Standalone Scanner vs. Multifunction

[Richy]

I'm trying to decide whether to get a stand alone scanner or a
multifunction printer/scanner/fax. I'm considering the Canon CanoScan
4200F scanner and the Canon Pixma MP780 multifunction.

I don't really need to scan film negatives so that feature of the
stand-alone scanner doesn't really matter to me. And I'd like to have
the fax capability of the multifunction so I can receive faxes when my
computer is turned off.

My question is would I be making a sacrifice in scan quality by going
with the multifunction?

 

[Lorenzo J. Lucchini]

I'm trying to decide whether to get a stand alone scanner or a
multifunction printer/scanner/fax. I'm considering the Canon CanoScan
4200F scanner and the Canon Pixma MP780 multifunction.

I don't really need to scan film negatives so that feature of the
stand-alone scanner doesn't really matter to me. And I'd like to have
the fax capability of the multifunction so I can receive faxes when my
computer is turned off.

My question is would I be making a sacrifice in scan quality by going
with the multifunction?

My take is that if you don't need to scan film, any decent scanner will do.
The Canon you mention, with 2400 dpi and 16bpc (hope I've got these right),
seems quite decent.

Personally, I've got an Epson RX500 multifunction and I'm quite happy with
it; the specs are higher than the Canon's, and it can scan film, too, but
it doesn't have a PC-free fax function.

Besides, I don't think my RX500's scanner is a "sacrifice" in terms of
quality compared to the equivalent Epson stand-alone scanners. It's just
the same stuff (same for the printer, an R300 if I'm not mistaken), but
integrated into one machine.


by LjL
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Sherman]

I'm trying to decide whether to get a stand alone scanner or a
multifunction printer/scanner/fax. I'm considering the Canon CanoScan
4200F scanner and the Canon Pixma MP780 multifunction.

I don't really need to scan film negatives so that feature of the
stand-alone scanner doesn't really matter to me. And I'd like to have
the fax capability of the multifunction so I can receive faxes when my
computer is turned off.

My question is would I be making a sacrifice in scan quality by going
with the multifunction?

My CanoScan 8400F is having nightmarish problems with a TWAIN ERROR.
I'm avoiding Canon until the engineers at Canon can fix the problem.

But to answer your question, I don't think you would notice the
difference in today's scanners. They are so much overkill that only a
few would notice the differences.

More important (to me) than scan quality is ink source. I'd love to
have the same cartridges in my fax that I have in my printer.

 

[Andy Hewitt]

[Snipped Text]

My take is that if you don't need to scan film, any decent scanner will do.
The Canon you mention, with 2400 dpi and 16bpc (hope I've got these right),
seems quite decent.

Personally, I've got an Epson RX500 multifunction and I'm quite happy with
it; the specs are higher than the Canon's, and it can scan film, too, but
it doesn't have a PC-free fax function.

Besides, I don't think my RX500's scanner is a "sacrifice" in terms of
quality compared to the equivalent Epson stand-alone scanners. It's just
the same stuff (same for the printer, an R300 if I'm not mistaken), but
integrated into one machine.

I have a CX3200, and the scanner is better than the standalone Umax I
had, and the printer is as good as the stand alone C64 we have.

 

[Denis Marier]

Talking about ink source what is the average black text copy produced by an
ink cartridge Vs a laser toner cartridge. At this time, with my old Canon
LBP - Plus a $49.00 CAD refill A 75 cartridge gives me 5000 + black 8" X 11"
text copies.
I am looking at getting a multifunction and I wonder if I can get the same
amount of printed text copies.

 

[Richy]

I don't think there is any ink jet which can compete with laser on a
cost per page basis for black text. You do know there are laser
multifunctions right?

 

[Richy]

I've downloaded the manuals for both the MP780 and the 4200F. And it
seems they use different TWAIN drivers. The TWAIN driver for the MP780
is called ScanGear MP, while the one for the 4200F is called ScanGear
CS. I wonder if this is true?