Just What I Wanted...a SCANNER!

Seems like everybody wants a scanner.  I can sure see why.  The prices have dropped like a rock in a well and their output is really great...IF you know how to use the scanner!  Aye...there's the rub.  It's all in the execution, ain't it? 

If you got a scanner for Christmas, have you connected it yet?  Have you actually scanned anything with it?  Have you figured out the intricacies of bit depth, resolution, speed and dynamic range?  How about whether it uses a charged-coupled device or a contact image sensor?  Bet I got you there!!!

There's a big difference between using a scanner and USING a scanner.  Once you answer the questions above...you'll be a USER! 

Let's get to it!  By the way, I'm only dealing with flatbed scanners, not the ones that will do film.  And one mention about how you hook your scanner to your computer. There's basically three ways to connect a scanner to a computer: SCSI, USB and parallel port.  They're in order, fastest to slowest.  Personally, if you can find a USB scanner, that's the way I'd go...assumin' of course that you have a USB connector on your computer!  If not, bear in mind that SCSI requires a card inside your machine and it can be dicey settin' it up.  Parallel is still the favorite, albeit the slowest.

OK...bit depth.  Now, why you care about bit depth is because that's what gives you the most colors, the best gradation, deepest depth in the scanned image, and it makes the subtleties of your image transfer better to the screen.  Basically...it affects how GOOD your finished image looks, onscreen or printed. 

There's scanners at 24, 30 and 36 bits commonly available today.  The salespup will try to tell you that you need 36 bits.  Don't buy it!  Here's why: 24-bit color gives you eight bits for each color scanned.  That'd be red, green and blue.  Does RGB ring a bell?  At 30 or 36 bits, you are scanning IN more colors, but you can only output 8 bits in the end, so my position is why buy more'n you need.  The 36 bit scanner DOES scan 10 bits for each color, which if you are doing really high quality scans will give you more tonality and gradation in your finished product.  So, the decision is yours, essentially. 

I've got an old Artec 24-bit flatbed scanner.  I've had it over three years, which makes it ancient in "scanner years." Sucker weighs about 25 pounds and it can take a day or so to do a really big scan. 

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