flat bed scanners

[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

[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

[Erik Heyninck]

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.

[Jen Worden]

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

[stlewis]

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

www.thelondonhouse.co.uk

[chuck]

ok, thanks, i absorbed all that.
chuck