Scanner recommendations?

[marlene]

A graphic designer friend asked me if I knew which new desktop scanners were the best.

I don't know nothin' 'bout no scanners, since I'm still using my ancient HP IIcx.

Any suggestions? She'll be using it with a PC. Probably running XP, although it might be W2k. She'll be doing high-rez color scans for offset printing.

TIA,

mxh

[Mike]

Well, I've just been searching for a new scanner and opted for the Epson Perfection 10000XL. It seemed to get good reviews (those few that I could find) but it is expensive for a desktop scanner.

Anyhow, I might be able to tell you what it's like first hand in a week or two.

[terrie]

Marlene, tell her to take a look at the Epson scanners (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductCategory.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=-8172)...I'm very pleased with my 2450--the 4990 and 4870 seem to be the replacements for the 2450...

Terrie

[marlene]

I'll relay the info to my friend. Please let us know how you like the scanner after you get it.

Can you remember where you saw the good reviews?

mxh

[marlene]

I've sent her the link to the Epson scanner page.

mxh

[Mike]

Can you remember where you saw the good reviews?

mxh

I just did a Google search on Epson Perfection. I repeated it today and caame up with:

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/news/articles/story_1359.html

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Epson%204990/Page%201.htm

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Scanners/Epson_3200/page_1.htm

(not an easy site to nagivate and may contain other Epson reviews)

This one reviews a variety of scanners:

http://www.ausmedia.com.au/gt7000.html

[Mike]

You might also want to take a look at:

http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/07/28/perfection/index.php

[Molly/CA]

I can tell you one thing. My HP 8200 developed a glitch the day the warranty expired: scanning at 1200 dpi, after a few scans it makes a horrible grinding noise and locks. Turning the power off makes the belt and head return to position and then you can do a few more scans.

The engineer that responded to my plea for help said to swap out the underneath part --i. e., everything but the lid.

It has a lot of other features I consider bad design, too, and the software is truly frightening, idiot-level chrome and kluge for their (at the time) highest-level "midrange" scanner; the next ones with similar capabilities are several thousand dollars (this one was about $500). Vue-Scan, reviewed here, saved my life. (Hey, it works like gangbusters with that rotten Nikon 8000 slide scanner, too. I can get through a tray of 5 slides in a fraction --tenth?-- of the time, with better results, and have scanned hundreds of family archive pictures in less time than it took to do a couple dozen with the HP software. )

And don't tell me to scan into Photoshop direct: each scan defaults to 200 dpi color and it's quite tedious to change the settings.

(They miscalculated on the DeskJet (now maybe 2 1/2 years old: IT failed 4 or 5 months before the warranty expired so HP sent a new one. You can't pull stuck paper out frontwards and it stuck a piece of paper in such a way that there was no option, even taking the case apart as much as seemed safe.)

The new laserjet I got so that my husband could have better printing with his new computer is not very satisfactory either, lots of design elements I don't like at all and has a chintzy feel to it. "Fast" only in that it feeds the paper fast (when it feeds it), no more so than the 500 as far as absorbing data as far as I can see, too.

I decided to go with this scanner until it dies, then look for something other than HP.

[cdanddvdpublisher]

For a graphics designer, I would suggest something like the Fujifilm C-550 Lanovia. You can take a look at it at http://www.cameras-scanners-flaar.org/Fujifilm_Electronic_Imaging/Fujifilm_C550_Lanovia_scan.html Its a little more than I would ever need but it sure would be fun to have. :)

[terrie]

That's a FLAAR page and take whatever they say with a very large grain of salt...they are known on most of the inkjet lists for badmouthing anyone who won't pay them for their "good" reviews...'-}}

Terrie