Introduction
The market isn’t great for scanner manufacturers. In 2004, it was reduced by 25% compared to 2003, and this year shouldn’t be any better than the last. The market collapse is directly due to the success of inkjet multifunctions (see this survey). Scanner resolution is commonly 1200 dpi, which is more than enough (even already oversized) for current uses such as copying, photo numerization for the web, photo reproduction, etc. We know that multifunctions have integrated scanners, which manufacturers don’t hesitate to remind us of, but they don’t give us the specifications. The reason being is that they are often the bare minimum. As we mentioned in our last survey, colors are rarely accurate, picture sharpness is average, etc. If you are quite demanding for this area you could be disappointed.
If you are one of these people, you should choose a bulkier, but not necessarily more expensive solution, which would be a scanner and separate printer. If you spend approximately 100€ for each, you will have better overall quality than with a multifunction. To help make your decision easier you have this article on scanners, and this other survey of printers.
Scanners are evolving
In fact, if scanners sales have generally gone down, it isn’t true for the all resolutions.
Here are French market shares in 2003 and then in 2004:
We can see clearly that 2400 dpi scanners are gaining market shares over the 1200 dpi and above.
Our selection of scanners
We contacted the three main scanner manufacturers, Canon, Epson and HP, and offered to test two of their products, one basic model (100€) and one mid-range product (150€). Each was free to choose what they would send us and so up to them to choose the better products
Canon sent us the
CanoScan Lide 35, sold for approximately 70 € / US$ 80. This CMOS 1200 dpi scanner is very thin (35 mm thick) and doesn’t have a power supply cable. The scanner electric tension comes with the 2.0 USB cable.
CanoScan 4200F, approximately 120€ / US $100. This 3200 dpi CCD is supposed to provide excellent results at an incredible speed. It’s also supposed to provide excellent film and photo numerization.
Epson sent us the
Perfection 2480 Photo, approximately 100 € / US $100. The standard version of the 2400 dpi CCD scanner features one transparent reader with a 35 mm movie adaptor. It also includes a color restoration function to rejuvenate pictures with faded colors and an anti-dust software function.
Perfection 2580 Photo, approximately 140€ / 150$. Basically the same as the 2480. It’s also a 2400 dpi CCD. The difference is that it features an automatic 35 mm movie film loader on the top of the scanner.
HP sent us the:
Scanjet 3770, approximately 90 €. This scanner is based on the Scanjet 2400, HP’s basic model. It’s 1200 dpi with an integrated negative film/slide adaptor.
Scanjet 4600P / US 4670, approximately 160 € / US$ 180, a CCD 2400 dpi. It is the star product for this manufacturer. It’s completely different from other scanners in that it’s entirely transparent. The scanner hood, a transparent polycarbonate window, gives you the possibility to see digitalized objects and to check if their position is accurate.
Which resolution for what purpose
It isn’t necessary to choose a scanner with the highest optic resolution. It will be completely oversized especially if you only numerize paper photos. If you only want to reproduce a picture in the same size a 300 dpi is enough! To increase a 4”x6” picture to A4, numerize at 600 dpi. Any additional information to this resolution uselessly overloads the picture and won’t be reproduced on paper.
The situation is different for film negatives. The negative dimension is only 24 x 36 mm. To have a 4”x6” (10 cm x 15 cm) picture with a 300 dpi, you have to increase the size by 4.17 times for length and height. The ratio is (4,17)² = 17,4 between the negative film and the picture on the monitor.
To know which resolution to choose, use the following formula:
Resolution= (paper length x300) / (original length).
So the resolution is = (10 x 300) / 2.54 = 1181 dpi.
A numerization in 1200 dpi is enough for a 4” x 6” picture (10cm x 15 cm), and 2400 is enough for a 8.5” x 11” (20 x 30 cm) photo.
