Modern Scanner Selection

[J0my]

Ok so been doing some thinking (I procrastinate like a bitch) and have narrowed it down to Canon LiDE 220 or the Epson v37 perfection, they are both pretty much the same price, but the the cannon has a CIS sensor and the Epson a CCD, which would mean it should be reasonable for foils, from what I can see the Canon 9000F MKII is so expensive is due to its print and film capabilities which is not needed for card scanning at all is it?

[woogerboy21]

Ok so been doing some thinking (I procrastinate like a bitch) and have narrowed it down to Canon LiDE 220 or the Epson v37 perfection, they are both pretty much the same price, but the the cannon has a CIS sensor and the Epson a CCD, which would mean it should be reasonable for foils, from what I can see the Canon 9000F MKII is so expensive is due to its print and film capabilities which is not needed for card scanning at all is it?

I purchased the Epson perfection before getting the Canon LiDE. It was worse than the LiDE. Took it back immediately. If you choose to try that one I hope you get a better one than I did. There is a number of factors involved with getting a good scan, not just the scan sensor. One big factor is power source. The usb only powered scanners often have a very high signal to noise ratio resulting less than adequate scans.

[J0my]

Well crap, looks like the 9000f is back on the table lol, so back at square one

[J0my]

Ok getting back to you all, decided to just say screw it and bought the canon 9000F MKII on the positive view you all have it where as the others are abit murky. Got it on Canons store which was cheaper then the e-outlets, which was odd to me, probably have it at the end of this week or start of the next. I actually have a MTG to play when people come round that play that game so I can do some test scans on that for you guys to look at as you are all more intimately more familiar with those types of scans ^_^

Also just want to say a big thanks, I did not expect to get the amount of helpful replies from you all, thanks for helping the pleb I shall post again when I have some scans for you to look at!

[StuHL232]

Ok getting back to you all, decided to just say screw it and bought the canon 9000F MKII on the positive view you all have it where as the others are abit murky. Got it on Canons store which was cheaper then the e-outlets, which was odd to me, probably have it at the end of this week or start of the next. I actually have a MTG to play when people come round that play that game so I can do some test scans on that for you guys to look at as you are all more intimately more familiar with those types of scans ^_^

Also just want to say a big thanks, I did not expect to get the amount of helpful replies from you all, thanks for helping the pleb I shall post again when I have some scans for you to look at!

How are your scans coming along? To answer your original question 7th Sea is out of print as of early 2002... right when Warlord was picking up.

[woogerboy21]

Has anyone played with document camera scanners?

[skibulk]

Does anybody have a CCD scanner with a tube light (not LED)? I have a theory that they may produce better foil scans. I'd really like to see a scan from an HP ScanJet G3110.

[woogerboy21]

Does anybody have a CCD scanner with a tube light (not LED)? I have a theory that they may produce better foil scans. I'd really like to see a scan from an HP ScanJet G3110.

What do you mean by "tube light"?
The primary scanner I was using for scans is this:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/ ... B11B176011

Its CCD and cold cathode fluorescent (which is a tube).

[skibulk]

What do you mean by "tube light"?

I mean Cold Cathode fluorescent / xenon fluorescent / anything that isn't LED.

How do your foil scans come out? Do you get blue or red color casts? Do you have to rotate the cards to find a white reflection?

Does it work on Windows 7? 8? 10?

[kudit]

Have my foil scans not come out well? I haven't had any of the issues that I see with the from the vault scans.

[skibulk]

What is your scanner Kudit?

Here are examples of good (white) and bad (pink or blue) reflections in foil scans. Rotating the cards cause different color reflections.

[kudit]

CanoScan LiDE 210

Check the judge promos I scanned. I haven't had any of the pink/blue issues with foils. If anything, the foiling doesn't really stand out and watermark is the only thing indicating the foulness.

Edit: added link to judge promo scan.
Edit again: Removed link since it's a 17.6MB file.

[kudit]

Another example I just scanned (and sorry about the scratch, but it was free, so...):
http://www.deckmaster.info/images/scans ... lease.jpeg

[skibulk]

Your foil scans are "usable" Kudit, and we are grateful to have them. We have been "settling" for usable scans for years now. Basically we do not have a source for "perfect" scans any more, so we work with what we have. Just look at how beautiful the old scans on Magic Librarities are.

I have given incorrect advice in the past, so take this with a grain of salt. Basically this is what I think I know based on my observations and research.

A scanner's sensor and light source determine quality. There are two main types of sensors: CIS (Contact Image Sensor) and CCD (Charged Coupled Diode). The major advantage of a CCD sensor is a wider range of focus. You can scan graded cards through thick plastic cases. Light sources include Cold Cathode Fluorescent Tube Lamps, White LED, and RGB LED. Fluorescent lamps have distributed light while LEDs have concentrated light. Fluorescent lamps take several seconds to warm up and are being replaced by instant-on, cheaper LED technology. It is difficult to find a CCD Fluorescent scanner with drivers for Windows 7, 8, or 10.

A light source is placed to the side of the image sensor. An angle is placed between the light source and the image sensor to ensures that direct light rays are reflected away to reduce glare on matte surfaces. In the case of concentrated LED light sources on highly reflective surfaces (Such as pre-release date stamps) all light is reflected away and the surface appears black. RGB LED light sources would be the worst for foil scanning since the individual colors can contribute to colored reflections. I theorize that Fluorescent light sources require different angles and proximity to the scanner glass. Since they are also a more diffused source of light, they produce high quality foil scans with low color casting.

People have tried placing a barrier between the cards and the scanner. Matte acetate, lamination film, anti-glare plexiglass, matte screen protectors, etc. These serve to diffuse the reflected light so that some of it actually reaches the light sensor. You get the right appearance, but the image is blurred and the quality of the scan is compromised.

I was not around the forums when our founding members were scanning "Perfect" foils. But it seems to me that they never had color casting issues and their date stamps were never black. Here is a short summary of scanners:

Skibulk
CanoScan 9000F Mark II - Verified Usable
CCD LED
Usable for foils, moderately difficult to achieve white foil reflections

Woogerboy21
Epson Perfection 4490 Photo Scanner - Verified Usable
CCD Fluorescent
Usable for foils, moderately difficult to achieve white foil reflections

PresetM
Cannon CanoScan 9950F - Probably Usable
CCD Fluorescent
Windows 7 Drivers Only
Unknown foil characteristics

Kudit
CanoScan LiDE 210 - Not Verified
Unknown foil characteristics

Tenminutegod? or Teppic?
CanoScan LiDE 220 - Not Verified
Unknown foil characteristics

These look promising, but are not confirmed good or bad:
Canon CanoScan 8600F
HP Scanjet G3110
Diffraction Grating - I wonder this might work since it's a clear material (vs a cloudy matte surface).

[skibulk]

I tried different kinds of diffraction gratings and they didn't do much.