Is a scanner a scanner a scanner a scanner?

[CES020]

I have a personal project I'm working on, scanning photos for a personal project, and I'm using my printer/scanner/fax/coffee maker/answering machine/sandwich maker to do it and I'm at the beginning of the project, having to scan 100's of photographs. I'm not convinced that the scanner is the best. I do have an old HP ScanJet 5300c at home that's USB, so I could easily bring that into work and use it. When I look at the drivers, the last update was in 2001 or so for it, using HP's old Precision Scan software.

Are scanners all created fairly equal? Would it be better to use the old HP than my Lexmark all in one? Or better yet, would I get some better result with a brand new scanner from Canon or HP? In my head, I'm thinking a scanner is a scanner is a scanner because it's just supposed to capture the image, not alter it. So I'm not sure why a new one would do a better job, but I have no problem buying a new one if it will do a better job.

Any opinions?

Thanks-
Steve

 

[marcsitkin]

Assuming we're talking print scanners here, most consumer level scanners are comparable in quality. A significant factor is software, and a company called Silverfast, http://www.silverfast.us/scanners.html
makes really good software for many popular scanners. You might want to give it a try.

 

[signswi]

In the prosumer space Epson is king, look at the v700. Not only are the optics superior but a lot of little details like the stepping motor / gears are as well, and the included EpsonScan software is the best OEM software on the market (though VueScan or Silverfast are still superior by a good amount).

If you can't justify the cost, check out the Canon Canoscan 9000F or 8800F.

 

[round man]

mickeysoft in their infinite wisdom decided to make all xp and before scanners obsolete with the demise of twain drivers in vista and windows 7,.....the new versions of windows demand a wia(windows image acquisition) drivers thus making alot of the old scanners instantly obsolete and creating a totally new market for scanners,..many scanner manufacturers will not go to the trouble to write new drivers for older machines they have already sold and will instead write drivers for new machines they can sell and reap profits from,..go figure,..

as for comparing scanners there are those out on the market that will scan many times faster than others and those that will allow much higher resolution and detail in those scans,..the rule of thumb here is you get what you pay for,...you are not gonna get a cadillac at volkswagen prices,....check the specs and they should reaveal the info you want,...

edited to add,...I just looked over at my all in one hp and realized its the same model as you mention,..haven't had any problems here and it works great in windows 7 ultimate,....so far I haven't found any tasks it is not up to for signage,....like any other scanner the rule garbage in garbage out still applies but I have had success taking very small printed images at very high resolution(600-1200dpi) and using them for output to my cas programs and desktop publishing applications.

 

[jiarby]

My 5 year old HP 3970 works with my Win7

 

[Letterbox Mike]

I just got an Epson V500 for about $125 or so, works like a champ. Scans are more than good enough to enlarge to mural-size prints without image degredation. It's pretty fast for what it is, alot faster than my old Canon Lide scanner.

 

[CES020]

I'm still in XP, so drivers won't be an issue. So no real different in a lexmark all in one, and a 10 year old HP ScanJet as far as results, do you think?

 

[Rooster]

I've got the canoscan 8800F. It's an awesome little scanner.

The LED light source delivers fantastic quality scans of transparencies. I still own a drum scanner, but will use the canon over it since the quality is just as good. The only time I'll bust out the drum scanner now is when I have a really difficult original that requires major color correction.