We are instructed by our boss to bring in a copy of some document. We go proudly to get the original, pull it out of our drawer, and there ... a grease stain!

Maybe the scanner if it 'runs over' it won't scan, but unfortunately the malicious beast is very good at scanning thoroughly. Is there any way to clean the document in such a way that the stains are not visible?

I faced such a problem a few days ago. First, I looked in Gimp, where I found the stain removal option. I started fiddling with the three sliders to get the effect, but it didn't do anything - I was destroying letters at most. However, I remembered the also very good - but for beginners - graphics program, Pinta. This inconspicuous counterpart to Paint. Net is a compromise between the very primitive Kolourpaint and Gimp.

A solid stain! My solution is:

1) Upload the file :)
2) Effects → Noise → Noise Reduction (4 times)
3) Effects → Photo → Sharpening

Repeat the second and third points until done!

In the end I obtained an image like this. You can see gently that the text has suffered, but it's readable and spotless enough that reprinting passes the test - and there's much less shame in carrying the document around in such a state.

 

Perhaps you know of other ways to 'banish' stains? Share it in the comments!