Need a new scanner

[tammy1999]

Hi everyone! My scanner has scanned its last picture and I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion for a new one. The only thing I really request of one is that it has an on and off button. My last scanner didn't have that button and I would have to plug and unplug it all the time. Nothing really fancy either, just one that does a great job. Thanks so much!

[Vallie]

Hi, I noticed no responses yet! Well I have a good scanner Hp 3770 which scans slides as well as pictures but it is hooked up to the computer all the time and comes on when the computer comes on. I dont know if they are all like that or not, I have to pull the plug out if I dont want it to come on. It doesn't bother me though at all. I don't use it to its full potential and haven't scanned many slides to really get the feel of it, though I have boxes and boxes of them to go through. What a yucky job!! :)

[tammy1999]

Thanks Valerie for your response. I have to keep mine unpluged all the time because it stays on all the time. I used my slide scanner and was really impressed with what it did. It took awhile, but I was glad I did it. Now they are safe on a CD in my lock box.

[4guysandme]

my last HP was like that. I just didn't worry about it as it did power itself off after a short time.

I now have an HP 9550 I believe it is. It is a business class scanner with a document feeder. It is probably a lot more scanner than you need or want. It does have a film and slide adaptor. But most importantly it has a power button!

[untmom2003]

My Epson all in one (which is several years old) does have an on/off switch. I didn't know they didn't have switches! I would think that any of the all-in-ones (at least the ones I've seen) all have a switch. You might want to also check out http://www.cnet.com or http://www.pcmag.com for reviews.

[Janet]

Take a look at the epson line. I've got the 4990 and it does darn near everything. Lots of pro photogs rave about it, but it might be more than you want to spend. Has an on/off switch. I also have an all-in-one HP machine that does fine as well, but I like the settings on my epson.

[Pixel Pixie]

Hey Janet,
I've been looking at the same scanner. Some of the reviews I've been reading lately are not kind to the 35mm film scanning abilities with this scanner... what experience have you had with it? Most of the complaints have been that the film curls in the film template and produces radial light circles on the scanned image.

[weddell]

I have the epson 4490 that I upgraded from the epson 2400. I really loved the 2400 and never got the newton rings (the radial light circles you mentioned). I wanted the 4490 (I would have really loved the 4990 that the previous poster mentioned) because of the digital ice for film. I scan a lot of old film and the digital ice is a life saver. With the 4490 I did have a problem with newton rings. The film holder is different than on the 2400 and I think that that's the problem. I "solved" it by putting the film in upsidedown and the having the scanner flip the image when it scans. This way the film curls up instead of down against the scanner bed. I really love this scanner and it has a power switch!

[Pixel Pixie]

Thanks for the info. Do you notice any distortion for the film curl that you have to compensate for in your editing program?

[Art-C]

I've got an HP3310 all-in-one on sale and I'm impressed with everything it does. It has 6 ink cartridges so I only have to replace colors as needed vs buying a whole new color cartridge with the yellow runs out. Staples has a special HP kit with all 6 cartridges and 4x6 color paper for around $36. Can't beat that! The scanner does a great job, lots of resolution choices and will save it to the photoshop format as well as Acrobat or the usual JPG, etc. I haven't tried the slide/negative options. Plus this HP series is advertised as the fastest inkjet printer on the market.

For years the all-in-ones had the reputation of having all the features but they were all lesser quality. I think someone finally listened and got smart. I'm extremely happy with mine. I print my 12x12 layouts as 8x8 by uning PSE4Organizer and using the Individual 8x10 print. They come out perfect. Just use a decent quality paper.

I hear nothing but good things about Epson. Overall, I think the manufacturers have come a long way in a short period of time. Good luck with your decision.

[weddell]

Thanks for the info. Do you notice any distortion for the film curl that you have to compensate for in your editing program?


I haven't noticed any and I have scanned some pretty curly film. The film holder does a pretty good job of holding the film down. I guess if I were a professional photographer, I would get a dedicated film scanner which would solve both newton rings and curling film, but for the price I love my epson. It has really good color depth!

[Janet]

Hey Janet,
I've been looking at the same scanner. Some of the reviews I've been reading lately are not kind to the 35mm film scanning abilities with this scanner... what experience have you had with it? Most of the complaints have been that the film curls in the film template and produces radial light circles on the scanned image.

Sorry - I didn't get back here sooner. :rolleyes: I did have a few scans do that - the solution that worked for me was to create a mat (or use scraps of mat board) that holds the negative flat, and to not let the scanner get too hot by just pacing the scans. I really, REALLY prefer the Nikon Coolscan V for all 35mm stuff - less fiddling with the negatives overall, making for a smoother work flow. I'd love to get the Nikon 9000 which takes larger formats of film.

[Janet]

I wanted the 4490 (I would have really loved the 4990 that the previous poster mentioned) because of the digital ice for film. I scan a lot of old film and the digital ice is a life saver.

So the 4490 has Digital Ice for FILM???? The 4990 only has that for prints (reflectives). For film the only selection is dust removal. Neither comes close to the quality of Digital Ice I get from the Nikon Coolscan V. Not sure why such a huge difference, but it's drastically different. Diagonal tears in a print, the 4990 digital ice can do, but horizontal and vertical ones aren't nearly that good.

