Scanning panic

[Jenni]

Hey all! I need some good advice here. I am visiting family this week and I have been given literally hundreds of the most beautiful family heritage photos you could possibly imagine. They date all the way back to about 1910 and most of them are in beautiful condition.

My first step is a scanner. I have one on our printer but I've never thought it was very good. I was told at Best Buy today that I want a "stand alone" printer for higher resolutions and better quality. I'm thinking about an Epson - Perfection Flatbed Photo Scanner model number V300. It's about a hundred bucks. I read it also does slides and I know my husband's family has boxes and boxes of slides that I want to work on for them as well.

Any thoughts or advice on a scanner? I want the best.....within reason of price of course.

[Robyn Gough]

My recommendation would be to go for a CCD scanner as they have better sharpness especially for items not pressed perfectly against the glass. I just googled the V300 and it looks like it is a CCD scanner I think, so that sounds great.

I have a Canon 8800F which is a CCD scanner which also does slides and it is FANTASTIC. It has beautiful sharpness. I picked mine up on ebay.

[sherryva]

I have had Canon and HP scanners, but now I have an epson perfection 4490 photo that I really like. It takes away all the dust and spots when it scans and it does slides and negatives as well. I seem to get better results at resolutions higher than 300 (not sure why).. and I can customize the way it scans.

A stand alone, 9 times out of 10, is always better than those "all in ones". Yes I scan pictures, but now I scan documents and put them on cds in my safe deposit box also- and scan stuff for scrapping to. (daughters artwork etc). All of this is to say it is much better to spend a little more and get a good one, because once you have it, you will use it for more than you thought you would.

Scanning all those pics is time consuming, but SO worth it! Good luck with your project.

[Dani B]

I have the Epson 4490 also and its wonderful for what I need. I love that I can scan old negatives and slides with it too. I also scan at 300 or above - slow but worth it to save those old photos for the future. It wasn't all that expensive, so easy on a budget to buy one.

[Wanda]

I have the Epson V350 and have used it for prints, negatives and slides and have been quite satisfied with the results. It reproduces what it sees and there are lots of options to help improve your image. It's a slow process though--I usually try to scan negatives while I iron (maybe that's why I still have so many to do--I don't iron often enough!).

There was a good thread a while back about scanning resolution, etc., that you might find useful: http://digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14570

[Janet]

Epsons are good - usually rate the best in tests I've seen in magazines and such. They've also really come down in price - so I imagine you'd be set with this. :)

I have the 4990 - but I think they've since replaced that version.

[Jenni]

Oh you guys! Thanks!!!!! I didn't even think of EBAY. I'll check there for the Epson but look at the Canon also. I'm really excited to start working on these! For once it sounds like the guy at Best Buy has me on the right track! :-)

[Jenni]

Oh! You all rock! There is a new Epson V300 on ebay "buy it now" for $90 and free shipping. I'll get it this afternoon as they said they have "over 10 left". It's $122 at Best Buy online so I think that is a great deal! Yeah!!!!