danielg@uncmed.med.unc.edu (01/30/91)
First of all, my apologies for sending a test message ahead first. I have had trouble cross posting in the past, and wanted to be sure before I typed in a long article. Got many 'kind' flames concerning my test, plus a short but sweet letter from my sys.admin telling me of my netiquette breach - there are correct ways of doing these things :-}. We are about to purchase a b/w flatbed scanner for scanning in images (line drawings and some photos) for use with Freelance+, and perhaps First Choice and Illustrator. We desire to spend <$1500, and might consider a color scanner if the price is right (<$2000). The latest comparison I could find was in PCMag Mar 28,1989. From this article (good one) I came up with 3 finalists. They are: HP SCANJET - $1990, fully fit to go - runs under windows with 'Scanning Gallery' - supports .MSP .PCX .IMG .TIF file formats DATACOPY 730GS (XEROX) - $2690 - 16 *or* 64 greys - supports .IMG .PCX .TIF formats CHINON DS-3000 - $995 (wow!) - has overhead reader (shadows are a problem) - .PCX format only? not sure. Will be running on a 386-33 machine. Output device will be HPIII laser printer. Anyone have any experience with the above machines, or can suggest another? I'm sure the prices must be lower now. A couple of color scanners caught my eye: EPSON ES-300C - $2500 as of May 1990 - supports .TIF .TGA .EPS .PCX. MSP .IMG but not .GIF(?) or .BMP (Windows paint prg) file formats - article says that it only supports 4 printers (Epson LQ-860, LQ-2500, HP PaintJet, HP3630). How can it support all of the above file formats but not be able to print? I thought it was the printer's job to be able to print certain types of formats. Or is it the software's? And if it is, if the Epson software can't handle it, perhaps the application that I am using to manipulate the image can. Can someone clear this up for me? Thanks. PANASONIC FX-RS307U - $2000 as of May 1990 - .TIF or .PCX formats All advice appreciated. Please email, will post summary if there is interest. dan =========================================================================== "Artists and scientists are OK as long as they are out exercising their transcendence; when they come home at night they are as screwed-up as anyone else." Richard Eder, L.A. Times