Looking for scanner (flatbed) recommendations

ZENGHOST

ZENGHOST

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Jan 21, 2002
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My scanner just went on the fritz after a good 5 or 6 years of service and I'm looking to get another one. The one that just broke is a Visioneer One Touch 8100. I want it to be able to do regular scanning and copying--just your basic functions. I'd like it to be under or around a hundred bucks, but if there's something exponentially better that costs 200 bucks then I'll consider that as well. I don't need it to do negative or slide scanning but that'd be a bonus if it could. Space is not a factor so it doesn't have to be paper thin and I don't really care how it looks as long as it gets the job done. I also have my own photo editing software so that's not important either.

If there are no specific recommendations then I'd like to at least hear about the specs I should be looking at like optical resolution and such.

I was looking at these:

Perfection 2480 Color Photo Scanner
ScanJet 4670 See-Thru Vertical Scanner
CanoScan 8400F Color Flatbed Scanner
OneTouch 9220 USB Color Flatbed Scanner

I'm looking to go scanner shopping tomorrow so hopefully I'll get some recommendations by then. Thanks.
 
I have a CanoScan thats been excellent for a couple of years now.
Mine is a model 650U.
 
I'm on my forth Canon: each one has scanned over 30,000 pages.

Bye whichever Canon you can afford. The hardware is reliable and durable, and the software is friendly and intuitive.
 
Sounds like Canon is leading the race here--good, since I was leaning in that direction anyway.
 
Another vote for Canon; got a Lide50, USB2, USB powered, decent range of supplied software.
 
Have you ever thought of getting a bundled Printer / Scanner / Copier?

I used to have an Agfa scanner but have since move to HP's PSC series. The coolest feature is the photocopy function but because it's bundled it saves space too.

I currently have a PSC 2510
 
Nordic Viking said:
Have you ever thought of getting a bundled Printer / Scanner / Copier?

I used to have an Agfa scanner but have since move to HP's PSC series. The coolest feature is the photocopy function but because it's bundled it saves space too.

I currently have a PSC 2510
Click to expand...
I thought about an all-in-one, but I have a perfectly good printer right now so I just wanted to concentrate on the scanner. It does take a lot less space, though.

I went with the Canon LiDE 500F that Ken posted. I really looked hard at the 8400F because of all the great reviews I saw about it and it was only 20 bucks more than the 500F, but as I was looking at it in the store it was pissing me off because the inside top cover kept falling off (the plastic piece that hides the backlight for the slides, etc.). I figured that if it irritated me that much in the store it would annoy me at home as well. Unfortunately the 500F wasn't out for display so I was going kind of on a hunch that it would be fine.

I finally got it out of the box and after making room and rearranging stuff, I got to test it out. I just did straight scanning with automatic settings and the photo I did seemed to scan way better than my old scanner. Colors were good, scanner is whisper quiet and everything was done at a regular speed.

There are some negatives, though. One thing that irritated me right out of the box is that the USB outlet on the scanner is too small to accept anything but the cable that came with it. I can't remember this happening to me before. Normally it would be a good thing that the scanner came with a cable at all, but where I had my other scanner required an extra long cable and that cable did not fit into the socket for the USB because of the surrounding plastic. It's such a minor flaw that should have been easy to avoid, but it caused me to have to rearrange the placement of everything to get it close enough to use the supplied cable. The other thing is the placement of the USB socket. It's just in an odd place that is easy to knock out if you have it placed in the normal configuration. Those two things are annoying, but I can't complain about the performance. I do like how it can stand up, though, and the way the cover can open up for a flat surface for books and large items also works well.

Thanks for all the recommendations, I am pleased with my purchase.
 
The USB plug being an unusual size sounds really odd. I've never seen anything but the normal one. I'll keep that in mind when I replace my current scanner.
 
djolney said:
The USB plug being an unusual size sounds really odd. I've never seen anything but the normal one. I'll keep that in mind when I replace my current scanner.
Click to expand...
The long cable I have is a Belkin and it's just a little meatier around the plug than is the one that came with the scanner. It could just be the Belkin cable, but the scanner usb hole doesn't allow for any leeway at all so the Belkin one doesn't even go in halfway.
 
Thanks for the info. I'll take my long cable with me when I go to replace my scanner. It's done about 25,000 pages, and will probably be replaced at the end of the year.
 
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