What flatbed scanner do you all recommend?

jay0791 · February 19, 2021 1:23PM

I am having trouble with my flatbed epson v37
it keeps coming up with not connected to scanner...

what do you guys have for scanner and recommend?

under $300 hopefully

LarkinCollector · February 19, 2021 1:41PM

Epson V600

ETA: I think mine was ~$200 new with delivery a few years back.

DBesse27 · February 19, 2021 1:45PM

@LarkinCollector said:
Epson V600

This. I have one and love it.

Copyboy1 · February 19, 2021 1:58PM

@LarkinCollector said:
Epson V600

ETA: I think mine was ~$200 new with delivery a few years back.

Same here. Love it.

KendallCat · February 19, 2021 2:50PM

Whichever one Grote uses. That thing is brighter than the sun, and can make a 1988 Topps card look like a box fresh 52 Topps!

NGS428 · February 19, 2021 3:45PM

Double Post...

NGS428 · February 19, 2021 3:47PM

@jay0791 said:
I am having trouble with my flatbed epson v37
it keeps coming up with not connected to scanner...

what do you guys have for scanner and recommend?

under $300 hopefully

Epson V600 is the recommendation. Please check out my scanning guide in my signature and let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Just scanned this one in...

jay0791 · February 19, 2021 4:11PM

Ty all

that is a super nice scan !!!!

baz518 · February 19, 2021 4:13PM

Is the V600 bed large enough to scan an entire 70s Topps rack? Header card and all?

LarkinCollector · February 19, 2021 4:31PM

@baz518 said:
Is the V600 bed large enough to scan an entire 70s Topps rack? Header card and all?

Send me a 70s rack and I'll be happy to check

Likely not, but if I find an acceptable A4 scanner to handle my Jumbo slabs, I'll be happy to share details.

jeffcbay · February 19, 2021 5:10PM

I've had the Epson v300 for a long time now and I love it. Never had a problem with it. The Epson v600 looks awesome too, and has me thinking about an upgrade.

NGS428 · February 19, 2021 5:15PM

@baz518 said:
Is the V600 bed large enough to scan an entire 70s Topps rack? Header card and all?

8.5” x 11.7” is the max scan area

hyperchipper09 · February 19, 2021 5:25PM

Epson V600. It's a monster.

jay0791 · February 21, 2021 9:11AM

Well apparently nobody has he epson v600 for sale and no backorder.
any other ideas even if more money?

KurtisJoseph · February 21, 2021 9:32AM

What model do you guys use for racks if they don’t fit on the V600?

jfkheat · February 21, 2021 9:47AM

I use the Canon Canoscan 9000f.

Dpeck100 · February 21, 2021 9:55AM

Epson V600

It has a setting that scans good enough for them to be used in the SMR.

Worth the investment.

NGS428 · February 21, 2021 11:45AM

@jay0791 said:
Well apparently nobody has he epson v600 for sale and no backorder.
any other ideas even if more money?

Looks like Adorama will have it in stock in a few days. You can add it to your cart now and checkout.

https://www.adorama.com/iesv600.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organicshopping&utm_source=adl-gbase-o

NGS428 · February 21, 2021 11:51AM

@KurtisJoseph said:
What model do you guys use for racks if they don’t fit on the V600?

Stepping into a large format scanner is much more expensive. $3k to $4k for these. PSA uses these for SecureScan.

https://epson.com/For-Work/Scanners/Photo-and-Graphics/Epson-Expression-12000XL-Graphic-Arts-Scanner/p/12000XL-GA

https://epson.com/For-Work/Scanners/Photo-and-Graphics/Epson-Expression-12000XL-Photo-Scanner/p/12000XL-PH

jay0791 · February 22, 2021 5:57AM

TY
I did find it on that website for similar prices a staples, ect.
Ordered it and hope it ships.
Other sites had it but a $100 more

Lefty · February 22, 2021 10:30AM

what everyone else says, Epson V600 is the ticket....even an old guy can operate it

LADODGERS4ITALL · February 22, 2021 11:36AM

EPSON V600 BY FAR

miwlvrn · February 22, 2021 12:26PM

@jay0791 said:
Well apparently nobody has he epson v600 for sale and no backorder.
any other ideas even if more money?

If you can't get the V600, then go for the earlier version like the Epson V300. It does a great job too.

jay0791 · February 22, 2021 1:30PM

TY

I did get a v600 ordered

NGS428 · February 22, 2021 5:41PM

@jay0791 said:
TY

I did get a v600 ordered

Great! I am glad you got one, you won’t regret it. Check out the guide in my signature if you like.

jay0791 · February 23, 2021 4:06AM

Very nice tutorial on scanning

jeffcbay · July 7, 2021 5:17PM

Sorry to kick up an old thread, but the other day I was scanning some cards and didn't realize my "Dust Removal" option was turned on by accident. Luckily I happened to noticed in time. Can you see the difference?

The middle of the "A" on the left edge, and the dashes along the right edge.

Dust Removal turned on:

Dust Removal turned off:

Ugh...

