Working with damaged material.
WHAT RESTORATION ADDRESSES
Physical damage to prints Fading and colour shift Noise and grain Low resolution Damaged audio
WHAT TO DO FIRST
Digitise at the highest quality available, and keep that untouched.
WHY
The original degrades further, and the scan becomes the source.
WHAT SCANNING REQUIRES
Cleaning the original gently Sufficient resolution Colour reference, where possible
WHAT TO REPAIR
Scratches and tears Dust Fading Colour casts
WHAT ORDER TO WORK IN
Structural damage, then tone, then colour, then detail.
WHAT UPSCALING CAN AND CANNOT DO
It can make an image larger and cleaner; it cannot recover detail that was never captured.
WHAT THAT MEANS
Enhanced detail is invented, and should not be relied upon for anything factual.
WHAT AUDIO RESTORATION ADDRESSES
Hiss, hum and clicks.
WHAT IT CANNOT FIX
Distortion, and anything that was never recorded.
WHAT TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT
Over-processing, which produces an artificial result worse than the damage.
WHAT TO PRESERVE
The character of the original.
WHAT TO DELIVER
Both the restored version and the untouched scan.
WHY BOTH
The original record matters, particularly for anything historical.
