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Erm.. pretty much as the title suggests really, does anyone have recommendations for a decent quality, and preferably cheap, scanner?

I don't want to spend a vast amount of money on such things, as it'll only get the occasional use - but it would be handy to have around.

Thanking you!

I got a lexmark 1150, scanner, copier and printer for for £70, now about £40!

Cartridges are a bit expensive mind

Hmmmm. I've got an Epson 1200U flatbed A4 scanner which I've been very happy with.

Though I would think by this stage in their evolution they're probably a much of muchness between brands. (I seem to recall reading good things about Canon scanners too)

I've no idea of the 1200's cost or even if it's still in production (I think it predates the current pc)

A friend of mine has an all in one scanner, printer etc and is Very pleased with it (though I think he bought it as part of his business and so escaped the VAT - probably an expensive route to go)

I already have a printer that I'm quite happy with, so I'd rather just get a plain ol' scanner without any printing options...

Is there any decent review sites that cover scanners?

my mate has this Canon one

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=42099

You may well hate me for the amount of reading material that's gonna come your way now Pig.

A while back you may remember I was looking into slide scanners and I did as it happens find a bunch of stuff on scanners of one kind or another.

Some of these sites will be for both though.

http://www.cameras-scanners-flaar.org/default.html

http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/tests/index.cfm

http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/hard3.htm

http://www.scantips.com/scanlink.html#film

.......damn it, I thought I had more links but the rest are for film scanners.

a number of the online side of pcmags do reviews too (though you may have to login), not least of which PCAdvisor.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/index.cfm?go=hardware.top&cat=7

http://www.comp-buyer.co.uk

I reckon you're looking at a price tag between 40 -90 squid.

Ghost, cheap scanners available Here also Here which has my scanner (Visioneer OneTouch 8700) which was one of the best buy's at PCA about 18 months ago and performs really well.

I'm rather partial to the Canon LIDE range of scanners and have one at home and another at work. They are very slimline and because they use LED technology are pretty fast (so the sales blurb says). I paid about £60 for a LIDE 30 at PC World about a year ago. Infact it's worth checking out PCW, because they sometimes have the odd tasty deal on this sort of hardware.

This is a couple of reviews from ComputerBuyer (a mag I rather like) of a couple of Canon scanners the first being of the range that Wags is talking about and though they have some minor caveats I don't think they're anything that would bother you for incidental scanning (speed, noise and a lack of slide/negative scanning)

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Canon CanoScan LiDE 35 [Computer Buyer]
COMPANY: Canon PRICE: £47 £55
RATING: ISSUE: 162 DATE: Nov 04

Verdict: The LiDE 35 a decent little scanner, but it doesn't have as many features as our current Top 50, the CanoScan 3200F.

The CanoScan LiDE 35 is a dinky scanner, hardly bigger than an A4 sheet. It's only an inch thick, and Canon provides a stand that enables you to store the scanner on its side, saving even more desk space. You can even use it in this position, although anything more than a piece of paper will fall out of the scanner, as the lid doesn't clamp shut. It does have a nifty double hinge at the back, though, that allows you to scan objects up an inch thick when closed. This is useful if you're scanning from books or thick magazines, but works only when the scanner is lying flat. Unlike the rest of the case, the lid is made of metal. This is important as it protects the fragile glass scanning surface.

A long USB lead connects the LiDE 35 to a PC's USB port. This supplies the power too, so you don't need a separate power supply. Once you have installed the driver software, you can either scan directly from programs such as Paint Shop Pro, or from the ScanGear software supplied with the scanner. This provides the usual selection of scanning options and has both simple and advanced modes, depending on how much tweaking you want to carry out before scanning.

If this all sounds like too much effort, pressing one of the four buttons on the front of the LiDE 35 triggers a pre-defined scan option. 'Copy' makes a colour scan and sends it to your printer; 'Scan' automatically opens the scanned image in the application of your choice; 'File' saves it in My Documents and 'Email' makes a low resolution scan and attaches it to an e-mail. You can change the settings for each option before making a scan but the default settings work just fine - scanning doesn't get any easier than this.

