Do not enable Digital ICE on a black-and-white negative solely because the image looks monochrome. Traditional silver-based black-and-white film and chromogenic black-and-white film are different materials. The cited Epson guide excludes conventional monochrome negatives from Digital ICE while allowing a chromogenic exception. Confirm the film and scanner combination before treating infrared cleanup as a safe restoration step.
Identify the physical film first
Use the film edge markings, packaging or available processing record to identify the stock and process. A grayscale JPEG gives no reliable evidence of the film's material. A color negative converted to monochrome also does not become traditional black-and-white film. Keep uncertainty visible if the original stock cannot be established.
Epson's technical explanation describes how retained silver interferes with the infrared defect record used by Digital ICE. That mechanism is separate from converting a negative to a positive. Selecting a negative-film scan mode may be necessary for the scan, but it does not certify that every cleanup option is compatible with the material.
Check the actual scanner's supported list
The Epson guide linked below lists color negatives, certain color positives and chromogenic monochrome negatives as suitable categories, with exclusions such as Kodachrome. Those categories apply to the documented scanner and software. Another scanner or cleanup technology needs its own compatibility statement; do not use the name “dust removal” as proof that it is the same infrared process.
The guide places the Digital ICE checkbox in Home Mode or the Adjustments area of Professional Mode. It also warns that the effect is not shown in its Preview window. Therefore, a normal-looking preview cannot establish that the saved scan is free from cleanup damage. Inspect the actual output.
Preserve an unprocessed reference
This is a reproducible test plan, not an executed scan. For a confirmed compatible film, compare a small saved area with ICE off and on, using the same scan dimensions and other settings. Retain the untreated file. Examine fine lettering, grain, thin lines and boundaries, not just a smooth skin patch.
For a conventional silver-based black-and-white negative excluded by the manual, leave the unsupported infrared option off rather than using the on/off test as permission to rely on it. Use appropriate physical handling and a separate, restrained editing copy for any confirmed dust repair. An uncertain family record should not survive only as an aggressively processed interpretation.
Acceptance before AI restoration
Require a documented film type, a compatible scanning route and a saved reference with no unexplained missing details. A cleaner-looking face is not enough if lettering or texture disappeared. Keep source, settings and processed copy associated so another reviewer can see which marks were altered.
Imagild can create a presentation treatment from the accepted scan, but cannot verify historical film material from appearance alone. Preserve the original scan outside that creative workflow. Digital ICE, film inversion and AI reconstruction solve different tasks and should be reviewed separately.