What is the best scanner to buy for the following ....

[Chris]

Hello -

We sell on eBay and are looking for a new scanner to enhance the look
of our items. Our primary products are baseball cards, magazines,
photos, books and other non-flat items such as autographed baseballs,
pinbacks and hockey pucks. Rather than photograph these non-flat
pieces, we scan them in order to show a good representation of the
autograph.

Speed is an important criteria as we scan approx. 200 - 300 items/day.
Cost is less important.

Your recommendations and input are greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Chris

 

[Roger S.]

I do not suggest trying to scan "non-flat" items. The ability of a
scanner to focus on enough of the item to make it clear what it is is
limited. A camera will give you much better depth of field and I'd
suggest a book on product photography. Once you have a decent set-up
it should be easy to rotate items through it.

Pretty much any flatbed scanner should be adequate for flat items- get
one that's large enough to scan the largest item you have. Epson 4990
is fairly widely used for scanning film and prints; 4490 is a cheaper
version if you're not likely to scan slides or film.

 

[Barry Watzman]

The 4490 scans 35mm and medium format films, and has "Digital Ice" as
well. It's E-Bay cost is about one-third to one-half that of a 4990.

Actually, for anything other than films, I like the old HP 5470C. You
can get them really cheap (as little as $10, sometimes) and it's a very
good scanner (it was $400 once, and it was PC magazine's Editor's Choice
scanner in 2002). It's still a good scanner.

 

[Chris]

Just wanted to thank you both for the great info. Have not made the
final purchase yet, but am running tests on those you recommended.

Thanks again -
Chris