Flatbed scanner reviews
These pages on flatbed scanner reviews are being updated with benchmark tests of the Kodak CreoScitex EverSmart Supreme flatbed scanner and a 42” wide format reprographic scanner from HP. FLAAR offers insightful commentary on Imacon Flextight 848, Linotype-Hell Heidelberg flatbed scanners, Umax, Fujifilm FineScan 2750 and 5000 Lanovia flatbed scanners; tips, links to flatbed scanners from Microtek, Epson, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus 35mm slide film scanners, Screen, ICG, Purup-Eskofot, and other drum scanners as well as large format sheet fed scanners from HP, Contex, ACTion, plus scan to print systems.
The shining stars in prepress scanners today (2008) are the sophisticated scanners from Creo (Kodak) and Screen. Most other companies, such as Agfa, Fujifilm and Heidelberg, have dropped out of the scanner market.
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Updates 2008
FLAAR is completely redesigning this flatbed scanner review site, making it faster to load than the old design and adding new features. We are now adding info from attending DRUPA 2008 trade show for 14 days. There will be further updates after, Photokina 2008 (late Sept in Cologne, Germany), SGIA (late October). So please bookmark this site and return after each trade show for fresh information.
Our staff are working hard to update this site because 272,899 people visited this FLAAR web site on scanners in 2002. 283,454 readers came to this web site in 2003. This means that more people come to a FLAAR web site to find out what scanner to purchase than read all trade magazines put together.
The updates are in order to feature the several new scanners which arrived last year: a Creo EverSmart Supreme and an HP wide format 4200. A new Cruse giclee reprographic scanner was installed that year also, a $75,000 replacement for our other Cruse model which has been there for three years.
The only new flatbed scanner we have seen in several years is a wide-format flatbed scanner from Contex, 18 x 24 inches. We are considering adding coverage of this model later this year. This Contex COPYmate 18 scanner was shown at PMA 2006. We will see this 18" Contex scanner again at Photokina 2008 in Cologne, Germany.
With Agfa, Heidelberg, and Fuji having abandoned the high-end pre-press scanner market over the last two years, Creo (now owned by Kodak) is one of the few companies that we know of that has an international presence, is continually updating its software, and has new scanner models appearing on a regular basis. Konica-Minolta dropped their camera division in January 2006 and Umax has not appeared at a trade show for several years. So scanner manufacturers are fading fast.
This is a polite way of saying that other companies either have only one or two models, or no flatbed, or do not have an international presence. Since our reviews are read in over 42 countries we tend to discuss scanners that are available, with tech support, around the world.
Our scanner reviews are dedicated to the kind of scanner that would be useful in a photo archive, photo lab, library, museum, or any individual who really values and appreciates the highest quality. If you took your original photos with a Leica, Nikon, Hasselblad, large format camera, or other equally good camera, then you should look for a scanner that is as good as your original camera.
We have been testing and evaluating scanners of all sizes and shapes since the 1990's. The most recent scanner to arrive is an iQsmart1 from Creo. Our review is now available. We will compare it with the model 2 and model 3. Our review of the Creo EverSmart Supreme is already available in the FLAAR Reports series (see www.wide-format-printers.NET for all the publications). These scanners are still available from Kodak. I have visited their main factory in Israel and their demo room in Vancouver.
You can also learn more about these scanners directly from Kodak, via the Creo website (scanner@creo.com).
3D scanning now covered by this FLAAR review site
Since mere flatbed scanning of slides, chromes, and photographs is now standard operating procedure, we are expanding to cover 3-dimensional scanning, as well as continuing coverage of giclee scanning (scanning oil paintings and water-color paintings).
For 3D scanning we now have reports on 3D body scanning (see FLAAR Reports) and on a really impressive 3D scanner from Dr Wirth Gravursysteme, 6to5. It was possible to spend an entire day at their impressive facilities in Frankfurt, Germany, as well as visit their booth several times at DRUPA 2008. We hope to do test scans using this equipment in the future so that we can expand our coverage.
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Previously arrived (April 2004), a 42” wide format scanner from Hewlett-Packard, their HP DesignJet 4200. FLAAR is a leading independent institute for testing of scanners. You can’t bribe our graduate students: they just want to document which scanner works best and which scanner is a dud. Unfortunately this HP version of the Contex scanner was unsatisfactory.
HP now has new sheet-fed scanners and a new Designjet 4500 CAD and GIS printer.
