Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Scanner Recommendations Anyone?

I could really use a new scanner.  Or maybe I just want something newer with more bells and whistles.  I don't know.  I've been asking around for recommendations and good ol' Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers had a great idea:  write a blog post asking for recommendations.  So here goes. 

I'm looking for a scanner that will:
  • Scan documents (up to 8.5 X 14 would be nice but is not absolutely necessary).
  • Scan photos.
  • Scan slides (I have lots and lots of slides so I would like something that will scan more than 4 at a time which is what mine does now).
  • Scan negatives in various sizes. So I will need appropriate templates.
  • Oh yes, and I need OCR
Maybe I need more than one device - like a flatbed and one of those fast little negative scanners.  I'm pretty much open to and would appreciate any suggestions!  I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

8 comments:

  1. I have an Epson Perfection V350 Photo Scanner. It scans up to 8.5 X 11. It will scan slides and also negatives. I am a professional genealogist and my Clients are always commenting on how clear the documents are when I send them. Hope this helps.

    Melissa Barker

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  2. I have a little Lexmark scanner/copier that meets my needs. I suggest you poke around Becky's Kinexxions blog because she is the Queen of scanning! She does have a post about scanning slides. Be sure to also read the comments.

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  3. Thanks Melissa and Apple. I'm going to be poking around with the information you have given me over the next few days. I'll keep you posted.

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  4. Michelle, for documents, I highly recommend the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner. It allows you to scan documents in either pdf or jpg format (I ususally do it both ways) and will accept legal size documents. However, it does not scan photographs very well - it wasn't made to to do that. But I also have a small portable flatbed scanner that I use to scan photos. I gave up scanning slides and sent them to Walmart. Quick and acceptable but not of high quality, it gave me what I was looking for - a way to see the images again. Good luck!

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  5. My favorite scanner is a Canon CanoScan 8400F, a flatbed that does everything you require and does it well! I've had great luck scanning slides (it does 4 at a time). The software bundled with the scanner is excellent, too. My husband recently scanned b/w photos from the 1950s with very good results. Highly recommended.

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  6. Becky - the Fujitsu ScanSnap looks really interesting. I'm wondering how it will handle some of the older documents as far as feeding them through. It sure would be wonderful to run the masses of older papers through it and be done. I just don't want to damage anything.

    Marian - Thanks I'll look at that. I love Canon cameras but had never even thought about looking at their scanners.

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  7. Michelle,

    For legal-size documents, read my post about my mobile scanner. http://genblogjulie.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-mobile-scanner-is-even-handier-than.html

    Julie

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  8. Julie - Thanks!! I am really going to have fun evaluating all of these fantastic suggestions!

    I found another one this morning on Sally Jacobs website The Practical Archivist. Here's a link to her article:

    The Practical Archivist

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