Scanners, please tell us about your scanner

[vaillant]

@perm: Wow, thank you. I think I have found my scanner.
I have always used EPSONs, and I did not even know about these large format models. Many thanks, really!

The Drobos looks very promising as well.

[bminor]

Hey everybody.
There is a nice large format Epson over on Ebay right now. It ended today with no bids today (minimum bid of $150), but it has been relisted.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290706078563

It is an Epson Expressoin 836XL flatbed, 11"x17", it is SCSI so it is fast!
It does not come with software, but I checked and Vuescan from Hamerick Software will work with it.

I would like to get it, but that is not in my budget right now!

[narfstar]

Thanks for the heads up I put it in my watchlist to check later. I take it that I would be able to scan two comic pages at once with it? I would assume the software is avaialble at Epson

[bminor]

There seems to be several Epson Expressoin 836XL flatbed, 11"x17", scanners on Ebay at the moment.
Do a search for Epson Expression and you will see them!!!
A couple for $150 another for $225.

[mr_goldenage (RIP)]

Cheapie Epson V33 Perfection flatbed scanner. Nice and easy to use.

Mr. Goldenage

[The Rabble]

 Not to "high jack" the tread but there are a lot of people who do scans here so I want to ask how do you
keep from damaging the comic when scanning ? Particularly with a two page scanner. Does this not destroy the
spine ? Or at least do considerable damage ?

[Yoc]

That's one of the bigger concerns with scanning.  Our most prolific scanners like freddyfly try to buy the cheapest comics they can partly because they know there's a chance an 8.0 wont survive a typical scanner and stay 8.0.

Rangerhouse has spent big money and bought a museum level scanner designed to protect the originals.  You can see it here (scroll down a bit) -
http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/forum/index.php/topic,4081.0.html

[tilliban]

Mr. Rabble,
I scan a lot of old books (the hard way, by pressing them page for page onto the machine) and it's like this:

A book in good condition will survive the process without noticeable damage!

A book in fair condition may detach the cover or the centerfold (if it were hanging by a thread in the first place).

A book in poor condition (brittle and dry) will flake considerably and may lose pages.
But poor books can only win by being scanned - because they now will "live on" as nice looking scans.
Which don't fall apart when you look at them.

[narfstar]

Or buy old books for under the cost of a new book. Cut them apart and put the pages through a document feeder.

[tilliban]

Narf and Snard!
You're scaring the bejeezus out of people!
 
Removing staples or cutting up the whole book???
 

What I do is to relieve pressure from the spine - I use a half-inch thick slat or board to hold the page and make it flat for scanning.
There's no pressure on the spine this way. Or hardly.
Good condition books can stand more than you might think...

[John C]

Removing staples or cutting up the whole book???
 

Staples always seemed to be to be an easy win.  Unless the metal is corroded, they're easy to pry open and re-close without any damage to the paper (not that I've done much scanning, but I've disassembled a few books for various reasons).  And if the paper is going to flake away from that, there's not much it was going to survive, at which point, just cut the thing.

[Yoc]

I too had good luck with removing staples before scanning.  But start with a very crappy condition book to get the hang of it first.
The resulting scans are superior for sure when done that way.

[Geo (RIP)]

I too have removed the staples when scanning a book, much easier on the book too.

Geo

[The Rabble]

 Interesting comments but I have to say I don't think I am emotionally/psychologically/whatever capable of doing harm to any comic to scan it, and I certainly can't alter one. (I'm the person that started the petition to add an amendment to the constitution to prohibit the restoration of any comic for any reason...)...that said has anyone had any experience with some of the cheaper document scanners. Saw on Amazon several like the Ipevo usb document camera, Hovercam, Desk lamp/scanner and a slew of others. Most got a wide range of reviews but I saw little in regards to page scanning and zip in regards to comics.

[Yoc]

Hi Rabble,
If needed Rangerhouse with his amazing museum quality scanner (see link above in one of my earlier replies) is willing to scan comics for members.  I can put you in touch with him.  It's the safest way to scan a book and he's scanned 1000s of comics with it in the last year he's owned it.

Just a thought,
-Yoc