Preservation and Sharing Resources
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Considerations in Selecting an Image Scanner
Whether you intend to have your current photo and document collection scanned professionally or plan to do it yourself, there are still good reasons to develop your own scanning capability and skills.
● It is likely that some of your materials are not suitable to be scanned by someone else. Reasons may include actual or possible copyright issues, the delicate condition of some objects, or the intrinsic or monetary value of the object.
● Even after your collection is digitized, you will likely continue to add items as they become available. In order to update and maintain a digitized archive, it is often more efficient to simply scan a few new items as the need arises.
● There are likely to be situations where you will want to make a special scan for certain projects, perhaps a higher resolution for an extra large print.
Scanner Types
The choice of scanner type is heavily dependent on how the scanner will be used, and a balance of cost and functionality. Over the past few years, scanner capabilities have improved dramatically while the price of this additional capability has decreased. For a more detailed description of scanner types and options, visit the Ebay Scanner Buying Guide.
To scan photo prints, the two choices are a standalone scanner or an all-in-one multifunction machine with printing, scanning, and copying capability.
● The advantages of an all-in-one include saved workspace and the useful additional ability to make copies of certain items as needed.
● The advantages of a dedicated scanner are often speed and features.
Although maximum scanner resolution may not be as high in an all-in-one, moderate priced multifunction printer/scanner/copier machines still have plenty of capability for virtually all your non-professional needs.
On that rare occasion when you may need more scan resolution capability, you can still go to the local photo shop or send the image out to a professional scanning service.
Recommendation: For the above reasons, and for routine photo print and document scanning capability, my recommendation leans in the direction of a brand name photo quality all-in-one / multifunction machine.
To gain a sense for capabilities built into
multifunction machines and price ranges, visit
Amazon Multifunction Printer/Scanners.
For the day-to-day scanning and printing needs of a typical family or local historical society, a moderate priced multifunction machine should provide plenty of capability for a moderate price.
If you have specialized needs, such as a large print, slide or negative scanning project, or you are working with oversized documents, it makes sense to shop around locally or to use a professional scanning service, such as described in Scanning Photos and Documents. Ease of access and competitive pricing make these services worthy of serious consideration, particularly for larger projects.
