scanner specs

[WPGAL]

Two scanners I am looking at to buy

both have 2400 x 4800 optical resolution. Both have energy star power saver icon. Other specs are very similar. tho one has capability of doing slides and negatives which is nice but not necessarily a purchasing decision factor.

Sensor type: CIS and CCD what if any is the difference and which would be better.

I do a lot of scanning of books, magazines, newspaper articles & pics, old and new photos.

Power source: one has external adaptor and the other does not. It gets power supplied by USB port on PC. What are the pros and cons of these two different types of power source.

the scanner which has the adaptor to scan slides is the one with the external adapter.

can anyone help me determine which would be the most appropriate given the information provided.

thanks

 

[paparazi]

Read independant product reviews....
I guess the one taking it's power from the USB is a canon? and with neg holder, Epson?
Both makes are good
Considerations are:
Price
quality of scanned images especially in the shadow areas
Speed (I believe the USB powered one is slower maybe)
Bootprint (Physical size on your working space)
Canon USB is probably smaller, is that important?
Software, the user interface that comes with the scanner is very important.
OCR: ability to be able to read text (can be very useful for large document scanning and word alterations from recognised fonts)
Perhaps it might help to know exactly what you are comparing
From what you have told us it's like deciding on which car to by based on a few known features but without knowing the exact models.
Martin


We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[WPGAL]

Martin
thanks for your reply and sorry for not being more specific. I just wanted some general info and did not want to bother anyone too much.

HP scanner G3010 is one with option to scan films and is the one with the adaptor for power. My computer and all other printers are all HP.

the other one is Canoscan LiDe90 which gets its power from USB port. this model is small and light enough to take it with you and connect to laptop. I don't really need this feature tho.

considerations purchase you mentioned are good. I think I have most of them covered.

but as you say, the Canon which is powered from the USB port may not be as powerful as the HP model....which is what I was wondering about. And maybe the HP needs that extra power for doing the scans of film etc.

 

[wahnula]

In my experience Epson has always been the best scanner, HP second. HP is easier to operate, Epson has a lot of depth in its TWAIN program but takes some getting used to. I agree with Martin check reviews for insight as to what you can expect. I just sold my 1999 Epson Perfection 1240U on eBay(incompatible w/ Vista, I am making the swap someday) for 75% of what I paid, to a reprographic company so that should say something about the quality of Epson scanners. I am now using an HP Officejet j5780 all-in one and I must say I am happy with it so far.

I never used the negative or film scanner, so that made zero effect on my decision. I have used both HP and Epson scanners, I'm an Epson fan.

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[paparazi]

I agree, I also own an Epson Perfection and strangely enough I too have go to sell on because of non Vista support.
My last scanner was a HP which was OK but I'm with wahnula, I do like my Epson's
I have to say though, Canon scanners do get very good writeups, I think you should try and read a few reviews on the two models and perhaps see if there is a similar priced Epson..to bring to the party.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[BionicJohn]

Over the years, I've used HPs, Epsons and Canons.

It's hard to judge which is the best as they've different strengths; some for transparancies, some for photos. some for OCR and some for document archiving, although each can do it all.

For domestic or light office duties (e.g a few photos or two or three pages of OCR), the Epson probably gives better reproduction of photos but the HPs are more robust in my view.

For document archiving we have an Canon with a duplexing document feeder and use Acrobat to create PDFs.

I would take too much notice of the high rez figures; they're almost certainly done by interpolation than top quality optics. 300dpi is fine for everything except National Geographic and other glossies.

Liverpool: Capital of Culture 2008
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Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[eugenetyson]

Fujistu ScanSnap is fantastic for scanning documents or already printed text. It's fabulous. It has a roller feeder so maybe not so much for photos. But it comes highly recommended.

 

[dglienna]

Installed an HP 3060, which scans negatives and slides.

it needs extra power for the directed lenses

-David
2006 & 2007 Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP)
2006 Dell Certified System Professional (CSP)

 

[WPGAL]

I am so sorry to all of you for not replying sooner. I had changed my email and not updated my profile here. I had done so now. So any replies will go to a currently viewed email address.

I appreciate all of your comments. I ended up purchasing HP G4010 and found that was difficult to use software and to insert the strip of negative into the slot was impossible. I have since sent it back and am still looking for another.