Hi all

I've recently started scanning my paintings instead of taking photos with my digital camera and I am really pleased with the results (although it takes a bit of fiddling around stitching the bits together!). My only problem is that because of the position of the lid I won't be able to scan pictures or canvases over about A3 size and I have some long thin box canvases which just won't fit in at all.

So I'm thinking about saving up for a new scanner and I wondered if anyone could recommend one?

thanks
Elise

I've scanned an 'almost A2' canvas on my A4 Epson Perfection 1650. It's a bitch to be sure, having to rotate and stitch all those bits in Photoshop (and there's always ONE you never get quite at a right angle...) but it's feasible. The Epson has a good hinge which allows it to lift up and back. I've scanned stuff out of huge thick books as well without any problems. The lid can be closed on stuff up to almost an inch, and can also detach completely if you want - 2 plastic pegs just drop down and in.

Everything you see on my websites was scanned using it, and a lot of my older pencil work is A2 or slightly bigger. The scanning is the donkey work - the real skill (or pain in the A*s) is in the stitch, to make sure it looks like a seamless finished product.

I've always said when my Epson went, I'd invest in an A3 scanner. There's plenty of them out there. Just do a web search or look online at the likes of dabs.com.

That's my rocommendation anyway. It's 5 years old now and has provided constantly good service.

Thanks Chaz, that's really helpful. The one you have doesn't seem to be on sale any more but there are quite a few other "Epson Perfection" models on the market now so I'll take a good look at them.

I thought about getting an A3 scanner but apart from one "budget" model (a Mustek for about

I have had a mustec A3 for a couple of years now for the price it really does give good results,sometimes you can be lucky and not have to pay the earth.

That's good to hear the Mustek works for you, Wendy, I must say I've had it in my Amazon shopping basket a couple of times but never went for it simply because the price seemed too good to be true! It would certainly save a lot of hassle since a lot of my work is 16"x12" I could pretty much scan it in one go, or at least cut four scans down to two. Do you find it works OK for larger pieces?
Elise

I havn't really used it for larger than that since I bought a 10mp camera I too used to get hung up about if something is more expensive it automatically makes it superior,as with lots of things it is not always the case. Someone reccommended it to me and they do realism work so needed it to be good.

Like wendy I've had the Mustek for a couple of years - its fine for the price - I can't do the cut and stitch bit so photo the larger stuff but scanning is certainly superior and can save as tiff that way, then convert to jpg. The lid comes off completely - for deep canvasses I cover with a large thick cloth to keep out light.

I bought the Mustek from Dabs and it is great not having bits missed off but it seems remarkably temperamental.

When the device arrived, I was under the impression it was ready to go, but it actually needed a new driver to be downloaded. So I did and it worked. But, after three or four scans, it stopped.

I rebooted the computer and it worked again.

This morning, three or four scans and it has stopped ... I have not yet rebooted the computer but wonder if it is unduly sensitive, or a memory problem ... any ideas?

Cheers Euphrosene

Yes mine at first did all those things,sometimes you get stuff that is just plain tempremental.It did eventually settledown.But I do prefer using the digital camera so much quicker and less hassle.So I now don't use it much.

Hi Wendy - I like the digital camera too but cannot get it quite right - either the flash leaves its mark or it is too dark!

Hi turn the flash off and take the picture in daylight outside out of the glare of the Sun,the best is if it is an overcast day.I set mine to HQ and an ISO 50,any higher it gives a fuzzy image.

If it ever stops raining, I'll have a major session in the back garden!

I've never had any problems with my scanner, it's crashed a couple of times but that's over a 4 month period so no worse than any other piece of kit. You could always try uninstalling it then reinstalling it, sometimes that helps? If you think it's a memory problem, make sure you close down all other programs before scanning, that'll free up the maximum resources on your computer.

If you're using the camera, as Wendy says you really should take photos outside and don't use the flash as it causes glare and/or shadows. Easier said than done though when it's always raining - that's probably the reason I prefer my scanner (rain is the norm in Scotland )!

Elise