Scanning prints - best options?

[Lilserenity]

Hiya,

I know many folks ask about negative/slide scanners but I'm just after a decent flatbed that does not need film scanning support. A.) Because my rather ancient Coolscan III does a fine enough job for 35mm still, and B.) I print my medium format in the darkroom (B&W and Colour) and this is why I need a scanner - to get the MF prints from 10x8s to a TIFF or similar.

I need to scan these 10x8s into a file that will be able to print digitally (mainly for Blurb.com) at the same size without any noticeable degredation in the colour fidelity and resolution.

My last experience with a flatbed was an old Mustek one and it was fine but that was a good 10 years ago and I found prints scanned in with rather ruddy skin complexions and with a distinctive look that didn't resemble the original print (I can only describe it as looking gritty.)

Of the modern scanners available, would an Epson V30 or Canon LIDE 100 be suitable? Any other suggestions for scanners?

I'm a Windows user with Vista so I can pretty much use any hardware on the market.

Cheers,
Vicky

 

[Benjamin]

Interested to hear what the others have to say so, BUMP.

 

[Steve M.]

The HP All In One printer/copier/scanners are all you probably need. We've used them for years around the house. Perfect for document printing or copying/scanning. Scan quality should be more than good enough for your needs. Keep in mind that you don't want ultra high resolution for scanning prints as this will actually lower your quality in my experience. 200 DPI should be plenty. We use an older model HP-F4180 Deskjet. It also makes beautiful prints, but the ink is fugitive and prints turn colors rather quickly when exposed to the sun. Think we paid $45 for it online and it was new, in the box, w/ cartridges. Don't let the low price fool you, it works great for scanning prints. Just remember that scanning a print and then printing it out is going to lower your print quality w/ any scanner you use. You can get the colors close but you're certainly going to lose sharpness and detail.

 

[Dwig]

I've used several HP All-in-Ones and have found them to be a mixed bag. The lower end models I've used have proved marginal, at best, for photographic scanning. The better models, particularily the ones in the old 7500 and newer 7600 Officejet series, can do a rather decent job. Still, I'd be inclined to point you toward the EPSON v500.

 

[jim_jm]

I've used the Canon Canoscan 8400 for several years now - it was adequate at first for slides and negs, but now I use a Nikon CoolScan V which is much better for film. The Canoscan is still great for print scannning, though. Reasonably quick scanning and I've found the color rendition to be pretty accurate. I would think any of the current offerings from Canon or Epson would be satisfactory, but I've always steered clear of the "all-in-one" multifunction machines. I've also used some other flatbed scanners in the past that were pretty horrible - they've definitely improved a lot, just like the inkjet printers.

 

[payasam]

I use an Epson V100 mainly for film, but it does a decent job with reflective originals also. Good fidelity.

 

[glchua]

I was in the same situation. I mainly print in the darkroom (all 8x10), but I needed digital files to post and to "archive".

I chose a mid-range Epson V600 finally, thinking about it's future use for scanning medium format negs (I already own a Nikon 4000ED for 35mm). Scanned about 50 over prints until now. From my limited experience, some tones and resolution are lost in the scans, no matter what I tweaked. Because of this, I am thinking of going back to scan my 35mm negs. But I had tried that years ago with my Nikon 4000 ED and it was a real challenge to my patience. BW negs are very difficult to scan.

 

[Ranger Copy]

All-around machine

All-around machine

Interested to hear what the others have to say so, BUMP.

I just started photography as a hobby after 20+yrs. of a 1st attempt. cut to the chase I use a Canon Pixma MP970 and all-around machine. This is a print scan at 300dpi.

 

[sepiareverb]

A friend raves about his new Canon Lide- loves it. And tiny too.