Should you buy the Polaroid SprintScan 4000 or the nearly identical Microtek Artixscan AS4000? By offering an unprecedented 4000 dpi, Polaroid cleverly attempted to do an end run past the common 2700 dpi class of 35mm slide scanners such as Nikon LS2000.

By offering higher dpi, Polaroid could garner a higher price (and hence more profit). This clever move seems to have not been very successful, probably because anyone buying a cheap desktop slide scanner wants just that, a cheap desktop slide scanner. Anyone who seriously needs 4000 dpi is, either going to buy a 4000 dpi flatbed scanner, or is going to be dubious of why only Polaroid can tweak 4000 dpi out of what is presumably comparable scanning technology that Nikon and Canon have available.

A distinct advantage for the Polaroid scanner, that makes it many times handier than the Nikon scanner, is that Polaroid cleverly uses standard sized SCSI. Indeed Polaroid generously gives you two different SCSI outlets. Nikon provides only one miserly SCSI, and it is the thin narrow shape that is not common elsewhere. This means you may be stuck having to buy a special SCSI cabling for the Nikon (cables of course come with a new unit). So lots of plus points to Polaroid for providing the best SCSI outlet options of any desktop 35mm slide scanner.

No design awards to Polaroid. It is the size and shape of an elongated toaster. The color is okay. It took Polaroid about 2 years to realize that virtually no reviewer for any magazine liked the scanner software that was bundled with the model 4000. So Polaroid finally made the clever decision to offer SilverFast scanner software.

The back of the unit is uglier than any other side, but all we really care about is whether it works. I was very surprised not to find any lock-screws for holding down the scan mechanism for transport. All other scanners, both the Nikon 35mm slide scanner as well as all good flatbeds, generally have two places to lock the mechanism for transport.

Of course the FLAAR test center will find out eventually whether the 4000 dpi can surpass the Nikon CoolScan LS-2000. In the meantime, all reviews indicate that the Nikon at 2700 dpi is still better than the Polaroid (or the Microtek Artixscan AS4000 clone) with 4000 dpi. This is because dpi is only one measure of the value of a scanner; dpi is not a measure of quality as much as a measure of how large you can enlarge the image subsequently. The Polaroid (and the Microtek which uses the same insides) simply can't do as good with capturing the image in the darker portions of a picture. Thus you lose the detail (in other words everything which is dark turns into featureless black, where you can't distinguish what was pictured on the original slide or negative).

The Nikon is slightly better on the dark portions. If you really need to see into all portions of a 35mm slide, however, you need a drum scanner or at least a flatbed as good as the Creo EverSmart. I can take a normal 35mm slide, scan it with the Creo in the FLAAR evaluation studio, and enlarge that tiny image to a whopping 42 x 36 inches and print it on a large format digital printer (a Hewlett-Packard DesignJet 2800 CP wide format printer).

Since the Polaroid just arrived it will be a while before we have an opportunity to try it out, but as soon as we do we will report how we feel it compares in quality with the Nikon CoolScan LS-2000.

In the meantime, just e-mail us if you would like help in deciding which is the best slide scanner for serious professional use, e-mail readerservice@flaar.org. We regret that we are unable to answer questions on "what is the best $299 flatbed scanner" or "what is the best slide scanner for under $1000?" We review and recommend only equipment which is intended for professional use (actual professional use, not merely some ad agency's claim). If you are a prepress company, an educational institution, graphic artist, photographer, or otherwise need a seriously good scanner, we will be glad to help you find the appropriate model and a reputable place to obtain the optimal scanner for your needs.

Please do not ask us to decide for you whether you should buy the Polaroid, the Microtek, or the Nikon slide scanner...the Nikon has won all reviews so far... and hence we recommend the Nikon. Except, except when you have thousands of slides to scan, in which case you are wasting you time even with an auto-feeder (you still have to load each slide by hand!). If you need help in deciding which professional high-quality 35mm slide scanner (a polite way of saying a slide scanner better than Polaroid and better than the Nikon), you are welcome to send in an e-mail. There is no charge for this service from FLAAR

All this said and done, which scanner do you select if you wish to scan 10,000 old slides? First, forget trying to do this on any Epson, HP, or Microtek flatbed scanner. Their resolution is not high enough. Second, forget the illusion of the "automatic slide feeder" feature on any of the stand-alone 35mm slide scanners (in other words, if you have thousands of slides to scan you need a scanner made specifically for this situation).

Most every photographer, museum, or researcher has thousands of legacy slides. The colors are fading every year. But everyone expects to be able to scan them with some $1000 scanner. We even get people e-mailing us asking what $129 scanner can handle this!

The FLAAR Photo Archive has over 40,000 35mm color slides and several thousand B+W negatives that we need digitized. Thus you can believe that we have researched the situation thoroughly. First, be prepared to budget a reasonable amount. If you can only afford $2,000 your most effective move is to throw your old slides away and start all over again with a digital camera (except that it takes a Nikon D1 or better to reach the equivalent quality of a traditional 35mm slide on film ... indeed we use a $20,000+ digital camera solution).

To scan 35mm slides you need a bare minimum of 2400 dpi on a flatbed (or 2700 dpi in a stand-alone unit such as the Nikon CoolScan). Furthermore, the flatbed you select has to give full (honest) 2400 dpi across the entire bed. All cheap scanners give their highest resolution only down their "sweet spot," which is perhaps 4 inches wide down the center of the bed. Interpolated resolution is useless if you intend to do a professional job of digitizing your 35mm slides. Creo scanners give full dpi over the entire flatbed area (about 12x18 inches more or less.)

QmaxDigital sells color laser printers for desktop publishing, QmaxDigital.com.

Summary:

Pros: - The best SCSI outlets available (although I have not yet seen what the new Canon scanner offers on their 35mm slide scanner). - The SCSI outlets on the Polaroid are definitely a better solution than what Nikon offers. - Both PC and Mac software available with the unit. - Price today has dropped considerably. $1899 was the price in October, yet MacWarehouse was offering it at $1699 plus the $200 rebate (which was also available from everywhere else at the $1899 list price). Clearly the price war between Polaroid and Nikon was benefiting the consumer.

Cons: - Harder to find than the Nikon. Almost all major mail-order catalogs show the Nikon but only a few picture the Polaroid (yet you can often buy the Polaroid even if it is not officially pictured. DTP Direct, however, was unable to obtain a Polaroid. The one pictured in this review was purchased at Publisher's Toolbox. We got excellent rush-delivery (even though the Polaroid was not offered in their catalog). - Major negative factor is that SilverFast scanner software is not available for the Polaroid. SilverFast (from LaserSoft) is the best scanner software available for the normal user. SilverFast is readily available for the Nikon and is now available for the Polaroid as well. SilverFast is rarely bundled with any scanner, but most good mail-order companies sell SilverFast. It ain't cheap, because it is an outstanding scanner software, silverfast.com.