Scanner recommendations

[dodecahedron]

hi.
i'm going to get a scanner (or rather get one through my workplace) and looking for recommendations/user opinions.

searching the web a bit, Cnet reviews aren't much and the user comments there are often quite the opposite of what the Editor's review says
i'm still reading around the web a bit, looking for good reviews.

anyway the models i was thinking of till now:
Canon: CanoScan 3200F, 5200F, Lide 50, Lide 80
HP: ScanJet 3670/3690, 3970, 4600, 4670

Epson i'm not very familiar with.

i'm not really sure how much budget i have to go on, but those models are more or less it.

the scanner will be used mainly for scanned printed documents, forms etc., maybe a bit out of books. scanning photographs is not likely to be done much (but it's nice to have a capable scanner in that function too, just for the odd picture).

TIA.

[dodecahedron]

a couple of related question:

i know most flatbed scanners work with CCD technology, some with CIS (like the Canon Lide models).
what about these new transparent HP 4600, 4670 models? how do they work?
how does that technology compare with CCD?


does the software that comes with Cannon and Epson printers handle PCX files (can scan into a PCX file) ?

[MediumRare]

Stay away from the LIDE scanners- they look neat, are small but have next to no depth of field. They are not unsuitable for scanning books (just a single sheet of paper if it's flat enough). More "coventional" scanners have 2-3 cm.

I bought an Epson 3170 Photo about a year ago and am very happy with it. It was relatively expensive (260 Euros) but has a high enough resolution (3200x6400) to be useful for scanning negatives or slides. It has a good TWAIN module with flexible adjustments and a relatively big preview field. If you're seriously into photographic stuff, though, consider a dedicated negative scanner because it will handle greater contrast than a flat-bed scanner. In most cases you won't use resolutions > 600 dpi for printed matter, but more (>=1200) is normal now.

The Epson software handles PCX fine. I've used TIF's for B&W to now. That may be a mistake, though, because the PCX I just tried was only half the size of the (uncompressed) TIF.

G

[dodecahedron]

hi G.
yeah, i remember that about the Lide, you said that in a post about 1/2 a year ago.
not planning on scanning negatives or slides at all. mainly documents, a little bit photos.
i'll look for reviews of this Epson too.

any relevant comments from c't reviews, like you gave in those posts 1/2 a year ago?

[MediumRare]

any relevant comments from c't reviews, like you gave in those posts 1/2 a year ago?

That was closer to a year ago.

Sorry- can't help much on further information. c't hasn't done a test of scanners that would interest you in the past year (just high end scanners and dedicated slide scanners- the 3170 did well). The Epson 3170 is now going for ca. 200 Euros (it's the last one left in the *70 generation) and the new entry level scanner, the Perfection 2480 Photo, has upped the resolution to 2400 dpi for ca. 100 Euros. Can't tell what software you get with it though- mine came with Abbyy Finereader and Photoshop Elements 2 in addition to various (useful) Epson tools.

Incidentally, I'm not an Epson acolyte, although I think I've got a pretty good scanner. I've got a Canon i865 printer that'll print on CD's and it's pretty good too (except for a wierd incompatibility with WordPerfect).

G

[dodecahedron]

right you are
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic. ... 9899#89899
November 29, 2003

[dodecahedron]

G, did your 3170 come with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 ?
according to Cnet it does, but that's the US, Europe (and midd-east) is sometimes different.

[MediumRare]

G, did your 3170 come with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 ?

Yes (but I said that!). I don't use it much, though, because I've gotten used to Corel Photo Paint.

G

[dodecahedron]

right you are. missed it. my bad.

[dodecahedron]

by the way, what is PhotoShop Elements? a trimed down version of PhotoShop ?