Scanners, need info on technical aspects...

[jozf73]

I am planning on buying a scanner. I want to use it for photo's mainly, which I will use for my website. Resolution must be good enough to edit the pictures.
Can somebody tell me on which aspects of the scanner i need to focus (apart from the price) and does anybody know a good buy?

[Bleeding Edge]

To start off, a few things to consider in a scanner is the optical resolution (true hardware dpi) and the interpolation resolution. The higher the numbers are the finer the picture. Another aspect is one pass scanning of an image versus three pass scanning. You'll also want to take into consideration the read-area, the glass size…. and if it is important, the software bundle.


My experiences are with the older HP Scanjet2C and 3C; and recently, the Epson 836XL. http://www.epson.com/cam_scan/scanners/expression836/ The HPs were great while they lasted and support was excellent back then. However, I noticed that the quality has drop considerably… The Epson on the other hand is magnificent. You can scan a large 12”x17” photo and the colors will closely match the original without any image alteration. The clarity of the image is exceptional. The drawback may be the $2000 price tag. But in it’s class the price/performance is unbeatable. Their Photo printers also give fantastic photo quality prints. I use their small Photo printer and the 800 series color printer. The printer attached to the 836XL scanner is the 12x17 Photo EX. I used to be a loyal to HP image products in this arena but not anymore. (Their LaserJets and large format plotters are still great.) The Epson color image products are absolutely terrific.

Because of this (my adventures with Epson), I presume that the lower priced 800 and 636 Expression models will also give the same price/performance scale. http://www.epson.com/cam_scan/ There are many other manufacturers offering many models of scanners. Agfa, Mustek, Umax…

But the ones I can comment about, thru familiarity of the product, are the Epsons and the older HPs. And as I mentioned above, the few tips I can relate to you…

[Roy]

Several 600x1200dpi (optical) models have recently dropped to about $50. These are quite adequate for your purpose. I have the Umax 1220P.

The overiding consideration is speed. If you are impatient, compare the specs and pay what you must to get it. SCSI and USB types transfer the data faster than parallel port models, but the scanning may not be any quicker.

[Ziz]

It's actually not that tough a decision. If your primary use will be scanning for posting online, you don't want or need to go much above 100dpi or so. Anything higher and your pics will be either too big to display on screen without scrolling and/or take forever to upload and download.

Highest scanning resolution (600, 1200, whatever) only makes a difference if you're going to be blowing up and printing out what you scan.

As far as "interpolated" resolution, it's exactly that, interpolated, as in artificially created. You don't get better detail, just a larger file and if you need them, more pixels to work with when you get to fine editing.

Parallel/USB/SCSI - again, relative to what resolution you'll typically be scanning at. If you're keeping it low (for reasons mentioned above) you can get away with parallel. If you'll be doing the hi-res, high detail work, look for USB or SCSI.

As far as brand/performance/quality, that will depend partly on the quality of your printer, video card and monitor as to how "accurate" the scan is to the original.

Graphics, more than anything else, is what pushes your system to the limits. Processor power, memory, HD space and video card take on an almost symbiotic relationship when you get into something as "simple" as a scanner. Lackluster performance on any of them will slow down the entire process.

[jozf73]

Thanks for the replies. I think my system can handle the scanning process, that won't be the problem.
The question remains whether the resolution provided by a relative simple scanner will be enough to do some editing.

[DUSTYRUN]

i have a microtek scanmaker x6el. it comes with a real negitive adapter. not like the reflective triangle that hp comes with. it also is scsi, which it comes with. the cost is about $200 now. i think. it has a full 8.5 x 14 bed. I scan 3 x 5s in and print 8 x 10s with this bad boy. it does just as good as the big boys. check microtek.com for the latest prices

[chuckiechan]

For web use, the final resolution would only need to be 72 DPI, (the usual monitor resolution). Lower res. = smaller files = faster page loads. If your computer has a USB port, go with a USB scanner. If you need cables that aren't included, be sure to consider their price, they can be spendy...
Also, try calling their tech support BEFORE you buy to see if they are any good if you need them.