Best scanner, your opinion please

[dababus]

Which is the best scanner on the market in terms of price and performance. I checked a couple of scanners on the CNET, but still can't make a decision. Please, tell me your experiences and thoughts on different types and brands.

 

[noxipoo]

UMAX makes cheap and good ones. HP has expensive ones, but are also good. Unless you want a drum roller scanner. those costs... the same as a car

 

[GNY]

I Have the Canon N1220U and I like it alot.

 

[toph99]

i have a cheap IBM scanner(it was $100 cnd) and i must say, you do get what you pay for. i don't use it all that much, so i don't mind that it takes horrendously long to scan something and that the software sucks, but i'd definatly pay the extra bit and save the hassle

 

[BuckNaked]

Depends on what you want to use it for. For under $300 I would recommend the Epson 1640XL. It does I think 1600x3200 and 42Bit color, but that might be a little overkill if you just want to scan documents. It supports both USB and SCSI, as well an optional firewire connection. If scanning documents is all you need it for, maybe something like the HP 3300 for under $100...

Buck

 

[jamarno]

Except when very high quality copies of photos are needed, scan quality is about the same for all makes and models, but speed varies considerably. Epson Perfections are among the fastest, UMAXes the slowest. The only other major hardware difference is that some scanners use CCD optics (fluorescent, "cold cathode" light source) while others use CIS (LEDs for light - instant warm-up, half the power consumption), and CIS optics can't focus over a range greater than about 1/8", something to consider if you need to scan non-flat images, like pages from thick books.

I wouldn't buy UMAX unless it was very cheap, and HP isn't worth the price, especially when the warranty is only 90 days (cheaper models). Visioneer and Agfa seem to have good cheap models.

 

[Adrian Tung]

Another vote for the Canon N1220U. Slim, light, and doesn't need an additional power socket. Very good scan quality too.


atwl

 

[Fant]

Get an EPSON...good quality...speed...and software...

 

[EvilCoconut]

microtek slimscan c6

 

[ArchAngel777]

Most scanners can produce the DPI to fill a 36GB drive with one picture..... having said that.. most scanners will do just fine for your use Heck I bought mine and never use it.. its slow..and its USB....

 

[RossMAN]

Heck I bought mine and never use it.. its slow..and its USB....

Hehe, same here. Unfortunately mine was an Agfa SnapScan 1212u from Fry's Electronics which cost me (biting tongue) $129 with a $30 rebate (which I never mailed in). Only used it once, it's been collecting dust ever since then.

 

[oldfart]

Microtek scanners are very good and are reasonably priced.

 

[dcdomain]

Epson is perfection... hehehe.
HP and Umax sorta up there.
Don't care bout the rest.

Personally, I have a Umax Astra 1220U, only because it was one of the first decent USB scanners I could afford. If Epson had one out, I would've jumped on that. Anyway, still using the Umax, going strong. So a vote for Epson or Umax.

 

[PCAddict]

I think that the HP 5300 is the best scanner for the money right now at $149 (or less) after $50 rebate. Epson and Umax both make good units, however.

 

[new2pc]

What is the major advantage of HP scanjet 5300cse $149 after rebate and HP scanjet 6300cse $349 after rebate. I want to use it for both scanning photos as well as scan text and be able to edit it. Is 200 extra bucks worth it?
I heard a rumor that HP is clsoing out the scanjet models. not sure if it is true?
My budget is between $350- $400. Which color scanner is the best in this price range?
Thanks

 

[Byrd2a]

I have had two Microtek scanners and was not satisfied with either (E3 $ X6). I bought a Visioneer 7600 about a year ago and have been very happy with it. It was fairly inexpensive, faster than the Microteks and gives good quality scans. I use mine almost exclusively for digitizing my boxes and boxes of old family photos. I can honestly say I have scanned at least 2000 photos with my Visioneer and it is still purring away. One bit of advice. You may want to go with a scanner that you can easily remove the glass so it can be cleaned. Bits of dust and junk get on the inside of the glass and that results in "spots" on your graphics scans.

 

[RossMAN]

You could pick up the highly rated Epson Perfection 1200U for $99.99 there's also a link to a review in that thread.

 

[andylawcc]

technically those slim scanner that Canon made (N656U,N650U,N1220U) is supposingly inferior than those fatter ones. (CIS vs CCD)

I don't know does the quality difference show up in real world result...

as far as quality goes I Guess the Epson 12X0U series should be the best stuff for scanner under 200.