Good and cheap scanner

[MacGyver]

I've decided that I'm going to buy a scanner. I was going to have a few of my pictures scanned for JvaGuy's WinDrivers.Friends page, using one of those printing shops, and it was going to cost me a lot of money! I figure I could buy a scanner instead and do it myself for cheaper!

So any recommendations? I'm running 98SE so USB would be the preferred interface. I've seen lots of scanners for under $100 but are they worth it? I don't care about OCR, just scanning in 4x6 photos.

[Radical Dreamer]

I have used the visioneer brand alot and have had a great experience with their products, and they have the 5300 model with usb, 600x1200 res on pricewatch.com for $39 USD I would highly recommend this if you want a high quality cheap scanner. Great bang for buck

[SB]

Or HP 3300 - not quite as cheap but a good scanner under $100 and usb

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...ct_code=263040

[MacGyver]

I think I will avoid the HP 3300 - I discovered if you want Windows 2000 drivers, you have to PAY HP for the driver CD. They are not available for download from HP's site. So if I ever wanted to migrate to W2K, my scanner wouldn't be making the trip.

The Visioneer is certainly cheap (I found it for $69CDN) and W2K drivers are available, but are there any other recommendations?

[Sowulo]

Eeewwwww. I really don't like Visioneer--too many old headaches.

I've been using Microtek Scanners since the '80s and have never had a complaint, either with my own or from any of my customers. Check out their Web site for specs and features. I currently have a 3700 (now a Scanmaker 3750i). Oh, and Microtek is a Canadian company as well....

[AlienDyne]

Microtek and HP are both fine, but if you want an alternative solution you could check also Mustek ones. Those cheap USB ones made by Mustek are just very good and worth their money.

[GHSTECH]

I have installed over 50 of the Visioneer 7600 in a our high school with no problems, they work great and they are hard to beat for ease of use. they usually run $80-$99.

the canon u650 is also a great scanner, especially if you travel, because it pulls its power from the usb port, so it doesn't have to have an ac adapter and it is about 3/4 of an inch thick, so it is very portable. it cost in the $120-$150 range.

[bdunn]

If all you are scanning is 4x6 photos there are a couple of scanners specifally designed for that purposeI have a very nice polaroid acanner that is about the size of an external CD drive. it is parallel interface but I have seen USB photo scanners.

[valyard]

the visoneer 700 is great plus it has the slots for digital camera smat cards [both types]. for 150 dollars its one of the better investment ive made

[cyberhh]

I love my Agfa and Acer scanners, both less than $100, compatible with 95/98 and 2k (do not use ME, so I don't know) - do not like Mustec, visioneer, or a few others, but good luck - try epinions.com

[Radical Dreamer]

Originally posted by GHSTECH:
I have installed over 50 of the Visioneer 7600 in a our high school with no problems, they work great and they are hard to beat for ease of use. they usually run $80-$99.

the canon u650 is also a great scanner, especially if you travel, because it pulls its power from the usb port, so it doesn't have to have an ac adapter and it is about 3/4 of an inch thick, so it is very portable. it cost in the $120-$150 range.

This is the exact model that I have right now

[Shard92]

I also like the Mustek for a decent cheap scanner. We have had good luck with them. We don't sell a large volume however so.... We do use one here at the store and haven't really had many problems with the ones we have dealt with.

GLSmith

[MacGyver]

Well, thanks to all who gave their advice. After considering the information posted here, and reading countless reviews online (a lot of which made it seem like all scanners were awful) I decided on the HP Scanjet 2200c with a USB interface. Price was $134CDN (or about $80US) which was a bit more than I wanted to spend but cheaper models seemed, well, cheap.

This is a relatively new offering by HP. It's less than 5 lbs and only 2.4" high. It scans fairly quickly except when you crank the resolution to 600. Scans look very good compared to the original, except some lighter pics are too bright. But that's with default settings and I have yet to play with it a lot. People have reported that it will work just fine in W2K. You can see some of the pics I scanned by visiting JvaGuy's WinDrivers.Friends page and looking at my profile.