Help me find an awesome flatbed scanner!

August 14, 2007 11:18 AM

I'm on the hunt for a flatbed scanner in the good-image-quality-under-$600 range to scan negatives and photos/documents. I've found that scanner software is frequently awful or overly complex -- I really want a simple workflow. Help?

Separate recommendations for OS X scanning software and/or quality scanners welcome. I need a scanner that's Mac OS X 10.4 compatible and lets me scan things in three easy steps:

1. stick something in it
2. select the scan area I want (if I don't want to scan the whole glass)
3. output the image in a variety of file types (PDF, JPG, TIFF) and qualities (variable DPI, color, grayscale, B&W)

I would love a bed large enough to fit a LIFE magazine (10 x 14) -- double points for that. I don't need OCR functions, but I don't mind them.

posted by whitelight to Technology (4 answers total)

Best answer: I'm going to suggest that maybe you're actually looking for two different scanners. I had a flatbed scanner that had a doohicky for scanning negatives, but I was never very happy with the results. A few years ago I bought an older version of the Pacific Image Primefilm scanner specifically for scanning negatives. I was very happy with the results and I believe it still retails for under $300. (PC/Mac compatible)

So, over the course of maybe a few weeks, I scanned in all of my negatives and when that was done, I sold it on Ebay and recouped most of my money.

*Then*, maybe look around to for the best flat bed scanner you can buy for the money.
posted by jerryg99 at 12:07 PM on August 14, 2007

In terms of software, I've really been impressed by VueScan.
posted by hamfisted at 12:10 PM on August 14, 2007

Best answer: The Agfa Duoscan is really nice, works with both OSX and System 9, does both negatives and reflective media, and you can get one on eBay or craigslist for between $100 and $200.

I know because I sold mine right before I moved, and we use the same model here in the office.
posted by klangklangston at 3:10 PM on August 14, 2007

I just got a Canoscan 8600f which seems pretty decent. It has two applications for scanning, Silverfast LE and Canons own, the former a nudge more professional but both easy to use. It is pretty okay.
posted by KimG at 5:28 PM on August 14, 2007