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Scanner reccommendations??

M

MobileXpress

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 15, 2004
1
0
Olathe, Kansas
Hey, I'm having a difficult time selecting a reliable scanner. The main issue I'm running across is the software problems with Epson and Apple operating systems. Visiting numerous message boards and web sites, I've discovered a very serious compatibility problem with Epson Scanners and Apple operating systems. The downloads/ patches seem to work only half the time. Yea, I know most of you are saying to buy a scanner by another company, but let's be honest; Epson probably makes the best scanners on the market.

I have a Sony Digital Camcorder, Canon i960 Photo Printer, and a Canon A80 Digital Camera. I use these together and need a reliable scanner. I don't too much trust scanners by Canon, HP, Or Visioneer. So, what do most Mac/ Powerbook users prefer in regards to a top scanner for $200 and under. Remember now, Epson has some serious flaws with there software, not to mention there horrible cunstomer service dept. ;)
 
I've tried quite a few, and the Canon 670U I use has been the most reliable. No power brick, simple SW. I only use the drivers with Photoshop and not the free stuff you get. But for a casual user it seems fine and it does work. For general use I will never buy another brand.
Stear clear of Umax. IMHO.
 
I have an HP and a Canon Lide 30 both of which have been very reliable for me. The HP is like 6 or 7 years old and it is still running perfectly.
 
I have a canon scanner running on OS9.1. Excellent performance for four and a half years, the results are always top quality. Probably the best £90 I've ever spent!
 
I agree :)

EJBasile said:
I have an HP and a Canon Lide 30 both of which have been very reliable for me. The HP is like 6 or 7 years old and it is still running perfectly.
Click to expand...

I have had the HP 7400C (legal size) scanner for almost 18 months now. Excellent resolution and very fast. The only negative is that it's a little noisy when doing high resolution scans.

While I have never owned a Canon scanner, my daughter's S300 printer has given quite a few years of flawless and reliable service. And I just bought the Canon i960 photo printer for myself.

Depending on the size of the scanning bed that you need, you can't go wrong with either HP or Canon.
 
MobileXpress said:
Hey, I'm having a difficult time selecting a reliable scanner. The main issue I'm running across is the software problems with Epson and Apple operating systems. Visiting numerous message boards and web sites, I've discovered a very serious compatibility problem with Epson Scanners and Apple operating systems. The downloads/ patches seem to work only half the time. Yea, I know most of you are saying to buy a scanner by another company, but let's be honest; Epson probably makes the best scanners on the market.

I have a Sony Digital Camcorder, Canon i960 Photo Printer, and a Canon A80 Digital Camera. I use these together and need a reliable scanner. I don't too much trust scanners by Canon, HP, Or Visioneer. So, what do most Mac/ Powerbook users prefer in regards to a top scanner for $200 and under. Remember now, Epson has some serious flaws with there software, not to mention there horrible cunstomer service dept. ;)
Click to expand...

I have had no issues with my Epson CX6400 scanner printer. And a friend has the 4750 on a PB 12" with no software issues. It appears to be a hardware issue with Apple. I find that the scanners works on the USB port next to the FW400 port, not the other one.
 
MobileXpress said:
Hey, I'm having a difficult time selecting a reliable scanner. The main issue I'm running across is the software problems with Epson and Apple operating systems. Visiting numerous message boards and web sites, I've discovered a very serious compatibility problem with Epson Scanners and Apple operating systems. The downloads/ patches seem to work only half the time. Yea, I know most of you are saying to buy a scanner by another company, but let's be honest; Epson probably makes the best scanners on the market.

I have a Sony Digital Camcorder, Canon i960 Photo Printer, and a Canon A80 Digital Camera. I use these together and need a reliable scanner. I don't too much trust scanners by Canon, HP, Or Visioneer. So, what do most Mac/ Powerbook users prefer in regards to a top scanner for $200 and under. Remember now, Epson has some serious flaws with there software, not to mention there horrible cunstomer service dept. ;)
Click to expand...

Canon's scanners work excellently with OS X. Since you seem to want high end, go with the 3200F, 5000F, LiDE 80, or 8000F.

I have a 3200F and it works great. Make sure to download the updated drivers (the included ones are the OS 9 drivers, the ones on the site are the native OS X drivers).
 
Forgive me for tacking onto an existing thread, but on Apple's website, it implies that certain scanners are compatible with the Image Capture Architecture and can be run on the Panther macs without any additional software. It seems all of these are Epsons, although I too have seen complaints about certain (other) Epson scanners.

My needs are a little different from MobileXpress. I want a scanner primarily to get some documents into my mac for storage so I can eliminate paper copies. My priorities:

1) I DO NOT want to install scanner OEM software on my Mac if at all possible. I don't care if this means that I won't be able to use the 1-touch feature. :) I guess if there is software that installs very well behaved (i.e. just drag a single container file onto the Mac and nothing else installs in any hidden locations), that might be ok, perhaps to get OCR if I can get text/graphics PDFs out of it. I've just had bad experiences in general with this kind of software on PCs...background programs that screw up sleep/unsleep and make the computer refuse to shut down properly, etc....

2) I want a lower priced unit.

3) I want decent color scans to bring in an occasional photo but this is relatively low priority.

I noticed that some of the Epsons on the Mac list (http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/scanners.html), such as the 1260, are very affordable -- that particular one can be had refurb direct from Epson for $40.

So does anyone own one of the scanners on the list, and can you confirm that you can use it with Image Capture with no additional software, just like you can with digital cams?

Thanks! :)
 
I've used two Epson all-in-one units (CX5200, CX6400) and the scanners were quite good. The drivers were more than acceptable with de-screening filters and various professional level tuning available but also have automatic modes.
 
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