If you wish to learn more about the HP wide format scanner(s), or any HP CAD printer, or RIP software, contact jlorusso@parrotcolor.com.
Creo EverSmart Supreme flatbed scanner arrives at FLAAR facility.
Dr Nicholas Hellmuth and staff associates will be undertaking scanning the immense FLAAR Photo Archive of 50,000 35mm, 8,000+ medium format negatives, and thousands of 4x5 chromes. Anne Behrnes has written up the whole experience of using a scanner of this level of quality.
If you are a museum, library, archive, photo lab, photographer, artist, or individual with good taste in scanners, you can also learn more about scanners for fine art photography, giclee, and other photographic needs by contacting imaging@parrotcolor.com.
This is the info contact for Parrot Digigraphic, a company that works with Epson printers, Canon cameras, and Kodak Creo scanners. If you have an interest in more information on flatbed scanners, you can learn about Kodak (Creo) products from Parrot Digigraphic. Contact imaging@parrotcolor.com.
So many scanner companies have gone belly up in the last several years.
Heidelberg , Agfa , Storm, and Polaroid. Both Heidelberg and Agfa got out of the scanner business. Too bad, we liked the Linocolor software on our two Heidelberg scanners. Of course the Agfa scanners were Microtek under the Agfa label and Microtek continues. The entry level Heidelberg were Umax under the Heidelberg label; Umax continues but they dropped some scanner lines and don’t have much new in the last three years.
Scanmate went over to Purup-Eskofot. Hard to keep track. Purup-Eskofot A/S and Barco Graphics NV merged towards the end of 2001. Esko-Graphics appears to be the new corporate identity. But since we don’t have a single scanner that they offer, we can’t say how they compare to the scanners that we know from daily use, namely the Creo EverSmart Supreme, Cruse copy stand scanner, and HP wide format sheet-fed scanner. The only prepress scanners at DRUPA were Creo , Screen, Fuji, and ICG.
It is notable that virtually every flatbed scanner company claims its scanners are as good as if not better than a drum scanner! Sounds like a drum scanner is the one to have if everyone admits a drum scan is unbeatable top quality.
Worst problem with scanners today is the shameless hype on dynamic range and using bit depth to claim unrealistic “quality.” The scanners that are truly good (Creo , Screen and comparable prepress brands) don’t have to lie with false specs.
If you are interested in learning which scanners produce true quality, you have come to the right place.
We know how to define quality, since we have used the Creo EverSmart Supreme. We are very curious to know if a drum scanner today can match, or beat, the quality of a Creo flatbed and its impressive software. Thus we hope to evaluate a drum scanner later this summer or autumn. Currently we have a 36x48 inch flatbed Cruse reprographic scanner in-house (all $ 150,000 of it). Also use two BetterLight tri-linear CCD scanning backs for large format digital photography.
However, if you are looking for a $100 scanner, we would recommend any of the commercial sites which will eagerly sell you an entry level desktop scanner. Sorry, we do not discuss low-bid nor entry level scanners at all, only scanners that do professional quality for people seriously interested in good scanners.The FLAAR Report service covers only professional scanners for prepress, photo labs, museums, and other places that need absolute top quality.
If you prefer our Premium FLAAR Reports on prepress scanners or how to scan for giclee fine art printing, these reports by Nicholas Hellmuth are now available!
Our readers say the reason they trust our reviews is because it is obvious we allow only the absolute best scanners in our facilities
Our benchmarking program works best when it is in-house; so unless we have a particular scanner in our facility, no way to include it. That’s why Cruse, Creo, and HP sent their scanners, so our digital imaging team could evaluate them. This is a professional service of our university. But, if a company is nervous about us having their scanner to benchmark, then, well, it’s kind of hard to write about it other than to comment on the brands and models that we do know work perfectly
FLAAR is an independent research institute, with a testing facility in Guatemala City.
FLAAR and its director, Dr Nicholas Hellmuth, are dedicated to scanning of 35mm, medium format, and large format negatives and transparencies. Our interest is to achieve scans good enough to reproduce on any or all of our twenty-seven large format inkjet printers, including our most recent addition, an HP Z3100. All the resulting reports are available on www.wide-format-printers.NET.
Most recently updated September 19, 2008. Previously updated March 8, 2006, Jan 17, 2005, Sept 16, 2004. Redesign May, 2004; updated June 29, 2004. May 27, 2004, Jan. 21, 2004, Oct. 23, 2003, April 27, 2004; previous redesign, April 2003, April 18, 2008.