The LiDE 35 is a little noisy to use (the motor whines audibly). On the bright side, though, scan quality is very good. We scanned a full-colour document at 300dpi in 30 seconds. Colours were very accurate, with blues in particular appearing well saturated. There was no sign of an unwanted overall tint or 'colour cast'. No digital 'noise' (usually speckly interference) could be seen.

For all its good points, though, the LiDE 35 is still slightly slower than our current Top 50 model, the Canon 3200F, which takes ten seconds less to scan a 300dpi A4 page. Also, the LiDE 35 has no facilities for scanning negatives or slides - a pain if you want to digitise your entire photo collection. For these reasons, the LiDE 35 fails to capture our Top 50 Best Buy award.

By Julian Prokaza
SPECIFICATIONS:
MAXIMUM RESOLUTION 1,200x2,400dpi SCAN AREA 216x297mm COLOUR-DEPTH 48-bit CONNECTION USB2 DIMENSIONS 256x383x34mm (wdh) SOFTWARE ArcSoft PhotoStudio, OmniPage SE MANUFACTURER'S CODE F916900

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Here also is the top 50 reviewed scanner mentioned above, the Canon 3200F, probably 10 or 15 quid more, and a little older,

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CanoScan 3200F [Computer Buyer]
COMPANY: Canon PRICE: £59 (£69)
RATING: ISSUE: 151 DATE: Dec 03


The CanoScan 3200F is the successor to Canon's 3000F - and, aside from some modest restyling, it looks pretty similar. The changes under the hood, however, are more significant. This scanner has been designed with speed in mind. It boasts a USB 2 connection and an ultra-fast scanning engine that can scan an A4 page at 300dpi in under 20 seconds.

Unusually for a budget scanner, the 3200F can scan film transparencies. It's a fiddly process, though. Removing the protective cover from the underside of the scanning hood reveals a small area of the hood with a reflective coating. Rather than shining light through your transparencies, light is reflected through them. Film must be seated in the adapter supplied, and frustratingly there's no option to scan anything but 35mm film.

However, if you want to digitise loads of old slides or negatives, this could be the perfect solution. Within the film area, you can scan at up to 2,400dpi. Scans are sharp and clear, colours near-perfect and tonal balance good.

The rest of the flatbed manages 1,200dpi, and results are equally impressive.

Canon's ScanGear CS software gives you control over settings such as colour balance and resolution, and offers features such as 'De-screen', which removes annoying moire patterns from scans of magazines or newsprint. There are additional controls for reducing dust and scratches and correcting faded or grainy images.

The scanner comes with a large bundle of software, including OmniPage SE OCR software, for turning text scans into editable word processor files. ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5 helps polish up pictures, and Ulead DVD Picture Show 2.0 lets you create slide shows from your images.

Aside from the film adapter's fiddliness, we can't fault this scanner. With more features and better quality than you'd expect for the price, it's our new Best Buy.

By Mike Hirschkorn
SPECIFICATIONS:
Scanner with 1,200x2,400dpi resolution, 214x295mm scan area, 48-bit colour, USB 2 interface and film scanning adapter. Dimensions: 257x460x71mm. Includes CanoScan Toolbox, OmniPage SE, ArcSoft PhotoStudio and Ulead DVD Picture Show.

Cheers for that Dan, I shall have a look around and see where if I can find one nice and cheap - may even pop into PCW for a nosey around too...

If you've not done this yet Pig, I noticed that the latest PCPlus magazine has a reviews set on A4 flatbed scanners. Might like to check it out.

I also have the Canon LIDE 30. Nice scanner, dose every thing I ask of it.

I'm not sure if its still around though.

I have a scanner here you can have...free...

Next time you are passing through Donny let me know :)

Damn nice of you to offer Mr.Crabtree,

However, a week ago I ordered the Cannon Lide 30 from Mundys link - so I'm currently set-up for my scanner needs.

If only I'd delayed a bit longer :(

i see you opted for my rec.....................is it any good