Need opinions on scanners...

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:35 pm

My ancient scanner has irritated me for the last time. It's scanning days are over and will soon be tossed in the trash.

I want to know what would be a good replacement? I'm looking to spend up to $150.00 for something that has the ability to scan large items such as normal size cels and backgrounds, easy to use, etc.

I really don't know anything about scanners, such as models, brands, and types, but I do know I want a flatbed scanner.

Thanks.

Caroline · Post by **Caroline** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:41 pm

i use an Epson XL 2005 which is VERY expensive, but was worth it to avoid the hassle of getting a new scanner every couple years. i will likely not get rid of it unless something that doesnt way a million pounds enters the market.

anything from the Epson brand is reliable in my experience.

morgan · Post by **morgan** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:43 pm

hi!
I'm a designer and I've used a lot of scanners in my day. I always recomend Epson. Sorry to say though that unless your willing to pay over 1.4K you probably won't be able to find anything bigger than 8X10. There are some 8.5X11 but I think there around $750. The epsons that are 11.2X17.2 range from $1500 - $4000

I'm luck enough to have the GT 3000 ($4K) but I have my own design firm - thank god for tax wright offs!

klet · Post by **klet** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:14 pm

Hey! I've got an Epson, too. It came free with my digicam--which means that it's probably one of their cheaper models.

So far, no problems--not with the scanner, at least. The digicam, on the other hand . . .

tex-chan · Post by **tex-chan** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:40 pm

I use an HP 4070. It is fairly new ... I purchased it as a replacement for my other HP scanner this past year. My old scanner was about 4 or 5 years old, to give you an idea ... and that is 4 or 5 years of heavy use. I don't know how others feel about this brand, but, in my opinion, HPs are good -- I've had a lot of success with them, and have liked them a lot.

I can't remember how much it cost, as my hubby purchased it for me as a gift, although I believe most HP scanners are fairly reasonably priced. Also, it has a really nice-sized scanning bed. The glass is about 9 inches x 13 inches ... or something like that. So, it's large enough to easily scan normal sized cels, and, even, many over-sized cels and sketches without having to piece them together. I do have a couple of cels that I had to paste together in Photoshop, but that is the exception.

Good luck finding a new scanner! It can be a very frustrating task, since there are so many out there to choose from.

Keropi · Post by **Keropi** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 11:32 pm

Please excuse me for going off topic, but I have a question. How long does it take a new $200 or cheaper scanner to scan a cel at 100 ppi?

I have a six or seven year old scanner and it takes 102 seconds. I have nothing to compare the speed to because I've never used anything else.

It's also so noisy that it sounds like the Goodyear blimp is passing directly overhead.

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 11:33 pm

About 24 hours.

hobbywhelmed · Post by **hobbywhelmed** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 2:21 pm

I'm still using a Canon ("canoscan"), several years old, via a USB-1 connection. Aside from going on more red, please, binges every so often, it's been holding up. I like that the lid lifts for books. The scanning bed is pretty average, 8-1/2" x 12". I haven't seen any bigger than that.

Someone asked - at 100 dpi, a scan takes probably about 20-30 seconds. But I usually scan at 300 for the master, and then just re-dimension the jpgs. Gives it a smoother look. 300 dpi, I'd say probably about a minute, or a little more. USB-2 connections are faster, but for speed, find a model that has a firewire connection (as long as your computer also has one, although you can always add a firewire card).

A few years ago, someone was selling a bunch of big-scanbed pieces, but I could't afford it at the time. They were called "industrial beds", I believe. Perhaps something oversized comes up on ebay every so often. Don't know. Got enough active searches!

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 2:23 pm

How long have you been using a Canon canoscan several years old via a USB-1 connection ?

hobbywhelmed · Post by **hobbywhelmed** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 2:27 pm

I think Cloud is a classic case of what happens when you have not only attention-deficit disorder, but obsessive-compulsive disorder, and your babysitter quit and your mom hasn't remembered to fill any of your prescriptions.... :bubbles

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 2:28 pm

Those bubbles were designed by Darren Langley.

Sugarflower · Post by **Sugarflower** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:51 pm

Haha! So true!

I decided on a Canoscan 8400F and like it pretty well so far. I haven't figured out how to get a perfect color adjustment but try to touch up on my cel scans with photoshop. I usually scan at 150dpi but any lower and I didn't like the image quality of the scans. 300dpi was perfect but I make many scans at one time and Photoshop didn't like that to well, lol, so I decreased to 150.

This scanner is MUCH better than my ancient one that died and less noisy. Only 2 things that get frustrating are #1) occasionally the scanner decides to pick up light reflections from the cel bags which causes discoloration and streaks to the scans #2) I can't just pop something in and scan it, I have to prescan an item first (I'm assuming this adjusts the color settings or something) and then scan. Just scanning before prescanning my colors are way wacky.