Which scanner is the best for scanning cards??

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Posted By: John

Ted is correct and has hit a lot of the highlights. I use a high quality scanner, scanners are not unlike camera. People understand that optics and quality of components make a huge difference in cameras hence the reason you wouldn’t go on safari with a disposal camera.

Unfortunately cheaper scanners are essentially just that, nothing more than cheap Xerox machines decent for documents but not images. Also any scanner which essentially uses USB as its only power source can’t and most likely won't have good optics and bulb management, using USB alone as a power source cant support higher quality components.

Decent scanners can be had for around $150-200, but the real home runs for quality will run you in the area of $275-1500. The best deal in scanners now IMO is the HP Scanjet 4890 or the newer G4050 great scanners high quality both can be had fro around $190 or so.

As for using your scanner as stated above always scan against black, this will bring out detail and cut back on light splash behind slabs etc which can cause fuzzy scans or odd blurs to out of focus images. Also I highly recommend setting your scanner up with a photo program color setting or footprint. Don’t be alarmed this is pretty easy to do. If you guys are interested just let me know and when I have a little more time I’ll type a how to blurb for you guys. Its generally done by scanning against color plates and matching the colors for no bleed and color correctness then saving that as a profile so when you scan it adjust for any mistakes made etc.



As for DPI correct it will have no real bearing on image quality on web, unless you scan really low say 50dpi then your web program will be displaying at a higher size etc. But in general I really feel 150-200 dpi is the magic number. I always scan around 300 dpi myself. Mainly because if I decide later on to do any changes or play with images in Photoshop programs, having a higher image scan dpi will allow for better prints and image quality of any Photoshop.

I know it can sound confusing but learning good scan techniques can really pay off for you especially if you’re selling cards on eBay which I don’t do, but good clear scans with true to life color equal bigger sales that I will bet on. The best thing also if done right you’ll never get accused of bumping scans with ridiculous colors and contrast. You’ll never end up with customers asking alter on is the same card? By the way there is one seller on eBay who is awful and always has bumped color scans that are in no way close to real I hope he reads this and learns.

Most importantly if you’re forced to keep your cards in the bank etc. at least you’ll have as close to real life image to look at and share whenever the feeling strikes.

Here are some examples...