Legal Size Scanner thread. 48 48

[Wayne Enterprises]

I bought a scanner on eBay, after scanning it made a terrible noise. I emailed the seller with a video of it and he refunded me and refused to accept the scanner back!

 

His user name on eBay is Dn-printers

Hopefully you can find something in his eBay store.

[comicwiz]

I've tried to follow this thread and compile a list of scanners that are good/not so good, take note of image capture types, sizes....scan techniques.

 

I'm still not sure what I'm after but I'm sure the guy at BestBuy is going to punch me in my face.

 

I'm with you. I've been following along and still far from knowing what might be the best replacement for my defunct scanner. Some of the scanners prominently mentioned here were introduced years ago and are no longer in production. Makes me wonder whether I would be opening myself up to compatibility problems, particularly since I now use a Mac.

 

Hado and anyone skimming this thread for info:

 

Most scanners produced in the past 5 years or newer use LED as a source for lighting. LED isn't suited to handle the job of capturing a scan of a comic suspended between a plastic holder and inner well.

 

BestBuy is LED heaven and will require at minimum a second trip to return your scanner, and possibly a punch in the face if they know you actually knew about this thread and still went ahead and bought a scanner from them.

 

Legal scanners are usually special order, and you need a platen spec that has the physical dimensions of a legal size spec, not a scanner that simulates a legal size scan through virtual means.

 

Long and short, you will need to make a list of the scanners make/models that have been shown in this thread, and hit craigslist or kijiji searching those specific makes/models.

 

The reason why these legal size makes and models work with plastic-fat CGC slabs is because they used flourescent lighting, which produces a brighter image during capture.

 

Scanners using flourescent lighting means they will most likely be older models, but I would stick with models that at least use USB to allow compatibility with more current operating systems and computing hardware. Parallel/SCSI interfaces will force a scanning station spec that will require the use of older PC hardware so steer clear of these.

 

Finally, I was successful in finding my scanner by buying it through a business equipment retailer that refurbishes old office equipment. The nice thing about buying it using this method is that the equipment can be tested right in the store, and usually comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.

 

The other thing I noticed is that the HP scanner model I bought/use has a decent track record as far as consumer reliability and IMHO exceeds the requirements when it comes to scanning CGC slabs.

 

Well after months of searching for the scanners recommended in this thread, and coming up empty handed, I figured I would bite the bullet and just buy an A4 scanner and then take two scans for each comic and stitch them together to get a full scan of the slabs... Maybe stitch them along the bottom of the CGC label line or something - where it wouldn't impact the cover.

 

Then I read that bit about the LEDs.

 

I dunno if I'm ever gonna be able to scan my books at this rate. I don't know how you guys are managing to find older model stock where you are - but there is sweet f.a. where i am.

 

You're having a tough time mostly because legal-sized scanners are special order, topped with the fact you live in a market where shipping/freight on something like an HP 8250 is going to be a swiftkick to the nads. Probably why listings like this are so out to lunch with their asking price. Best bet is to trawl a few "free listing" sites in Australia. Alternatively, find a local business center that repairs older model printers/scanners and see if they have a refurb or used model. The one I bought came from such a retailer and I got a 60 day warranty.

[The Kaptain]

.. did everything go okay?

 

Yes, everything is good now (for the most part). Got a replacement that, so far, is working fine.

 

I'm just having a problem with glare on the thick slabs. I have seen other scans of thick slabs with little to no glare.

 

I'm using the standard HP scanning software (not sure if this is the issue), but I am wondering if there is a way to reduce the glare?

 

Here is an example that I scanned.

 

 

Also this scan did not come out well and it is not a thick slab.

 

 

Does Vue Scan offer any image quality improvements over the standard HP software, or does it just add more features and ease of use?

 

Thanks.

Edited July 21, 2013 by Kaptain Kollektor

[ChicksCosmiComics]

My solution to the glare issue is to leave the scanner lid open and push down on the cgc slab firmly with both hands. Not real hard but firmly, and span your hands the length of the slab so the pressure is even. It should flatten out the inner well and the reflections should be all but gone.

 

Before and after

 

 

[dgarthwaite-migration]

A new thread idea! Pressing slabs!

 

I would like to say that pressing on the glass or even too much weight on the glass can cause the scanning head to bind or stop. It can damage the scanner. Just warning everyone.

 

DG

Edited July 21, 2013 by dgarthwaite

[The Kaptain]

A new thread idea! Pressing slabs!

 

I would like to say that pressing on the glass or even too much weight on the glass can cause the scabbing head to bind or stop. It can damage the scanner. Just warning everyone.

 

DG

 

Yeah, I am a bit wary about putting weight on the glass. I can just picture it shattering. I'm pretty sure HP would not cover that under warranty...

 

 

[ChicksCosmiComics]

How do you figure the weight alone of the lid is a pound or two. Applying slightly more pressure with your hands is not going to break anything. Yeah if you gorilla press the book you will break the glass. Enough pressure to flex the slab a bit is all you need.

