1996 Newspaper Scan Restoration

I have a colour PDF scan of an 11 × 14″ newspaper cover from 1996. The original page has faded badly, so this scan is my best record, but it still needs work before I can re-print it full size and frame it.

Your brief is to give the whole piece a gentle, sympathetic clean-up. Overall appearance is the priority: borders and corners show some bleed-through and a staple mark on the top-left that I’d like removed, and the headline and smaller text should be sharpened enough to read clearly without looking digitally “too perfect.” Colors should stay true to the era; the only tweak is to pull the brightest reds back very slightly.

The final file must:
• remain at 11 × 14″ (300 dpi or better) so I can send it straight to the printer
• be supplied as both a flattened, press-ready PDF and the layered Photoshop (or equivalent) file so I can see your adjustments

If you’ve restored vintage magazines, newspapers, or posters before, a couple of before-and-after samples will help me pick quickly.