[weddell]

So the 4490 has Digital Ice for FILM???? The 4990 only has that for prints (reflectives). For film the only selection is dust removal. Neither comes close to the quality of Digital Ice I get from the Nikon Coolscan V. Not sure why such a huge difference, but it's drastically different. Diagonal tears in a print, the 4990 digital ice can do, but horizontal and vertical ones aren't nearly that good.

Yes, it has digital ice for film. I just checked the epson site and it says that the 4990 has digital ice for both film and prints. Here is the link:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductCategory.jsp?oid=-8172
Are you sure yours doesn't have it?

[Janet]

That's what it said when I purchased it, too. But in the settings, if you have reflectives, you get Digital ICE as a choice, but if you have film settings, you just get dust removal as a choice. Maybe they've fixed that? Have to go out and see if the software needs an upgrade. :)

[weddell]

That's what it said when I purchased it, too. But in the settings, if you have reflectives, you get Digital ICE as a choice, but if you have film settings, you just get dust removal as a choice. Maybe they've fixed that? Have to go out and see if the software needs an upgrade. :)


This may be a totally stupid reply, but sometimes when I open the epson scan ultility from within photoshop I can't see the digital ice options because the dust removal or other options have all their sub-options visible and you have to either close those or scroll down within the small options window (I never see the scroll bar along the side because it is in a kind of a hard to see place). Once I do this, the digital ice option is visible. I doubt this is your problem, but this has happened to me more than once and left me confused, especially when I'm switching back and forth between different types of scanning.

[mom2triplets04]

I am just starting out with digital scrapbooking and have been a paper scrapbooker for over 8 years so I have tons and tons of paper 12 x 12. I was thinking of scanning my papers but do I need to have a 12 x 12 scanner to scan the papers? Which one would you recommend?

[Pixel Pixie]

A 12 x 12 scanning bed will cost you thousands of dollars. You can scan your papers (staying within all copyright limits) on a regular scan bed and use "stitch" on your editing software to make it bigger. Of course, you will need a wide format printer to print 12 x 12.

You can purchase great kits here at DSP in the store as well and then you can use your "papers" as many times as you like and not have to worry about copyright infringement.

Hope this helps...and welcome to digital scrapbooking - your in for the pixel rush of a lifetime!

[Janet]

Yep, when you bought the paper, it's with the understanding that you can't reuse it, so if you scan it and respect the copyright, then you toss the paper in the trash.

Or - just as Pixel Pixie said, purchase digital paper that is sold with the understanding that it'll be reused, recolored, etc. a jillion times. Put your paper up on eBay and 'trade' it for digital. ;)

[mom2triplets04]

So you are saying I'm not able to use my papers which I spent thousand of dollars on in my own personal scrapbooks?

[Pixel Pixie]

No, we're not saying that at all. When you purchase 1 sheet of paper it is to be used one time, of course that's how it works in paper scrapping. The tricky part is when you start to do digital scrapbooking. When I made the transition I still wanted to use some of my wonderful "hard" paper and thought nothing of scanning it into my computer. The problem occures when you begin to use your scan more than once and then what do you do with the "original" that you scanned from? Under the copyright laws if you scan a piece of purchased paper to use digitally you must then destroy the original. And then if you intend to use your scanned image multiple time... you must purchase a new piece of paper for each time you use it and then destroy those. I think you can see the logic of this. What I ended up doing is combining my paper into my digital art by using them as backgrounds. I would print my digital page just a bit smaller and then mount them on my purchased paper. For me, this worked out great. Sometimes I still paper scrap too with my kids.

[4guysandme]

So you are saying I'm not able to use my papers which I spent thousand of dollars on in my own personal scrapbooks?
No, they aren't saying that at all.

Just don't scan and expect to not get sued. You have to abide by all copyright laws. Period! It doesn't matter if you're doing this for personal use or commercial use. You have to abide by copyright laws. It is a line you don't want to cross.

As digital scrapbooking becomes more and more prominent, I would think that more and more paper scrapping suppliers are going to be watching more and more closely.

Digital supplies are so cheap in comparison because they can be used repeatedly.

As for what to do with all the paper. . . SELL IT. . . give away. . . use it for cards. . . whatever. . . but scanning it is just not a good idea anyway you think about it. I have a tub of expensive papers in my closet upstairs. Just sitting there. I'll likely make cards with it one day, but for now it is out of site and out of mind.

[mom2triplets04]

Guess I will just keep the papers for arts and crafts for the kids. I'm sure they will love using scissors on it and gluing things down. Yes my cardstock will be used for cards still.

[Janet]

I've still got some that I pull out for cards and such (something to glue the digital layout to). I gave some of my stuff away, and may give more soon (the church always loves that type of stuff).

[Pixel Pixie]

Yes, the donating is always a good thing. I'm a girl scout leader and lots of gals donate their old supplies to our troop. Then our scouts make up little kits out of them and take them to the childrens local childrens hospital. Their "kits" are always a big success with the kids as well as the parents - as most of the children are terminally ill and it gives them a chance to make something precious that their parents will have forever... and we know that they are made with materials that WILL last.