 

Otherwise have fun with the glare

[The Kaptain]

How do you figure the weight alone of the lid is a pound or two. Applying slightly more pressure with your hands is not going to break anything. Yeah if you gorilla press the book you will break the glass. Enough pressure to flex the slab a bit is all you need.

 

Otherwise have fun with the glare

 

You are probably right, but it just makes me nervous.

 

Is there no way to fix the glare issue via software settings??? I still don't understand the settings like "adaptive lighting", etc...

[dgarthwaite-migration]

How do you figure the weight alone of the lid is a pound or two. Applying slightly more pressure with your hands is not going to break anything. Yeah if you gorilla press the book you will break the glass. Enough pressure to flex the slab a bit is all you need.

 

Otherwise have fun with the glare

 

You are probably right, but it just makes me nervous.

 

Is there no way to fix the glare issue via software settings??? I still don't understand the settings like "adaptive lighting", etc...

 

The scanning head runs very close to the glass. Pressing on the glass will make it flex and it can stop the head. The motor still turns so it can get crooked or otherwise out of alignment.

 

I've got a dead A3 scanner that locked up from weight of books without any additional pressing.

 

I'm just saying to be careful.

 

DG

[Arkham]

Thanks for the empathy and great tips Comicwiz!! I'll give that a bash and see how I go! :-)

 

Cheers,

Dan

[comicwiz]

A new thread idea! Pressing slabs!

 

I would like to say that pressing on the glass or even too much weight on the glass can cause the scanning head to bind or stop. It can damage the scanner. Just warning everyone.

 

DG

 

This.

 

And that a lot of the glare artifacts seen in the example scan appear to come from waviness of the inner well, meaning I can't see adding weight to the outer plastic holder being an effective remedy. It's quite possible that the lid being open is producing an improvement more than the addition of weight or pressing down of the slab on the flatbed.

[The Kaptain]

Hi, I have an HP 8300 scanner. I have recently decided to bite the bullet and buy VueScan Pro because I was sick of the HP software freezing on me.

 

I did my first scan with VueScan and it appeared too bright / the colors were washed out.

 

Can someone using VueScan, especially with an HP scanner similar to mine, list the best settings for scanning CGC books?

 

Thanks!

[thirdgreenham]

 

Just in case there are folks thinking of large size scanning beds for CGC books.

[DavidTheDavid]

Got my 8300 today. Like someone else in the thread, I ended up going through Fireworks to acquire the photo, and it's working great. MUCH better than my consumer-grade scanner, which was essentially worthless for this.

 

I got this on ebay for $65 (USD) shipping included. Feel like I got a steal!

 

Edited October 30, 2013 by DavidTheDavid

[dopy02]

How do you figure the weight alone of the lid is a pound or two. Applying slightly more pressure with your hands is not going to break anything. Yeah if you gorilla press the book you will break the glass. Enough pressure to flex the slab a bit is all you need.

 

Otherwise have fun with the glare

 

You are probably right, but it just makes me nervous.

 

Is there no way to fix the glare issue via software settings??? I still don't understand the settings like "adaptive lighting", etc...

 

The scanning head runs very close to the glass. Pressing on the glass will make it flex and it can stop the head. The motor still turns so it can get crooked or otherwise out of alignment.

 

I've got a dead A3 scanner that locked up from weight of books without any additional pressing.

 

I'm just saying to be careful.

 

DG

 

same thing happened to me with a microtek

[DavidTheDavid]

 

Just in case there are folks thinking of large size scanning beds for CGC books.

 

Seems like this would be a good candidate for a sticky. 50k views is slight compared to some other threads in this forum, but it's still significant.

[musicmeta]

.. did everything go okay?

 

Yes, everything is good now (for the most part). Got a replacement that, so far, is working fine.

 

I'm just having a problem with glare on the thick slabs. I have seen other scans of thick slabs with little to no glare.

 

I'm using the standard HP scanning software (not sure if this is the issue), but I am wondering if there is a way to reduce the glare?

 

Here is an example that I scanned.

 

 

 

 

Also this scan did not come out well and it is not a thick slab.

 

 

Does Vue Scan offer any image quality improvements over the standard HP software, or does it just add more features and ease of use?

 

Thanks.

 

My HP8250 has glare on some of the scans as well. Funny, the back cover scans had no glare.

[Indrid_Cold]

have you tried scanning with the lid up? preferably in a dark room

[HarveySwick]

Hey guys!

 

So I picked up the HP 8250 and really like it. But I'm having a tough time using the adjustments. I have to adjust because if I don't, they're dull and blurry. Roy illustrated this early in this thread.

 

I've played with the Brightness and Contrast. Here's where I'm having issues. If you look at the scans in my sig, the books themselves always come out pretty detailed. It's the CGC Labels that aren't coming out as sharp. Do you guys that have this scanner do the "Preview" first, then crop the image and do your adjustments, then scan? I'm probably doing this completely wrong and just figured I'd ask.

 

I'm sure this is in this thread somewhere. Just didn't know if someone had some great Default settings they could share!

[VintageComics]

I used to use Photostudio and their "auto enhance" feature. That worked the majority of the time, but my Photostudio license has expired and I haven't used it in a while.

 

I don't know if anyone else has any other suggestions.