OT: Scanner advice and recommendations

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Bliggity

When I first started using my V550, I thought the colors were too dull and were not accurate to the card that I was scanning. For me it was a simple fix. Using the Epson software, from the main scan screen, choose the "Tone Correction" button (circled in red). Then choose "High Contrast" from the tone-curve menu. The color match was perfect. I tried a bunch of different settings, and just this one change was the best and most accurate.

I do something very similar. The contrast is pretty drab with the default settings. For those who use a Mac, I'd recommend downloading the Epson Scan 2 software for it. This is what my screen looks like. Also worth noting is that there are a couple of ways to adjust the contrast. You can either click on the 'Detailed Adjustment' link and change the 'Tone Correction' from 'Linear' to 'High Contrast' in the pop-up window, or you can just manually adjust the Contrast slider from the Advanced Settings window. I usually set the contrast manually to something like 20 or 25. Here's an example below of the 3 settings side-by-side of the same card. The one on the left is using the defaul contrast settings. The one in the middle is using the 'High Contrast' tone correction like Bliggity suggests above, and the one on the right is using the manual contrast slider adjustment set to 25.

In the Main Settings window, I select 'Scanner Glass' as the Document Source, 'Reflective' as the Document Type, '48-bit Color' as the Image Type, '400 dpi' as the Resolution, and 'Standard' as the Scanning Quality. I keep the defaul settings for Color Management with 'Display Gamma' at 2.2, the 'Continuous auto exposure' box selected, and the Auto Exposure Level set to medium.

[toledo_mudhen]

Still a big fan of the Canoscan 9000F -

[BobbyStrawberry]

Thank you for the many helpful replies. I decided to go with the V600.

I have a related question: what might you recommend for cleaning off dust/surface imperfections on a slab? I recall reading a thread about it on here at some point, but my searches came up empty...

[toledo_mudhen]

I have been using this for several years - from minor polishing to deep scratches - works great!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/271699457867

[rugbymarine]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Thank you for the many helpful replies. I decided to go with the V600.

I have a related question: what might you recommend for cleaning off dust/surface imperfections on a slab? I recall reading a thread about it on here at some point, but my searches came up empty...

I use an extra microfiber cloth meant for cleaning eye-glasses