Fastest high speed scanner re-re-visited

[redrumloa]

I've brought this subject a couple of times and ended up buying cheapo low end scanners, which really do NOT fit my needs. I currently have a HP Scanjet 4370 which I bought about 6 months ago. After the ~first week and first ~400 scans it started sounding like a dying cat with the noises it makes. Last time I used it (about 1500 scans) it really sounds bad and occasionally crashes (losing whatever multiple-dozen scans to that point).

This thing is too cheap, and waaay too damn slow. I need the fastest, most reliable scanner out there. Another feature that would be VERY helpful would be the ability to do 75DPI scans (or smaller), or alternatively have bundled software to do batch web optimization of scans. This current scanner takes about ~25 seconds to full scan each 150DPI image, it doesn't scan lower than 150DPI. Waaay to slow! I want a scanner that can do it in 10 seconds or faster! It can't be a single sheet scanner, has to be a flatbed.

Ideas? Oh and both XP drivers AND solid Linux drivers would be a plus. Thanks in advance.

[redrumloa]

 :bump:

[Oli_hd]

Well my main scanner is still an old Epson GT6500, never had a single problem with this baby... stupidly slow for high res scans mind. :-) (But hey, your probably not thinking about buying a 12 year old scanner so hey)

I would recommend the Epson GT range totally.
That said they are slow at launching new drivers for old scanners...
I think they are up to the GT10000 (A3?) scanner now.

[weirdami]

400 full page scans in a week? Are you putting old comics online? Any chance on getting up the Popples series?  :-)

[redrumloa]

weirdami wrote:
400 full page scans in a week? Are you putting old comics online? Any chance on getting up the Popples series?  :-)

Yes, scans of comics :-)

Popples? Is that a serious request? What comic company? I will see if I have it..

[weirdami]

It was a super very mongous serious request.  ;-)  :-D  :-P

I don't know the company, but you'll probably be the only copyright infringer comic book page scans website with Popples if you did put it up.  8-)

[Floid]

This is more of a half*ssed observation than a real suggestion, but back when cheap consumer devices with ADFs were still rare, I noticed Fujitsu makes/made a bunch of industrial-sized devices.  No idea if they're fast, but they appeared to be built like tanks.

VueScan is a pretty stable alternative to nutty proprietary drivers, though your dying-cat problem may not be software-related.

Edit: Oh, and probably out of your price range, but the Canon Imagerunner copiers at work sure can scan fast.  Perhaps a surplus machine of that caliber can be found cheap on Craigslist or similar, though you'd still need somewhere to stand it?  (Note that the Canons seem to require some funky 'MEAP' software licenses to enable certain features, so I dunno if they lock themselves down when not visited by a service tech regularly).

[Hyperspeed]

A lot of photo production labs to this day use the Epson GT-7000 running on a SCSI-2 interface if my eyesight serves me.

:-D

I use an Umax Astra 1220s on a SCSI-2 interface with Scanquix 5.4 on the old A1200!

I've heard that for optimal reproduction you should try a drum scanner, whatever that is. Comic books are hardly photo quality though so maybe an Epson GTxx is a good bet.

[marcfrick2112]

Hi, just my 2 cents here: I recomend getting a SCSI scanner
(yeah, I know you would need controllers, if you don't already
have them) Just because SCSI in general seems better built,  and
as a SCSI scanner would be more expensive, maybe the manufacturers
would be more careful about reliability. All I know is that I have
had zero problems with my SCSI-2 Arctec AM12s scanner, but ENDless
trouble with my HP USB scanner on my WinXP machine. By the way,
the 'dying cat sound' is a standard HP feature, my DeskJet does
it quite a lot....
Also, SCSI should be faster than a USB 2.0 option, at least mine is.

 

[orange]

Drum scanner for comics? :crazy:
That thing is for professionals and it costs like hell, besides IIRC its meant to be used for films, i.e. transparacies. Also, it might take long time to attach each page to drum.

[Hyperspeed]

by orange:
Drum scanner for comics?
That thing is for professionals and it costs like hell, besides IIRC its meant to be used for films, i.e. transparacies. Also, it might take long time to attach each page to drum.

If you're going to digitise something for posterity - do a good job of it.

The webmaster of lambocars.com mentioned on a page once that he wanted to use a drum scanner for higher quality pictures for the site so I'm just suggesting a possibility.

If you just use a flatbed make sure the colours are calibrated, the tube light is new and white in tone and that the glass is polished with one of those disposable lense wipes.

I suppose if you collect comics then storage methods are well known but for anyone wishing to keep prized paper posessions I reccommend a fireproof safe, acid free plastic sleaves, dessecant gel sachets to absorb moisture (or calcium carbonate crystal tubs) and maybe air-conditioning/dehumidifer. Moisture and mold are your enemies... this applies to people who enjoy printing photos on their Amiga too.

On that subject, only Epson guarantee their printer's photos will stand the test of time. The UltraChrome/Durabrite inks are resistant to UV light and are guaranteed for 80yrs (should anyone wish to back up their photos/comics/Amiga Format for the grandchildren).

:-D

[orange]

Ok, but there is another problem, you'd have to tear off each page of comic in order to stick it onto drum.

[redrumloa]

orange wrote:
Ok, but there is another problem, you'd have to tear off each page of comic in order to stick it onto drum.

I'm not doing that king of scanning :-o  I'm mainly only scanning covers, mot whole books :-o

[Hyperspeed]

For comic covers you need to get the colours just right. I can't reccommend my Umax 1220s as it seems to give washed out colours that I need to boost from Turboprint.

A scan shouldn't need touching up and fiddling.

I sometimes notice difference in tone when I scan glossy things to matt things too and I suppose this is to be expected.

For consistency it might be good to find a software setting you like and then scan the whole comic cover series in one go.

If you want to make thumbnails of the covers for the web you might get crisper end results if you scan to the highest resolution your memory permits then scale down with a gfx converter (as opposed to scanning in that final size/res).

I would go for an all Epson combo, they know what they're doing when it comes to image capture and reproduction.

[motrucker]

I wish I could help on the scanner, but I suffer from cheap cr*p too.
Hey, do you ever run across Zap and/or Yellow Dog comix? Mine all burned in a fire - some hippy smoking something weird started it....