We work hard to make our comments on flatbed scanners and scanner useful, factual, informative, and independent. Elsewhere in the FLAAR Information Network we also cover digital cameras related large format digital imaging hardware and software.

Pseudo Reviews

Pseudo reviews will praise anything that comes in a PR release, so we don't accept that kind of advertising.

How can you recognize a pseudo review? Well generally its written by a person who may not actually use the product. Or if so, only for long enough to write the article. If the review cites, quotes, or uses any of the company's own photos, images, or hype, then you can suspect it's a result of the companies PR department masquerading as a review. If a review fails to list substantive weaknesses, you might wonder who really wrote the material and what their agenda was.

If a review fails to list, mention, and identify nice features of other competing products, then you can suspect that the "review" is a plant by one company to tout their own products.

FLAAR reviews of flatbed scanners are comparative

Our review policy is, where possible, to offer the reader a wide range of potential solutions. This is possible because we do not sell any one particular line of scanners. Besides, FLAAR does not earn commissions on sales.

So you will learn about the good features of many different scanners plus the occasional glitches and weak points as well.

FLAAR reviews of scanners have bite

We feel strongly that people who are about to spend their hard-earned money deserve an honest appraisal of what they are about to get stuck with. Frankly it is amazing there have not been more class action lawsuits against the shameless hype which claims breathtaking speed and utmost quality.

With scanners the usually sleaze comes out in hyping the bit depth and dynamic range. Other pathetic hype comes in over zealous claims that "our product equals a drum scan."

No matter whether a company loans us the product, gives us the product, or has no interest in letting their product near our hard working review staff, we still do our best to track down pertinent information.

Some companies assume that by providing their products they get an automatically favorable review. Sorry, two different wide format printers failed to meet our standards (Epson 7500 and HP 1055cm). Both had unacceptable levels of horizontal banding defects.

But we like the HP DesignJet model 5000 so much we have two of them, one at each university.

Plus we hear that the better Epson scanners are excellent for their price point. Plus we feel the Epson 10000 offers an impressive quality in wide format output.

Our readers note quickly that we don't put up with the ridiculous claims and misleading hype that the advertisers use to bamboozle potential buyers.

If a manufacturer gets upset, all we have to do is show them the federal laws on misleading advertising. It's amazing how few product managers have read the rules of the road.

Yes, of course your corporate lawyers will tell you to sue. That way the lawyers make all the profit. But usually the company ads are the Achilles' heal; making dubious claims. Occasionally the product's defects are rather serious, to the point that end users might someday get seriously upset. It never pays to have irate end users who paid money for a defective product, or a product which claimed features that, well, perhaps it did not really possess in the manner the ads claimed.

And what product managers always forget, it's not so much what you claim is positive, it's all the regrettable bad habits of your product that were kept hidden, all these many years. Such as banding printhead clogging, wastage of ink and media, all the hidden costs that buyers are not informed of, including all your buyers of the last multitude of years.

It is not our fault if some printers are more user friendly, print on more media than other brands. It is not our fault that the competing printers are ink guzzlers, are slow beyond belief, and tend to band or drop out colors all together. We don't need to be paid by the printer companies whose products work so nicely in both our universities on a daily basis. And actually we do try to find some redeeming feature in the slow, ink gulping brands: they do have a better dithering pattern; they can take thick media that absolutely won't work in an HP. So we do work hard at finding the beneficial features even of printers are otherwise get the most critique from our readers. Over one million people will read the FLAAR Information Network in the next 12 months; 480,000 people will be exposed to our reports on wide format printers from combined total of our three sites on these themes. You can be assured that we hear plenty of comments from our readers about which printers function, and which printers fail to achieve what their advertising hype so loudly claims.

FLAAR tries to have enough staff to handle our readers

A staff of about 25 people work at both universities. You can check out what is going on with FLAAR at Bowling Green State University or FLAAR at Francisco Marroquin University by following those links.

We hope you let us know when our reviews helped you

If you wish to make the gesture to let us know that our reviews led you to a good choice, we like to learn about this.

Plus sometimes we maybe did not fully understand your specific needs and background (beginner or pro), So occasionally people may end up with the wrong product. Or you may actually have purchased the appropriate product, but it was made on Monday and has a flaw. In this case, return it and demand a replacement.

But what usually happens is that it's not necessarily the product which is bad or inadequate. Usually there is poor service or tech support. And the leading cause of initial discontent is the learning curve. We sometimes get a frantic letter one week after they bought something, "disaster, it won't do this, that, or whatever…"

Then a month later, "wow, I am getting fabulous images; my clients love the work…"

Every single e-mail which arrives is read. We can't always answer in person, but we do read and pay attention to what you say.

How we select recommended sources

We hear so many sad stories of people who bought from the wrong place. Usually no tech support, and most often the seller did not actually use the product: they were just sales reps trying to earn their living.

That's why we don't recommend you buy your scanner from Office Depot or even MacZone, Mac Connection, or comparable PC outlets. People are friendly, but they are not usually prepress savvy.

