Scanners

[crash79]

I am contemplating investing in a good quality scanner say in the region of 2-3 hundred pounds.
Comments appreciated.
Thanks.

[Biko]

Crash what do you want to do with it?

2-3 hundred quid will buy you a lot. The important thing is if you are looking at say printing photos, what is the dpi on your printer? No point buying a good scanner if your printer is the weak link in quality. Other one is the optical quality- how well it can scan text accurately, useful if you have a load of old type written stuff. It is still hard work checking the text though. There are scanners for scanning negatives as well. I use it for Graphics/artwork scan the image in and play around with it.

The price of scanners has fallen dramatically over the last couple of years. I read somwhere that you get better quality by scanning your photos rather than getting them put on disc. I prefer the way of having the image processed by a company and then scan it.

[crash79]

Biko,
Thanks for your comments. I intend using it for photographic and art work. I hadn't thought about the printer, but I shall also upgrade that in keeping with the scanners capability. What is considered to be a good quality printer?

[Nig]

If you're considering spending that sort of money on a printer and scanner.Then I would suggest you get a couple of magazines aimed at the proffesional art and graphics market.

Nig:)

[Biko]

Hi Crash,

You could get a printer for about £120/150 that would give you near photo quality, as Nig says,having a good browse in w h smiths is your best bet.

Scanners are great for graphics, I use it a lot as you can manipulate/ tidy the image up in PSP, print it off rework it again. I would suggest you get a good scanner if you need it for art work, as its important to get a good image even if your printer is not up to it, because you need as clean an image as possible to work at, it can be annoying if your work of art looks bad when scanned to the computer. Watch out for the size of files, they can get very big when scanned!

[crash79]

Thanks again for your help and patience.
I have had a look around the Internet since reading in another thread praising the Epson printers.
Would I get reasonable results with the 1290 Photo Printer and the 1640SU Scanner? What do you think?
There is such a choice out there it becomes more confusing by the minute.

[Biko]

Crash,
I have an Epson printer, it does well for me they got good reviews for printing pics a while ago, but best to check out the latest using mag/internet on that as things change.

Had a look at the Epson 1290, looks good, but I would want to know what is the difference between it and the 890, apart from money! there is something like £150 between the two. Both print at 2880x720 DPI, so whats the difference? I only had a quick look you need to compare, taking your needs in to account.

The Scanners I looked at was 3200x1600, you can see the difference compared to printer.

Remember to consider the Ink! When printing in full colour these things use it up fast, refills can be expensive!

[Nig]

I aint looked ,but don't computershopper have a review archive on thier site ? uk or us sites both good for reviews perhaps ?

Nig:)

[MTDay]

If you want a scanner AND a printer, then you may find a bundle that is cheaper than buying separately - PC World will usually demonstrate.

Have you considered a digital camera as well?

NB. Beware of EPSON's latest printers with a smart chip in the cartridge to prevent refilling or "clones" (until proven to be beaten!).

For PHOTO, the best system is one with 5 (photo) colours instead of 3, AND variable drop size.

The output from a 5 colour with fixed drop size (older photocolour)
or 3 colour varible drop size, is relatively indistinguishable.