Good Scanner?

[kovah]

Can anyone reccomend a good scanner. I have looked at afew but frankly all those letters and numbers dont mean alot to me.

I'm looking for either a scanner/printer combo or just a scanner on its own. Preferably a high res one that wont mess up my colour too much and under around £100.

[Mirana]

The scanner/printer combos are generally tiny, photo-scanner types. I won't consider them for art.

You didn't specify what size scanner you'd be looking for, and that makes a lot of difference in price. In general, I prefer HPs as I've gone through multiple brands over the yrs, and my HP scanner has out-performed and laster longer than any other. For that matter, so has my HP printer and camera, but I digress. ;)

[kovah]

either A4 or A3, if i can get a good A3 one for under £100 twould be awesome

[Flake]

I have an older version of this and I'm really happy with it. A4 size, £33.
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/126583/rb/27391435663

[chaosrocks]

I have an old epson perfection 1250 which works fine.

[dose]

most scanners on the market today are fine for most uses for an artist. If you're looking at the lower-end models, the main difference you'll see is in the optical resolution.

Optical resolution determines how much you're able to blow up the image you're scanning in- higher optical res means bigger scans. Today, even most entry-level scanners will have a higher optical resolution than an artist typically needs. The exception to this seems to be HP's entry level scanners, which often have a 1200x1200dpi optical res. This means you can blow something up 4x and have the image be 300dpi (print resolution) (1200dpi / 300dpi = 4). I have very occasionally needed to blow something up more than that, but YMMV.

As far as color goes, the biggest factor out of the box will be the software. Most software packages have some sort of auto-exposure or auto-color-correct which is great for scanning snapshots but bad news for reproducing artwork colors faithfully. You will get a slightly different color shift with each scan since it is trying to shift everything to a "pleasing" balance (high-contrast, balanced color range). With most packages you can trudge through all the settings and preferences and turn them off (sometimes there are even two troublemakers- "auto-exposure" and something like "color enhancement"). Then do all your color correction in Photoshop- you should be able to correct most scans using Levels only (tip- use adjustment layers for the best color correction- otherwise each successive correction destroys more data).

Even with these settings turned off, no scanner scans color perfectly. But at least it will scan more or less consistently. Every flatbed scanner will drift a little day to day, but will usually shift generally the same way. So it's a matter of discovering how your particular scanner shifts the color. Also note that most unenhanced scans will look drab compared to what you're used to- this is a big reason the manufacturers automatically add auto-exposure and color-"enhancement" by default.

If you want to save yourself a lot of headache- particularly if your images are going to print- chip in with some friends and get a ColorVision Spyder2 (monitor calibrator). They've changed the product line since I've used it- they have an entry level version (Spyder2 express) for $80 (not sure UK price, sorry) that didn't exist before. I used something equivalent to the next level up (Spyder2 Suite) but I'm guessing the Express will be fine for most people. Calibrating your monitor will go much further to getting accurate color than pretty much anything else- more than spending more money on a scanner. And since you only have to do it occasionally, it should be fine chipping in with friends and just doing it once each (not sure what their licensing scheme is though).

The monitor calibration systems where you eyeball stuff with sliders won't cut it (though better than none at all)- the device is infinitely better.

Bottom line for scanners these days:

-figure how big you might want to blow something up & check the optical resolution to see if it is enough.
-make sure you can turn off any auto-correction in the scanning software.
-using a monitor calibrator will do more for getting accurate color than spending more money on a scanner.

Hope this helps!

Tim

[kovah]

Thanks guys this really helps alot

To teh internets shops !

[Darasen]

Cano scan scanners have always rated highly in reviews. Teh biggestthing is to make sure the listed resolution and bit depth are the true hardware numbers.

[Howling Wolve]

At home i have an old hp scanner and it does most of the work for black and white art and sketches. but i'm not that happy withthe scanner if i need to scan colour art. ALOT of trouble with the software. Things you can't turn of or will be activated again when you close the program... But for the small stuff it's good enough for now.

I'm planning to buy a Canon scanner in a few months. I already have a very good canon printer and I'm very happy with it.

[Flake]

Canon stuff is always good, it's the "safe bet, will do what I need it to do" option.

[Jho]

I think the only A3 scanner you can get for less than 100£ is the Mustek ScanExpress A3 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mustek-ScanExpress-A3-USB-Scanner/dp/B0000TZ9AC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/026-8650966-3854010?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1178494253&sr=8-1), I had it for a while, it was ok, but stopped working ( just couldn't find the drivers anymore, on XP).
I too recommend Canon, Epson is also very good. Good luck.

[Icelandic Norm]

My suggestion would be to keep the brand of printer and the brand of scanner the same if at all possible. I'd like to think that since it comes from the same manufacturer, the color matching is going to be closer than say if you were to scan with an Epson and print with an HP.