requests, “liking” comments, sharing customers’ posts and, sometimes, even eliminating negative comments or attacks.

It’s called reputation management and it is becoming more and more necessary for companies- no matter the size- to interact with web site and social media visitors as they once would have in person. Think of it like an online customer service department.

We also help monitor and respond to visitor posts at customer review sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp. Even informational and directory sites need to be monitored and updated periodically.

We have even had to work to remove “unofficial” Facebook or Instagram accounts. Pages that were initiated by former employees who might still have access or by someone, not affiliated with a company or organization can cause problems or confusion.

It is necessary, at an increasing number of types of sites, to respond to requests; to answer reviews (both good and bad!) and to monitor the internet for disinformation.

 Imaging Specialists has just finished the latest project from Star Route Books- The Ashe County Public Library Veterans History Project.

The book is a companion to the online Veterans History Project an archive of “stories, video interviews, pictures, and memorabilia of Ashe County veterans collected by community members and Ashe County High School JROTC students.”

We worked with Ashe County Librarian,  Suzanne Moore, to assemble  images and stories from the Library website. The dramatic photo, below, came from John Gentry, who served as 1st Sgt. of a combat engineer company during the 1969 Tet Pleiku Offensive in Vietnam.

We were able to adjust basic settings to enhance photos, that were, sometimes, made under less than ideal conditions. Below is a before-and-after of a photo of Ronald Lee Phipps, brother of contributor, Robert Phipps. Ronald served in the Navy from 1965-1969. He trained as a Navy SEAL and was in Vietnam for 2 1/2 years.

This August 10, 1945 edition of the Shelby Daily Star is from the collection  of Hugh Hamrick who was captured by the Japanese at Bataan April 9, 1942 and was a prisoner of war for 42 months.

Imaging Specialists is proud to have been able to help with this historic project by the Ashe County Library.