Scanned Newspaper Article

[Magixo]

I am usually requested to scan newspaper articles. The obtained (scanned) picture is of poor quality when printed out. There's too much shadow in white areas of the scan. What technique should I use to remove the shadow and to preserve a good quality of letters?

PS
I have tried different filters in order to remove the shadow. They usually work fine, but they also damage the newpaper article letters. I have also used curves, threshold and other things but nothing seams to give desirable effects, that is: perfect letter quality and no shadow.

Please help,
Magixo

 

[SCTRWD]

First thing I found out long ago: scanners produce different noise in different parts of the scanner bed. Scan big white paper, covering the whole scanner bed. Run the Image->Adjustments->Equalize on it, and determine the cleanest part of the image - respectively the part of the scanner bed, which gives you the least noise. It's not the answer to your post, of course, but is just a good starting point.