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Looking for a stand alone scanner
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Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2007-06-25, 10:59

I've been looking to buy a scanner for my MBP. I already have a printer connected to my AP Express so I'm not interested in all-in-ones. My thought was to see if I could get something more capable than the typical scanner in an all-in-one unit.

I've been most inclined to go for a HP Scanjet, something in the 3800 to 48x0 range, but It's kinda hard to figure out the differences in their capabilities. And then there's also the Canon Canoscan Lide series, that doesn't require a separate power source, but maybe they aren't much better than the all-in-one machines in terms of image quality. I expect to use it mostly for scanning my own drawings, stuff from books, photos and a little OCR stuff. I don't think I'll ever need a negative adapter, but it wouldn't bug me if it was available.

Another concern is of course good support for OS X, which most models seem to have, but perhaps some of the older models risk having their software support discontinued.

Any suggestions/experiences you guys would like to share?

Thanks in advance.

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mattf
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Devonshire - nearly twinned with Narnia
 
2007-06-25, 13:33

I love my Canon CanoScan LiDE 60. It's cheap, thin & lightweight, but doesn't feel like it's going to fall to bits any time soon. I'd say its quality is a hell of a lot better than the AIO HP that I have. On top of that, much like my Mac, it Just Fucking Works. I've only tried it the once, but even the included OCR software for OSX seems to be pretty good.

Seriously, don't discount the Canons. They have a fantastic reputation.

EDIT: Yes, I think the image quality of the Canon is excellent. We've taken scans of photographs from 60 year -old books and (after a small amount of touching up) they've come out really nicely at 300dpi on an A3 printer.

Last edited by mattf : 2007-06-25 at 14:14.
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Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2007-06-25, 13:36

Good to hear about an experience with both AIOs and Canoscans. So I take the image quality is not a concern?
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Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2007-06-25, 14:09

We have a Canon LiDE er... 70? Anyway, great little flatbed USB scanner that my wife has used a *lot*. Takes incredible scans of photos and documents.

We just bought a Fujitsu ScanSnap however, for bulk-scanning old statements, bills, etc. 50 sheet feeder, 15 double-sided scans a minute. Fabulous.
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Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2007-06-25, 14:58

Thanks for the info mattf and Kickaha.

Looks like the LiDE 70 might be the one to go for.

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PeteInBrum
New Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
 
2007-06-26, 20:19

I also have had a good experience with my LiDE (a 25). I find it really convienient that it doesn't have a seperate power cable (it just uses the USB), and it's super thin and light.

It is a bit on the slow side, but the quality is great.
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Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2007-07-02, 08:58

So I got the LiDE 70 and it's quite good. This scan of a plastic coated playing card was done at 1200 dpi. The bells are approximately 1.2 mm in diameter:



Looks good so far.

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