RE: OT : Can anyone recommend a real good flat-bed scanner?

[Jim_Prince -at- banctec -dot- com]

-----Original Message-----

I am looking for a good flat-bed scanner.  I've been told that the quality
is not so much due to the scanner, but also the software that comes with it.

---------------------------

At work, we purchased a Microtek scanner and have had great results.

Check with each vendor for included software.  We bought the professional
package which included full blown versions of Photoshop and Text Bridge Pro. 
The cost of the package was less than the Photoshop by itself!

Some gothcas...

Make sure you check OPTICAL RESOLUTION - do not be fooled by interpolated
(software) resolution. Do not buy less than 600 X 600 DPI OPTICAL.

If you plan to scan legal documents, make sure the scanner supports that length.
Most "personal" scanners support 8.5 X 11 max.

SCSI interfaces are faster, Parallel are cheaper.  If you are running NT - I
would suggest a SCSI Scanner. If you buy a parallel scanner, make sure it has a
pass thru port.

If you plan to scan old documents and manuals, you may want to make sure the
scanner supports ADF (Automated Document Feeder).

Be wary of some HP scanners. Some older models did graphics only.

Some of the lite versions of OCR are adequate, but a full blow version of Text
Bridge Pro is about $100 (street).

You can buy a high quality scanner for under $200 (street) and the ADF is
another $200...

I have a UMAX scanner at home and it also works well.  Stay with a name brand -
Microtek, UMAX, HP, and you can't go wrong. 

Hope this helps 

Jim