1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

I need a new scanner. Suggestions?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by daniel, Sep 15, 2009.

  1. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    So today I upgraded to Snow Leopard. My printer worked just fine once I ran update and got 10.6.1, but my scanner would not work. A call to Hewlett Packard confirmed that my scanner model is considered out of date. It was supported only up to 2006, though the Tiger driver worked for Leopard. HP will not release a driver for it.

    The scanner worked fine and did everything I needed a scanner to do. But now it's worthless to me.

    So I need a new scanner. I'm pissed at HP, but I know that all hardware manufacturers probably do the same thing: quit supporting hardware a decade before the hardware actually quits working.

    So what scanner would people recommend? I scan documents and photographs, but I never scan slides or negatives, and I never make huge enlargements, so I want reasonably good color reproduction, but I don't need extremely high resolution.

    I will pay for quality, but I don't need a lot of features.

    Any thoughts?

    (HP will give me a discount on a G4050 photo scanner, 96 bit color and 4800 dpi for $209 with my present one in trade, and they will pay shipping both ways. But that's probably way overkill for what I need.)
     
    #1 daniel, Sep 15, 2009
  2. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    Check out the shareware VueScan first, before you throw out perfectly good hardware.
    As an aside, I have been tempted to buy HP hardware before, and each time have come to rue my choice, usually because of HP corporate policy that turns the hardware into a vexation. Forced obsolescence and proprietary consumables is typical.

    Nowadays my favorite imaging partner for Macintosh and Linux is Canon.

    VueScan supported HP scanners:
    VueScan Release Notes
     
    #2 SageBrush, Sep 15, 2009
  3. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2008
    2,927
    782
    0
    Location:
    IL
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Or you can buy a surplus windows machine with hardware support (ooooh! reusing and recycling equipment instead of buying more crap!)...just a thought.

    Geeks has a cute little (SFF) one for $139.
    HP Compaq dc7100 Pentium 4 2.8GHz 512MB 40GB DVD FDD XP Professional Small Form Factor HP DC7100

    In fact, they have six refurbed models under $200 (including an OS).
    Desktop Computer, Desktop PC, Discount Computer, Used Computers, Cheap Computers at Geeks.com

    You can probably find better locally since this is just a superficial internet search.
     
    #3 a_gray_prius, Sep 15, 2009
  4. eaglesight333

    eaglesight333 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2009
    6,427
    78
    0
    Location:
    Northern, IL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Look at the Canon models. I believe they get pretty good reviews. I will try to help you with some research in a while
     
    #4 eaglesight333, Sep 15, 2009
  5. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    I downloaded VueScan. It told me that it detected a scanner (and identified the make and model) but said that it was unable to find an Intel plug-in for the scanner.

    This in spite of the fact that the page you linked to listed my scanner as being supported, and said that VueScan works with OS X 10.6.
     
    #5 daniel, Sep 15, 2009
  6. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2005
    15,232
    1,563
    0
    Location:
    off into the sunset
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Personally, I'd buy an all-in-one and skip the hassle. They're really not very expensive, and you only need one driver, not four and half a dozen cords. My little Brother 7820N is pretty slick, and works with both PCs and Macs. At the same time, even. Mind you, I haven't tested it with Snow Leopard yet.
     
    #6 hyo silver, Sep 15, 2009
  7. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    A quick email to the author may be fruitful.
     
    #7 SageBrush, Sep 16, 2009
  8. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    5,122
    268
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    I'm using this for my scanner at home (I had the same problem as you with my old scanner no longer working):

    PIXMA MP480 Photo All-In-One Printer

    Granted, i got this one for free as part of a deal when i bought my Mac Pro, so i can't really complain. But it's an all-in-one and seems to get the job done.
     
    #8 eagle33199, Sep 16, 2009
  9. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    I've got nothing against an all-in-one, but my printer works fine, so I have no need of another printer. All I need is a basic flatbed scanner.
     
    #9 daniel, Sep 16, 2009
  10. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Okay, I've written to him. His web site says he answers 50 emails a day, so we'll see.

    His web site is not clear as to whether Vuescan is a stand-alone driver to replace OEM drivers, or if it is an enhancement that requires the OEM driver in order to function. In the former case it should work; in the later case it would not.
     
    #10 daniel, Sep 16, 2009
  11. eaglesight333

    eaglesight333 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2009
    6,427
    78
    0
    Location:
    Northern, IL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Newegg.com is my preferred choice for computer equipment. They will usually have the best price, but not always. Here are a few flatbed scanners that have decent ratings. Yes, they are all Canon models, but these are the highest rated on newegg.com

    Newegg.com - Canon CanoScan LiDE 700F 3297B002 9600 x 9600dpi 48bit USB Interface Flatbed Scanner - Scanner - Flatbed Scanners

    Newegg.com - Canon CanoScan LiDE 100 2923B002 2400 x 4800dpi 48bit USB 2.0 Hi-Speed Interface Flatbed Scanner - Scanner - Flatbed Scanners

    Newegg.com - Canon CanoScan 8800F 2168B002 4800 x 9600dpi 48bit USB Interface Flatbed Scanner - Scanner - Flatbed Scanners
     
    #11 eaglesight333, Sep 16, 2009
  12. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    It's always interesting to read the one-star reviews. Reviewing the cheap ($56) scanner, one person says: "Pros: quick shipping; Cons: Scanner does not work."

    The LiDE 700F looks pretty nice, and gets good reviews on Amazon.

    Anybody have any opinions on Cannon compared to other brands?
     
    #12 daniel, Sep 16, 2009
  13. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    I'm curious too, pls update when you know.

    As for the driver distinction, I'm not sure your conclusion is right. The h/w has not changed, so the core driver is the same. The cross-talk between the driver and the OS, however, seems to have broke with Snow Leopard. This strikes me more as being a case of how modular the software design is.
     
    #13 SageBrush, Sep 17, 2009
  14. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    14,487
    1,518
    0
    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    I got an email back from him, with a link to a test version of the program and a request to send him the log after I try it.

    The new program version did the same thing as the old one. I sent him a description and the log.

    Apparently the program is supposed to work without the HP driver, or he'd just have told me it didn't. With luck, it's just a bug in the program that he'll try to fix.

    I'll post any updates. Obviously, I won't be buying a new scanner yet, though I gather that the new ones are better and faster.
     
    #14 daniel, Sep 17, 2009
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)