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Scanner and Printer


Soback
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I am looking to buy a scanner and maybe a printer. Since I don't know anything about scanners and not so much about printers, what's the best place to ask for advice other than here.

So far this is the scanners that I picked out. Please feel free to post comments (which of the scanners is better) and any other scanners that you can suggest that are similarly priced.

Choice #1

Choice #2

Choice #3

Also, the question about the printer is which ones are good for printing out photo quality pictures from the cd you get when you develop your photos or from the 35mm film you can scann into your computer. Right now I have Epson 440 and when it prints pictures you can see the little dots (using photo quality paper).

Thanks

[ 06-19-2002, 00:55: Message edited by: Soback ]

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soback, im working for Dell now and they sell a really nice printer.

take a look

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...19&sku=1000042P

Its pricy yes, but if you got a digital camera, this is IT. Ive seen the printouts it has (I took my digital camera to work and printed out a high-res picture.. it was much better than photo quality you get from developed film!)

And here's the issue with what you're trying to do: You asking for a high quality printer to print pictures... yet you looking at really crappy scanners. For one, a scanned picture in those things will make your nifty film camera pic look as if it was taken by a cheap disposable kodak.

You are MUCH better off getting yourself a decent digital camera and this printer. For real. PLUS you get the cool thing that this printer supports all 3 memory card slots that digital cameras use.. so you wont have to use the PC.. just slip card in, select the pics you want from the printer's touchscreen and press print! voila!

Oh, and did I mention the printer on the link above "Copies, prints, scans, and faxes in brilliant color."?

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quote:

Originally posted by Tac:

soback, im working for Dell now and they sell a really nice printer.

take a look

Its pricy yes, but if you got a digital camera, this is IT. Ive seen the printouts it has (I took my digital camera to work and printed out a high-res picture.. it was much better than photo quality you get from developed film!)

And here's the issue with what you're trying to do: You asking for a high quality printer to print pictures... yet you looking at really crappy scanners. For one, a scanned picture in those things will make your nifty film camera pic look as if it was taken by a cheap disposable kodak.

You are MUCH better off getting yourself a decent digital camera and this printer. For real. PLUS you get the cool thing that this printer supports all 3 memory card slots that digital cameras use.. so you wont have to use the PC.. just slip card in, select the pics you want from the printer's touchscreen and press print! voila!

Oh, and did I mention the printer on the link above "Copies, prints, scans, and faxes in brilliant color."?

Thanks for the suggestion, but I should clarify a little.

I need a scanner for scanning text, graphs and pictures out of books and magazines. Also, I don't have a digital camera (I have a really nice 35mm camera) and that's where the printer which can print out high quality pics comes in. I need something that can print good photos from either the cd that the film developer gives you (kodak) or the scanned images from the 35mm film (look at choice #3 that has a special accesory for scanning 35mm film)

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So, Tac, ever used "the line"? You know what I mean... The one that begins with "Dude"?

Soback, that printer probably is what you want. I thought photo cd's were just the images from the film put on a CD as JPEGs. Those could be printed out very easily....now, if they aren't very high resolution, then the photo paper and even that nice printer aren't going to do you any good. You'll still see the dots. Soooo, you need a high resolution scanner, and high res printer. This thing has it all in one.

I hope I've helped...if not, point me to an airlock.

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Well, the printer that Tac is showing me has a lower resolution scanner than the ones I am looking at (the 3 choices in my first post). So since it's a good quality printer I would be stuck with only one choice, printing from developers cd. But if I buy a high quality scanner (I don't know if the ones I am looking at are high quality), then I can attach a 35mm film scanning device and scan the developed film into the computer. Then I will buy a high quality printer (my Epson 440 has proven to be old and not so good with printing picutures) and will be able to print out the pics from that scanned 35mm film.

So, what does high quality scanner mean? (dpi resolution, bits, scan depth?) I don't even know what they mean by external/internal scan depths, max scan resolution and optical scan resolution. Like I said, this is the first time I am dealing with scanners and don't know anything about them. So I am going more by price then by knowledge, that's where I got the $100 to $180 price range from, figure I don't get the cheapest one, and not something that will take me overboard.

As for the printer, I don't know what's the good dpi for printing picture. I need something that will print out a picture so good that I won't be able to see the little dots (I can see them on pics from my printer, even with all the options maxed out).

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LOL, yeah, I mean the negatives. I just call it developed film, as opposed to undeveloped film. Anyhow, I already got #2 today. Works like a charm, just what I needed.

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I have the HP Scanjet 5400c.

Prior to that, I had earlier versions but they kept burning out somehow. I don't know why, but the bulb was always on unless you downloaded a patch to manage it better. After a while (a year or two), the computer would stop recognizing the scanner.

I think HP finally got it right. They added a power switch.

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quote:

Originally posted by Steve Schacher:

I have the HP Scanjet 5400c.

Prior to that, I had earlier versions but they kept burning out somehow. I don't know why, but the bulb was always on unless you downloaded a patch to manage it better. After a while (a year or two), the computer would stop recognizing the scanner.

I think HP finally got it right. They added a power switch.

Ok, now I am starting to worry.

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Well, despite the trouble, I kept buying more HP. I don't know why -- perhaps I became familiar with it.

My wife uses the scanner, mostly. The scanner, coupled with a printer makes a copier, coupled with Winfax makes it a fax machine. She's always copying something, or faxing something.

If you're going to use it often, get a durable one. If not, then get a cheaper one and replace it in a couple of years if it wears out.

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quote:

Originally posted by Steve Schacher:

I have the HP Scanjet 5400c.

Prior to that, I had earlier versions but they kept burning out somehow. I don't know why, but the bulb was always on unless you downloaded a patch to manage it better. After a while (a year or two), the computer would stop recognizing the scanner.

I think HP finally got it right. They added a power switch.

lol! that makes me think about cheap computers that didn't have a reset button and which the power button cannot be used to close the computer, and no PSU switch. Computer freeze = unplug PSU cord.

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It is about time they added power switches to scanners. I have an Epson Stylus 600 printer, with a Visioneer 3100b parallel port scanner. Thank God the light doesn't stay on all the time.

My Dad on the other hand, picked up a Visioneer 4100 USB Scanner. Whenever he shuts down his machine, the light will stay on until the machine is turned back on. I checked Visioneer's site for a fix for this, and only got a statement that stated it was a normal occurance, and the light bulb was guaranteed for a year, and is rated for so many thousand of hours of use.

He now keeps it unplugged until needed.

[ 06-20-2002, 12:37: Message edited by: Greg Miller ]

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Epsilon

quote: lol! that makes me think about cheap computers that didn't have a reset button and which the power button cannot be used to close the computer, and no PSU switch. Computer freeze = unplug PSU cord.

Just hold the power button in for about 6-8 seconds and the computer will power off. It's part of the ATX power supply standard.

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