Scanners

[GokuZool]

What scanner is the best value for money?

I don't want one to high tech. I just want to scan my drawings, retouch them, make comics etc. And maby do some other stuff, like scanning things from magazines.

Any ideas?

Thanks, [img]smile.gif[/img]

[LennonCook]

Any you can afford to get... I think cannon's are good for the basic stuff. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Ziroc]

Originally posted by GokuZool: What scanner is the best value for money? I don't want one to high tech. I just want to scan my drawings, retouch them, make comics etc. And maby do some other stuff, like scanning things from magazines. Any ideas? Thanks, [img]smile.gif[/img]

I own the Canon flatbed scanner (it's SO thin compared to my old Mustek HUGE monster) and it was $149 I think a year ago--it's SUPER fast, and uses USB!

Also, while scanning, you can do other stuff on the PC--my old Mustek was SCSI, and while scanning, it locked the desktop until it was done--not this new Canon!

Here is a link to it--its now $99!
http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...t=509&scat=510

And Canons main site:
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCpr...&section=10217

[Sir Krustin]

I'm not a big fan of either Mustek or canon. Canon is cheap consumer junk, if price is your main concern it's a good choice unless you plan on being a heavy user. HP's are more expensive, but much better IMO.

I've got an HP Scanjet 5P (SCSI). Extremely fast, and using Precision Scan II the results are amazing.

[Jeffi0]

I've also got a HP Scanjet, but it's ancient. Back when it was new, it was amazing stuff though. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[lethoso]

http://www.umart.com.au/index2.phtml?bid=3
http://www.pluscorp.com.au/

both of those are fairly cheap places in which to buy computer stuff... have a look on google for reviews of ones that are in your pricerange....

[Ziroc]

Originally posted by Sir Krustin: I'm not a big fan of either Mustek or canon. Canon is cheap consumer junk, if price is your main concern it's a good choice unless you plan on being a heavy user. HP's are more expensive, but much better IMO. I've got an HP Scanjet 5P (SCSI). Extremely fast, and using Precision Scan II the results are amazing.

The Mustek and Canon I have are excellent. I am also a Graphics Artist, and they are EXTREMELY detailed. You say that they are 'junk' but you don't bother to say WHY they are. Give the the reasons.. Because Canon has one of the most advanced optics.

HP is nice, but they are not worth the price.

[Sir Krustin]

Well, mostly the canons are just a throwaway item that breaks very easily, they are also very "dumb" in that all the scanners intelligence is in the system device driver (saves money on the hardware). That's why they're generally the cheapest on the market. Optics aren't everything! That isn't to say you can't buy good canon stuff - but all the good stuff is commercial grade, very expensive. Canon also takes a page from Sony's book - proprietary technology that is very expensive to buy replacement parts for, usually not available at all in the aftermarket.

I also find HP's tech support to be far superior to Canons.

BTW, the graphic arts was also my trade before I went into the mechanic trade - I was a scanner operator and film stripper for a printing shop. There was a glut on the market for these types of jobs up here, so I decided to change.

[Ziroc]

Originally posted by Sir Krustin: Well, mostly the canons are just a throwaway item that breaks very easily, they are also very "dumb" in that all the scanners intelligence is in the system device driver (saves money on the hardware). That's why they're generally the cheapest on the market. Optics aren't everything! That isn't to say you can't buy good canon stuff - but all the good stuff is commercial grade, very expensive. Canon also takes a page from Sony's book - proprietary technology that is very expensive to buy replacement parts for, usually not available at all in the aftermarket. I also find HP's tech support to be far superior to Canons. BTW, the graphic arts was also my trade before I went into the mechanic trade - I was a scanner operator and film stripper for a printing shop. There was a glut on the market for these types of jobs up here, so I decided to change.

Hmm.. well, I own the Canon and it's excellent, and hasn't broke for over a year--and I've made over 500 scans so far at a normal dpi of 800...

[Bardan the Slayer]

I can't speak from any position of authority, but my Acer Scanprisa has always served me well. I've had it for 2 years now and never had a single problem. It's USB, scans fast and has excellent driver software. The optical resolution is high enough for me, and it was well worth the $130 I paid for it.