bad scanner...
 

that has to be the worst argument i have ever heard..a bad/poor quality scanner..

we are talking about Million dollar companies, some near BILLION dollar companies, and they use a cheap scanner?????

DONT THINK SO....they use VERY EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT as SCANS are the lifeblood of their business...Scanners so good they can make any enhancements possible...

I visited the Mastro offices in 2004 or 2005 and was shocked at how stuff was just laying around...it was a very secure building, but seemed like a pretty messy office environment...none of the equipment looked like it was industrial or anything special. Of course that was 8 or 9 years ago now...

You don't even need an expensive scanner. A good scanner, with the proper lighting and scanning element, will produce great pictures. I'm using an eight year old Canon Canoscan 8400F, and I can get beautiful scans like this:

http://imageshack.us/a/img203/3338/qq3a.png

I use Photoshop, but most of what I'm doing is reducing image size (I scan at 400 dpi then reduce down), cropping, and then some very minor level adjusting. If I can get accurate scans, they sure as hell can do the same on much more expensive equipment. There's no excuse for auction houses to be posting pictures that aren't accurate representations of what they are selling. None.

"I use Photoshop, but most of what I'm doing is reducing image size (I scan at 400 dpi then reduce down), cropping, and then some very minor level adjusting. If I can get accurate scans, they sure as hell can do the same on much more expensive equipment. There's no excuse for auction houses to be posting pictures that aren't accurate representations of what they are selling. None."

I readily concur. I've been a graphic designer for over 25 years, and high-end scanners do make a big difference in images. An expert in Photoshop, however, can turn a muddy or dark scan into a very presentable image. For instance, the Filter Unsharp Mask (depending on the settings) can make an image brighter, sharper, and if applied to scans of graded cards, can make the white highlights of the plastic cases even more whiter, etc.

It does not take a whole lot of effort to create a workable scanning "system" in which the same settings are applied to each scan, including slight modifications within Photoshop, to make the card image mirror very closely the real-life counterpart.

I use a $200 USB Microtek flatbed scanner. Nothing fancy at all. All of my cards look fairly identical whether on a computer screen or in hand. It's not rocket science. I have seen some long winded explanations in emails but the bottom line doesn't have to do with any fancily worded reasoning. Either the card looks the same on the screen, as in hand, or not.

well said.

You know, Jay, it never occurred to me to use the unsharp mask. The difference is startling:

Original-------->same scan with default unsharp mask

http://imageshack.us/a/img203/3338/qq3a.pnghttp://img22.imageshack.us/img22/6508/56k5.png

The subject is a little blurry in the original scan. The detail is so much clearer in the second, and the flip is whiter, and easier to read.

Thank you for that. I'll have to useit from now on.

It only takes a small amount of manipulation to make the REA scan look like the Legendary scan. Any child could do it.