I have an EPSON perfection 636U scanner and was wondering if it WAS good back in the day (1999/2000) and is it still good now. I'm wondering if I should/could get a higher quality scanner or not because I was trying to scan in 1200DPI and it took a very long time. I was also wondering if the scanners that support higher DPIs scan faster now then they did before. What advantage would I get with a new scanner?
Scanner question
- Thread starter Philippine Mango
- Start date
Compared to what you have now, just about ANY new scanner is going to be better and faster. I have an Epson Perfection 2450 Photo scanner and it's FAST. I've scanned 4x6 photos (at 300dpi) and it took less than 10 seconds to scan each one. Of course, I'm using the FireWire connection on the scaner, but I could just as easily use the USB2 connection (it was the first affordable scanner to offer both, plus a bunch of other features). I've had this one since about 2000/2001 and it's STILL excellent.
If you have FireWire on your rig, get a scanner that supports it too. Otherwise, you'll just need to get one that does USB2.
If you have FireWire on your rig, get a scanner that supports it too. Otherwise, you'll just need to get one that does USB2.
Scanner tech is moving pretty fast - new ones will be a lot faster. And res for starting scanners is at least 2400x4800. Check the Clearance Center at Epson for great deals on refurbs/clearance - free ground shipping too. Tons of scanners on eBay too - can often get new in box for a steal.
.bh.
.bh.
are you happy with the quality of your present scanner?
if yes, then don't worry about getting an upgrade in such a hurry - although there are some really cheap ones that will have higher dpi and will be faster than your present one.
if no,
then look at some reviews - do a search
if yes, then don't worry about getting an upgrade in such a hurry - although there are some really cheap ones that will have higher dpi and will be faster than your present one.
if no,
then look at some reviews - do a search
what do you scan
why do you scan at 1200 dpi
i have always tended to run my scanners off of scsi crdas..faster, no usb b.s. to put up with..seems more stable to me and faster.
very little needs to be scanned at 1200 dpi.
if you are scanning negatives or slides, you should consider a dedicated film scanner (at 4000 dpi)
if your scans are slow, it is probably a combination of the settings, the scanner, and your processor and memory.....
the scanner may not be the bottleneck!
why do you scan at 1200 dpi
i have always tended to run my scanners off of scsi crdas..faster, no usb b.s. to put up with..seems more stable to me and faster.
very little needs to be scanned at 1200 dpi.
if you are scanning negatives or slides, you should consider a dedicated film scanner (at 4000 dpi)
if your scans are slow, it is probably a combination of the settings, the scanner, and your processor and memory.....
the scanner may not be the bottleneck!
FireWire is the best way to fly when it comes to scanners. No need to power down when connecting. No need to worry about ID conflicts (you DO have that with SCSI) and it's FAST.
As for scanning at high resolutions, I tend to avoid it too. ANY scanner worth a damn will have software that will allow you to scan at 300dpi AT target size.
As for getting a dedicated film/negative scanner, those that can do a job worth talking about are NOT cheap. To get one that will do as good a job as my 3-4 year old Epson scanner will cost much more than what I paid for the scanner originally.
For slow scans, going from USB1 to USB2 or FireWire (a or b) WILL speed up your scan times. I've scanned images with mine via FireWire in seconds. On an older/slower scanner, it would have taken much longer. That was using SCSI on the old scanner. BTW, typically, SCSI scanners are not using a SCSI level that can compete with either level of FireWire or USB2. Even a $1000+ scanner will have a SCSI level that's slower than FireWire a (400Mbps).
Oh yeah, an old scanner very well could be the bottleneck. Especially if it's USB1 only and is using old technology. For all we know, he could be using a system that's fast enough. Hell, my laptop is over a year old, a Mac (people think those are slow, until they learn better) and I scan VERY fast. Then again, I didn't get a cheap scanner.
As for scanning at high resolutions, I tend to avoid it too. ANY scanner worth a damn will have software that will allow you to scan at 300dpi AT target size.
As for getting a dedicated film/negative scanner, those that can do a job worth talking about are NOT cheap. To get one that will do as good a job as my 3-4 year old Epson scanner will cost much more than what I paid for the scanner originally.
For slow scans, going from USB1 to USB2 or FireWire (a or b) WILL speed up your scan times. I've scanned images with mine via FireWire in seconds. On an older/slower scanner, it would have taken much longer. That was using SCSI on the old scanner. BTW, typically, SCSI scanners are not using a SCSI level that can compete with either level of FireWire or USB2. Even a $1000+ scanner will have a SCSI level that's slower than FireWire a (400Mbps).
Oh yeah, an old scanner very well could be the bottleneck. Especially if it's USB1 only and is using old technology. For all we know, he could be using a system that's fast enough. Hell, my laptop is over a year old, a Mac (people think those are slow, until they learn better) and I scan VERY fast. Then again, I didn't get a cheap scanner.
Muse
Lifer
- Jul 11, 2001
- 40,030
- 9,695
- 136
My scanner is from about 1997 I think, a Plustek FBII. I've given a fair amount of thought to getting another but I figure "why should I?" It's still working. It's probably pretty slow compared to what's available now for a lot cheaper than I got it. I got it used off ebay for around $200. Cheap, in those days. It's parallel port and it has a printer pass-through feature, so I plug my // port printer into the scanner. I think the scanner supports 600 dpi, but I usually scan at 200 dpi (more than adequate for most of the things I scan), rarely at 300 dpi, and once in a great while at maybe 400 dpi. Prescanning takes around 1/2 a minute and a 200 dpi full page scan takes around 45 seconds, I suppose. Yeah, it's slow I guess, but I don't scan a ton of stuff. I have the wall wart for the scanner power on a powerstrip and only turn it on when I want to scan. The driver/scanning application is pretty spare and basic, but WTH, it does the job. I have a number of image editing programs from one thing or another but I still use the first one that came with this old scanner as my favorite. They sent me some updated software later on CD with a new image editing program but I decided I prefered the first one, can't remember why now. I get tempted to buy a USB scanner when I see them on sale for $20 after MIR, but haven't bit yet.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 24K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 20K
-
-
-
Facebook
Twitter