Scanners are commodity items; everyone wants low-bid price. But that is asking for trouble, because no way that you can get adequate tech support if you buy low-bid on the Internet. Thus we devote time and effort to finding places where the people know digital imaging hardware and software. Yes, you will not get steep discounts, but if you buy at discount, and then later go to a recommended place in desperation, please realize that there is not much they can do at this point.

For Creo scanners we recommend Parrot Digigraphic (parrotcolor.com) because they have access directly to Creo . Parrot also handles Nikon and Epson scanners. E-mail Dan Hunt, imaging@parrotcolor.com.

It's very tough to find resellers of the excellent series of scanners from FujiFilm Electronic Imaging. As soon as we find a place we will let you know.

If you need special help

If you need long-term assistance, or if you need direct help in person, then you should contract Dr Nicholas Hellmuth as a consultant. If your needs are outside his areas of expertise, he will suggest someone else, or at least someone will reply with a note that your needs are not covered by any FLAAR program.

Please remember: no consulting by phone nor e-mail until either you have an appointment to come to our facilities or we have flown to wherever you are (Dr Hellmuth consults auf Deutsch, en español, and naturally in English). He has served as consultant in Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, India, and across the USA. Once the initial day's consulting rate has been paid, then follow-up is available by phone or e-mail at your preference, or additional visits if you wish.

Professor Hellmuth has been consultant for new product development by some of the leading names in digital imaging.

Nicholas has been called by Fortune 500 companies to assist them in figuring out what digital imaging hardware and software to purchase, especially what large format inkjet printers.

Initial contact for professional consulting should be by e-mail CustomerService@FLAAR.org. This is exclusively for professional consulting. We do not respond to other inquiries sent to these specific contact points.

If you wish a FLAAR report on scanners, please use the regular Request Form at the Contact link.

If you wish a FLAAR report on wide format printers, you can see all 50 reports on the new site, wide-format-printers.NET.

If you need help with digital photography, you can download any of the FLAAR syllabuses free on digital-photography.org.

Acknowledgments

Scanners have been provided by Creo , Cruse and Heidelberg. SilverFast scanner software has been provided by LaserSoft Imaging.

FLAAR has received laser printers from Lexmark, QMS, and CGG. FLAAR has received inkjet printers at its university facilities from Canon, ColorSpan, Encad, Epson USA, Parrot Digigraphic, Hewlett-Packard, Mimaki, and an IRIS giclee printer from ITNH. RIPs have been sent by about half the leading RIP manufacturers including BEST, ErgoSoft, PerfectProof, PosterShop, PosterJet, Wasatch, and others. Inkjet media has been sent by IJ Technologies, Canon, Fredrix, Epson, ColorSpan, HP, Tal, 3P Inkjet Textiles and other companies.

FLAAR is also a beta tester for the rollout turntable accessories for BetterLight tri-linear scanning backs.

We do not ask for a printer, scanner or software until we have checked it out at trade shows and learned from end users which printers offer pertinent capabilities.

To provide the attractive design of the web sites and to work at improving the navigation through such a large information system we have requested grants from pertinent companies. The three full time web designers and their support staff are a direct result of the research funding from Scarab Graphics, ColorDNA, ColorSpan, Parrot Digigraphic, Improved Technologies as well as a research grants from Hewlett-Packard and Canon.

FLAAR also covers it's costs of maintaining the immense system of 12 web sites in three languages and its two university facilities in part by serving as a consultant such as assisting inkjet manufacturers learn more about the pros and cons of their own printers as well as how to improve their next generation of printers. FLAAR also serves as consultants to Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies and individuals who seek help on which printers to consider when they need digital imaging hardware and software. FLAAR provides marketing data to manufacturers to help them learn how to improve their printers and software. When you write and tell us what is wrong with a printer or software, this helps us let the manufacturers know what glitches to get rid of and where to add better features next time.

Grants, demonstration equipment, and training are supplied from all sides of the spectrum of printer equipment and software engineering companies. Thus, there is no incentive to favor one faction over another. Every printer, RIPs, inks, or media we have reviewed have good points in addition to weaknesses.

Fortunately the two universities cover most of the operating costs on their campus, so our budget is lean and cost effective as you would expect for a nonprofit research institute. Thus we do not really have much incentive to pocket hush money from producers of lousy products nor special funding from companies who make the better products. We feel that the pros and cons of each product speak more than adequately for themselves. Just position the ad claims on the left: put the actual performance on the right. The unscrupulous hype is fairly evident rather quickly. Does not take any money to see which printers function as advertised and which don't. We saw one hyped printer grind to a halt, malfunction, or otherwise public ally display its incapability's at several tradeshows in a row. At each of those same tradeshows another brand had over 30 of their printers in booths in virtually every hall, each one producing museum quality exhibits. Not our fault when we report what we see over and over and over again. One of our readers wrote us recently, "Nicholas, last month you recommended the …… as one of several possible printers for our needs; we bought this. It was the best capital expenditure we have made in the last several years. Just wanted to tell you how much we appreciate your evaluations…."

We appreciate grants from any reputable company whose product is an accepted industry standard. Competing companies are equally encouraged to support the FLAAR system. We feel that readers ought to have access to competing information. Competition is the cornerstone of American individualism and technological advancement.