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goldworker · Sep 24, 2002, 08:37 PM

I have a fp imac, and am looking to buy a new scanner. Anyone have one they'd like to recommend, or warn me away from. I know nothing about scanners, so would appreciate any opinions.

Thank you

zigzag · Sep 24, 2002, 09:16 PM

Two questions: what do you plan to use it for, and what do you want to spend? If you're just going to use it for general home/office/school projects, you don't need more than 1200x2400 and can get an excellent scanner for $100-150. If you're going to scan photo negatives, you'll want that feature. If you're a professional, you'll probably want to spend more on the scanner and use a dedicated photo scanner for negatives.

I've done quite a bit of reading on scanners and usually steer people to Epson. They seem to me to offer the best combination of speed, imaging, and Mac support. I have a 1200U and am very happy with it.

If speed isn't important to you, or if you prefer something compact and portable, I'd recommend the Canon CIS models. They're slow but they provide excellent images and can be powered via USB.

A lot of people like HPs. I'm sure that they're equally good, but I've shied away from them because they seem less committed to Mac support than the others. But I could be mistaken about current models.

Microtek also makes scanners for Mac, but I've read that their Mac support is weak.

Bear in mind that all of the manufacturers' drivers are still playing catch-up with OS X, so if that's important to you, you should read the fine print. A lot of people just spend $40 for ViewScan from www.hamrick.com , which is said to be the best scanner driver out there and supports OS X 10.2.

Will you need image-editing software? Some scanners come with Photoshop Elements, some come with less sophisticated software.

Check pcworld.com and pcmagazine.com and the Mac magazines and websites for reviews. You might also check the reviews at cnet.com and amazon.com.

andycroll · Sep 25, 2002, 08:24 AM

I've alway found that for my occasional home scanning needs that my Canon 670U has done me proud. It had beta drivers when I first bought it about 4 months ago and I assume (though I haven't checked) that Jaguar has them included. OS 9 definitely has them.

You could go up the range if you needed more resolution. Or a shinier design.

Importantly (for me) it's thin small and runs off the USB cable. No need for a seperate power plug. Apple never said the digital hub would require so many sockets.

Andy

Kenneth · Sep 26, 2002, 01:03 PM

I have a good experience on the Canon CanoScan line too. It works under OS X native which I last checked with the Apple's own Macintosh Product Guide. I think the image capture (from 10.2) works with TWAIN scanners too.

maguirer · Sep 26, 2002, 01:45 PM

I wouldn't recommend an Epson printer to my worst enemy, but my epson 1200U scanner is pure joy. I use VueScan to do my scanning, and although it can be intimidating at first, you soon get used to it and begin to appreciate its power and flexibility.

I'm still tweaking the colour to get it just right (i.e. orange and brown come out more like pink and purple, and grey comes out more like green, but that's my own problem). So if you're a graphic designer or photo editor that might be a small issue. But then if you are, you probably know more about colour than I do.

Jordan · Sep 26, 2002, 08:57 PM

I was having a fairly good experience with the Epson GT-9700F (Not sure what you call it in the rest of the world) and the previous version of the Epson Drivers (Beta 1 - from the Epson Developers site).

However, when I upgraded to Beta 2 all hell broke loose and I couldn't get anything to work. Had to uninstall all the drivers and revert back to Beta 1. Still seems like Epson has a way to go yet on getting their drivers to work. Bit slack considering how long OS X has been out.

BTW, even though it's FireWire capabale have never managed to get it working on FireWire. Works fine on USB though.

Jonesy · Sep 29, 2002, 07:23 AM

I just bought an Epson 2450 Photo for my mac. It might be unneccesarily expensive for what you want but it flies with the FireWire interface. The beta drivers work well with Photoshop.

My only problem so far is that the transparency adaptor will not work to scan one large transparancy and wants to use a mount for it. Otherwise excellent. Very good for beta drivers.