canoscan 5600F question

[Vol]

Love it.

[g_vezina_c55]

Just bought it during my lunch hours.

I have a question, how do you scan only the card and not the entire scan surface ?

[CW]

Originally Posted by g_vezina_c55

Just bought it during my lunch hours.

I have a question, how do you scan only the card and not the entire scan surface ?

After you put your card or item on the scanner bed, click preview. Once that is done and you see your preview on your computer screen, you should be able to use your mouse to grab a white box (crosshair) in the corner. Click this and drag it to size around your item (you should see a dotted line which represents the border or edge your scanner will go to). You can either grab a corner and resize the scanning area at once, or you can grab each side and shrink it down to fit.

Hope that helps. If that doesn't make sense, I can do a screenshot later tonight when I get home pointing to what I'm describing.

[g_vezina_c55]

OK thanks i will try it tonight when i will be at home !

[jp1216]

Have had my 5600F for over a year now and love it. I scan most cards at 600 DPI to save and resize to post. Fast, easy and clear scans.
I use the ArcSoft software and ScanGear software that was included. My biggest advice is to test one or two cards with a dozen different settings and find one you like. Top open vs. top down too.

[Luke]

How much does this scanner typically cost?

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by jp1216

My biggest advice is to test one or two cards with a dozen different settings and find one you like.

I think this already is being done quite a bit in the hobby.

[the 'stache]

Nelson, if you're doing vintage and pre-war exclusively, the 5600F would be a good choice. If you're at all dealing in cards with reflective surfaces, you don't want it, because it has a LED light source, which causes streaking.

Here's a topic I started on SCF about a year ago. I got my Canoscan 8400F for $60 including shipping. It has the same CCD scanning element the 5600F does, but instead of a LED lighting source, it has cold cathode fluorescent lamp. No streaking on any metallic or reflective surfaces:

http://www.sportscardforum.com/threa...-ve-ever-spent!!

There's a '61 Eddie Mathews (raw), and a '65 Philadelphia Football Paul Hornung (one touch) included in my scans, as well as Beckett and PSA slabbed cards. You should get a pretty good field what's capable with a wide range of cards.

The scans there were done right after I got the scanner. Since then, I've got my technique down, and can just rip through my cards.

My scanner has auto crop, and I'm sure yours would as well.

Good luck!