I had the same problem. Bought a fancy new CIS scanner that wouldn't focus off the glass. Fiddleflupped with every setting for hours... Very frustrating. She was just about to call an attorney when I discovered the solution.
Returned the GIS then asked around at work and several people offered their "useless" old scanners from the garage, attic, cellar etc. One old CCD beast worked flawlessly. I think it's a HP scanjet 3200. (came with Windows 95 software, but she worked)
A comparison test for off-the-glass focus;
CIS
CCD
