flat bed scanners

Hey,
i was looking at flat bed scanners, there seem to be alot at 600x1200 dpi and a few at 1200x2400 dpi.
is it overkill to get a 1200x2400? how much better quality is it, is it worth it?
cheers
chuck

Hey,
i was looking at flat bed scanners, there seem to be alot at 600x1200 dpi and a few at 1200x2400 dpi.
is it overkill to get a 1200x2400? how much better quality is it, is it worth it?
cheers
chuck

Everything depends on what you want to do with it. Is a PentiumIII 800MHz better than a PentiumIII500? Is 256 RAM better than 128?

Only one thing: some budget scanners like some of the Canon brand use a different type on scanning device, and are therefore limited to real flat surfaces.

So ask yourself: 1/ How much can I invest?
2/ Do I need to scan slides?
3/ Do I need to scan 4x5 transparancies?
4/ Do I want a simple "intelligent" scanner or do I want to be able to tweak everything manually?
5/ Do I want to invest in better software (SilverfastAI)?

And when you answered these questions, you eliminate at least 80% of the possible scanners.

My personal opinion (not to start a discussion, please), based on personal experience:

Agfa Snapscan20 in a good basic scanner.
Snapscan50 can scan slides and negatives and is worth its money.
Epson1640SUPhoto is better, costs the double but does a reasonable job for print etc, especially when you add the SilverfastAI software. (This is the one I have and use). You can scan 4x5 Inch transparancies, slides and negatives with it. You get Photoshop5LE with it.
HP5100 disappointed me. But these are, I repeat, personal opinions.

Remind that none of these scanners is a real professional high end scanner: these cost at least five times the price of the Epson and much, much more.


Practically speaking: scan at the highest resolution possible and then adapt in your bitmap editing program.

If you don't work against time, time often works for you.

Helpful answer, Erik!

I'd also like to add, start with the best photo possible. This sounds like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised how many people have said to me, "Well, you can fix that with your computer, right?" of a ridiculously poor quality image!

cfn ... Jen
Jen Worden
Web Developer
www.meadoworks.com

As a cheaper option to the 1640, I'm happy with the 1240U - it has the transparency adapter too.

www.thelondonhouse.co.uk

ok, thanks, i absorbed all that.
chuck