Scanner Question

[mono_666]

I am about to start experimenting with my art digitally(on my computer). So I will of course need a scanner. Are all scanners essentually the same?
What are the features I should look for/ avoid?
discuss

Thanks in advance for any help

[mono_666]

bump

[strawberryluna]

i have a cheapy canon LiDE that's good. small format, but never gives me guff. seems like unless you are going large format, there is no reason to spend a lot.

[Iron Canvas Studios]

yup, those LiDE are good stuff.

[frank000]

I like my canon LiDE. Best part is that it's USB powered.

[The Fresh Prints]

canon lide 70, sometimes i can't get a full 8.5 x 11 though.

[squeegeethree]

A lot of scanners out there are basicly the same the software is often what makes a scanner outstanding. The USB scanners are mostly lit with LEDs which makes them largely efficient but as a result their image quality tends to be poor. Unless you are gonna spring major duckets you'll find most scanners fairly similar.

[Dusty!]

we've used the Canon CanoScan 9950 for a while, i think we've had 4 versions of them and never had any problems. They are a bit more expensive, around $400 bucks.

The difference in the $100 models and the more expensive ones are resolution, color accuracy, and the lenses on the scanner themselves. Dont know much more than that. You can get pretty great results from the more affordable models so probably not much of a need to get something over $200 bucks.

[standard]

make sure you choose USB 2.0 over USB, assuming your computer has it. for speed's sake.

[Chris G]

I have an Epson 4490. It's nothing too fancy at all, but it does the job. It came with a slide scanner attachment, which was important to me at the time.

If I want to get something larger than 8 1/2 x 14, I place it face up on the floor, set up some lights and a tripod, and just photograph it. If something has any texture to it, a digital photo is often better anyway.