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can anyone advise what scanner to buy?
I have decided to buy a scanner but don’t have a clue which one would be right. I want it to import graphics into my sign software.
Can anyone give me a pointer as to which one to buy please?
Regards
Andy -
12 Replies
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I assume you mean A4 size. Usual story, best you can afford, I had a Visoneer scanner about £50.00 seemed to work very well but never realy got the colours right.
I now use HP Scanjet 8200 £250.00 I think, HP software better and colours much truer and easier to adjust if not correct, I have used this scanner a lot and am very happy with it. -
I have a Canon that I bought about 8 years ago. It is still going strong. I don’t scan a lot of things, but it is handy to have. Sorry I don’t know the model number, it’s probably Canon scanner version 2…..now they are on 56. 😮
-Marek -
quote Russell:but never realy got the colours right.
.always use scanner for vectorising, never thought about the colour aspect with the digital prints, thanks for pointing that out russell 😀
so folks what scanners do you lot use for your digi scanning & printing?
Nik
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-Marek
i have an CANON N65OU SCANNER MATE AND HAD IT AGES AT THAT.. NEVER ANY PROBLEMS BUT LIKE YOU ONLY USE NOW AND AGAIN….caps 😕 sorryy 😀
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Andy I’ve had many scanners over the years and I have to say that you would be better off using a digital camera. A camera obviously has more than one use, and I have been photographing images for manipulation for ages and the results are pretty good. 😮
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Hi hadn’t thought of that mate.
One question does spring to mind though and that is focal length (I think)
How do you keep a subject at the correct distance for sizing. Maybe a stand with a fixed frame like the TV coppers use?? -
I think it is a good idea to have both. I do a lot of crash repairs for a truck dealership and a digital camera is invaluable for recording and reproducing the existing graphics. I also have a cheapo scanner (about 50 squids) but it does me just fine. Exact colour reproduction is only important if you intend printing the scans, for scan to vector it doesn’t matter.
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If you are just interested in digitisng for vinyl cutting, any good quality, cheap scanner should be OK. You will only need to scan at 300 dpi and the real workload is on your vectorising software. Colour quality does not matter. You can pay from around £26 + vat upwards.
If its for digital printing you need to spend more as you need much more accurate colour scanning. By this I mean the way the scanner “coordinates” its RG and B scan internally as well as correct colours. I bought an Epson (3870, I think) and paid nearly £300 at the time but it is well worth it. The overal scan accuracy is far better and it is very fast. I can also scan from slides and negative and positive film at up to 1200 dpi optical resolution.
I would not consider using a digital camera to take a picture of, say, an A4 design on paper. You definitely need a scanner for this. In fact I don’t use the digicam for much more than taking a picture at customers so I can show them what their new shopfront signage will look like or to show my fitters what their up against next! Occasionally I take a photo of a graphic or logo on a vehicle and digitise over the top of that if there is no other way.
Peter
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THanks for the steer Peter.
regards
Andy -
Andy I use HP’s thru my shop (I have 3) but my HP 7540(?) is the best because I have the negative scanner option. I have 2 lexmark multifunction 5150’s too, and they are great for everyday stuff, but not so hot if you want to reprint them as the color fixing of the software is not very friendly.
With camera’s, because I print large format jobs, I have a Nikon D70 6.2mp. Cameras, like scanners, are an investment, so I’d get the best you can afford. End of the day, it will make your job easier.
Cheers mate, hope whatever you choose works well. There is some good advice here tho.
Shane
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Cheers Shane,
Will follow that advice.
regards
Andy -
another quicky, if you have a lot of designers and produce a fair amount of paperwork, like A3 proofs then consider a Minolta BizHub photocopier, it links into your network and can produce A3 prints and scans.
The colour accracy is good.However digital cam is the winner these days.
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