PhotoSlideShows:Multisheet scanner?

snicholshms wrote on 5/4/2006, 9:48 PM
Been using a flat bed scanner for several years doing one photo at a time. Now my workload has gotten to the point where I need to scan more photos in much less time.
Anyone working with a multi-sheet scanner like the HP Scanjet 8250? I've never used a multisheet fed scanner for photos.

I did search on this subject but there's nothing much posted on this subject.
Anyone have any experience or suggestions?

Comments

Steve Mann wrote on 5/4/2006, 11:55 PM
A good sheet-feeder scanner will cost you a couple of thousand $$.

If they are all the same size, I would put a digital camera on a copy stand and knock out ten a minute.

Steve Mann
TeetimeNC wrote on 5/5/2006, 4:03 AM
I use the Epson Perfection 3200 flatbed scanner. It does a great job with multiple photos. Just lay as many photos on the platen as will fit. The scanning software recognizes the edges and breaks it into individual images. Unit is a couple years old - I think I paid about $300 for it.

-Jerry
Grazie wrote on 5/5/2006, 4:05 AM
What?!!

Jerry - I've got the Eppo Perfection 1250 flattie - edge recog? Do I have this? Hmmm...

Grazie
TomE wrote on 5/5/2006, 6:42 AM
I use the Microtek ScanMaker i900. It scans up to legal size so you can fit multiple pictures on it. It comes with Silverfast software which once I learned it has dramatically improved my scans. You can select multiple photos, tweak them and then hit the scan to batch scan them. I got it for its versatility since it has a separate drawer to scan 12 slides at a time. It can also scan other transparencies. I finally finished scanning 2500+ slides for my brother in law (he said I think there is about 500 slides) yeah right!

I dont have a digital camera so I can't compare to that which does sound even faster way to go (as long as you are not trying to get rid of scratches and dust etc.. during the scan--this saves photoshop time after the fact. Silverfast has an elaborate mask tool for selecting what dust and scratches you need to take out in the scan. )


-TomE
johnmeyer wrote on 5/5/2006, 7:16 AM
In a similar vein to Tom's suggestion, I use VueScan, another third-party scanning software solution. I have scanned over 60,000 slides, negatives and photos in the past ten months. If the photos are all flat, and all the same size, you just tell Vuescan what size they are, and then line them all up so they touch. Vuescan then exposes each one separately and scans each one in an individual pass. This takes a little more time than scanning all the photos as one big photo and then cutting, but the exposure is perfect for each 4x6, saving tons of time in post. To me, that is the key to scanning large volumes: get the scan as close to perfect so you spend less time in PhotoShop (actually I use PhotoImpact, but that's a story for another time).


snicholshms wrote on 5/5/2006, 9:46 AM
HP makes a good multi sheet scanner for around $1,000. But I've never used one and was hoping someone in this forum has had that experience.
I have an Epson 4970 flatbed and It allows me to scan three to four photos at once...but each image has to be rotated in Vegas..which is time consuming.
Anyone using a multisheet scanner that does 15 photos a minute or better?
Jayster wrote on 5/5/2006, 11:29 AM
I have an HP5500 flatbed scanner, a couple years old. It has a document feeder for 4x6 photos. You can put a stack of 24 photos on it, push a button, then go do something else. I used it to archive some film photos and haven't used it much since then (because I have a digital camera). Cost a few hundred dollars when I bought it. Maybe I should sell it on eBay (since I don't use it much and it takes up space).
TeetimeNC wrote on 5/8/2006, 6:03 AM
Grazie,

Your 1250 may - but I'm not familiar with it. Here is a link I found for a shareware app that lets most flatbed scanners scan multiple photos at once. I haven't used this software so this isn't an endorsement, but it might be worth looking at.

EDIT: forgot to include link: http://www.topshareware.com/Instant-Photo-Scanner-download-4547.htm

-jerry
kentwolf wrote on 5/8/2006, 9:06 PM
I have been using the Microtek ArtixScan DI210 at work.

The first one I got was defective, but the replacement has been going strong! I was concered about it being from I company about which I had never heard, but all has been terrific.

While I don't scan photos with it, I scan thosands of handwritten documents and it has been very fast and reliable. I wish I could buy one for home.

It's only about $300.

It is a USB2 interface, so speed has been decent.

I have, as I said, scanned thousands of documents and it has performed very well. Photos would bhe no problem with the built-in adjustable sheet feeder. It has 2 buttons on the case, so you can set up custom routines and assign it to a button.

It is a very good scanner and I would definitely give it a look. I very well may buy one for home use.

See:

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=714251

...and there ya' go.
johnmeyer wrote on 5/9/2006, 7:29 AM
I was concerned about it being from I company about which I had never heard, but all has been terrific.

Microtek is actually one of the original scanner companies, founded back in the early 1980s. The first magazine cover yours truly ever "graced" showed me with a Microtek scanner, in the spring of 1986. S.C. Lee and Bob Hsieh were the two founders -- two of the nicest people I've ever met. I just looked up Bob. He is now chairman of Akron, another Taiwanese company.


Laurence wrote on 5/14/2006, 8:24 PM
I just tried Jerry's link:

http://www.topshareware.com/Instant-Photo-Scanner-download-4547.htm

It works really well. I can scan three 4x6 photos at a time. I find often on a slideshow type presentation you end up working with a bunch of tiny old fashioned photos, some photos that are hand cut into unusual shapes and a couple of larger prints as well. I like to scan everything in the order it will appear on the timeline so as to save the step of arranging photos on the timeline (I just drop them in in alphabetical/numerical order). Given those conditions, I believe this application will work better than a document feeder in my case.

Vuescan is pretty darned cool as well. Either of these apps will get me through a stack of photos a whole lot quicker than the software that came with my scanner!
MichaelS wrote on 5/14/2006, 9:05 PM
Unless you need a higher resolution for some serious track motion, I'd suggest considering this workflow.

I use a Canon R-350 Video Visualizer (a presentation camera) to load the shots directly with VidCap as a single frame. The Canon auto white balances/auto focuses, and it's WYSIWYG. No specs of dust or junk to clean up. I can do hundreds of pictures in an hour. Then, I bring them all into Photoshop, a quick crop, use an "Action" to automatically set the levels, save and you're done. If a repair is necessary, I'll do it while in PS.
Laurence wrote on 5/14/2006, 9:18 PM
That's not enough resolution to do Ultimate-S type animation. I really like the look of this type of moving montage.
bdub wrote on 5/15/2006, 11:59 AM
I use a Nikon D200 on a copy stand. Unless the photo is really warped and needs a piece of glass on top, I can shoot 20-30 per minute. I organize them by size and only change camera position/zoom/focus a few times through the whole batch. 500 photos through a flatbed would bore me to death.
All I can say is that if you are using a flatbed scanner to capture all those images, charge for your time. If you charge a flat rate for a job and then find out you're going to need to scan tons of images, you're probably making about as much as the person who sold you your Starbucks...except that they get pretty good benefits.
TeetimeNC wrote on 5/15/2006, 1:32 PM
bdub, I've used my Nikon D100 on a copy stand and find the flatbed scanner to be faster because with it I can scan multiple images per pass (usually 4-6) directly to my hard disk. Per earlier post, my scanner software automatically splits these into individual images.

I'm envious that you already have the D200. I have one on order but they are scarce these days.

-jerry