NGS428 · July 7, 2021 6:12PM

Thanks for posting the comparison. The missing elements of the card with the dust removal turned on look just like what happened to that Bird RC from Probstein in another recent thread.

Canes8387899101 · July 7, 2021 6:16PM

Staples has the Epson V600 in stock.
That was easy GIF should be included, but I'm lazy.

RufussCkingston · July 7, 2021 7:48PM

This may be a dumb question, but from what I can tell, the difference between the V300/V500/V600 and the non photo V30/V33/V37 is that the latter doesn't have the transparency lid, but still has a CCD image sensor.

Why are the only recommended ones those with the transparency top Lid (other than that the current V39 is a CIS sensor) Not like it's needed to scan slabs.

dictoresno · July 7, 2021 9:32PM

@RufussCkingston said:
This may be a dumb question, but from what I can tell, the difference between the V300/V500/V600 and the non photo V30/V33/V37 is that the latter doesn't have the transparency lid, but still has a CCD image sensor.

Why are the only recommended ones those with the transparency top Lid (other than that the current V39 is a CIS sensor) Not like it's needed to scan slabs.

I use a V370 which is practically the same as the V600 and will produce comparable scans for the layman for a cheaper price. it does produce prominent reflections for refractor type cards due to the LED's but I dont mind them. here are two examples of a refractor and non refractor scan using 600 dpi and raised gamma.

RufussCkingston · July 7, 2021 10:48PM

@dictoresno said:

I use a V370 which is practically the same as the V600 and will produce comparable scans for the layman for a cheaper price. it does produce prominent reflections for refractor type cards due to the LED's but I dont mind them. here are two examples of a refractor and non refractor scan using 600 dpi and raised gamma.

The V370 is just an upgraded V300 per se.... Still has the transparency lid right? I'm talking about the double digit model #'s.

NGS428 · July 8, 2021 6:57PM

@RufussCkingston said:
This may be a dumb question, but from what I can tell, the difference between the V300/V500/V600 and the non photo V30/V33/V37 is that the latter doesn't have the transparency lid, but still has a CCD image sensor.

Why are the only recommended ones those with the transparency top Lid (other than that the current V39 is a CIS sensor) Not like it's needed to scan slabs.

The recommendations are just based on the CCD technology. The V30/V33/V37 all have CCD as you mentioned. No issue with trying them, but they may produce the light bar effect mentioned.

Personally I would stick with 1 of the only 2 current models Epson has, V39 and V600. Scanners have a history of going unsupported, so getting the latest one is a smart play. Edit: The one being the v600.

RufussCkingston · July 8, 2021 11:24PM

@NGS428 said:

Personally I would stick with 1 of the only 2 current models Epson has, V39 and V600.

Careful there..... the V39 is a CIS !!

https://epson.com/For-Home/Scanners/Photo-Scanners/Epson-Perfection-V39-Scanner/p/B11B232201

Optical Density:
CIS (Contact Image Sensor)

RufussCkingston · July 9, 2021 1:06AM

Picked up a V30 off Craigslist for $30 to tinker around. Seems this one does give up the LED spots on the slab. Used the settings from the scanning guide with the lid up. But for some reason the scan seems a little muddied compared to the post a couple above of the refactors, where the flip is really crisp.

NGS428 · July 9, 2021 3:32AM

@RufussCkingston said:

@NGS428 said:

Personally I would stick with 1 of the only 2 current models Epson has, V39 and V600.

Careful there..... the V39 is a CIS !!

https://epson.com/For-Home/Scanners/Photo-Scanners/Epson-Perfection-V39-Scanner/p/B11B232201

Optical Density:
CIS (Contact Image Sensor)

Sorry, poor wording on my part. I mentioned selecting 1 of the current ones, so I clarified which one.

dictoresno · July 9, 2021 3:38AM

@RufussCkingston said:
Picked up a V30 off Craigslist for $30 to tinker around. Seems this one does give up the LED spots on the slab. Used the settings from the scanning guide with the lid up. But for some reason the scan seems a little muddied compared to the post a couple above of the refactors, where the flip is really crisp.

I have my gamma adjusted to 1.8 and exposure level set to high. try that. this made my scans look way better than the standard settings. here is a side by side comparison. top is increased gamma, bottom isn't. the slabs look more crisp, clear and darker whereas the other scan looks softer and less sharp/detailed.

NGS428 · July 9, 2021 8:11AM

@RufussCkingston said:
Picked up a V30 off Craigslist for $30 to tinker around. Seems this one does give up the LED spots on the slab. Used the settings from the scanning guide with the lid up. But for some reason the scan seems a little muddied compared to the post a couple above of the refactors, where the flip is really crisp.

Yes, there does seem to be a loss of detail on the V30 scan.

@dictoresno said:
I have my gamma adjusted to 1.8 and exposure level set to high. try that. this made my scans look way better than the standard settings. here is a side by side comparison. top is increased gamma, bottom isn't. the slabs look more crisp, clear and darker whereas the other scan looks softer and less sharp/detailed.

I prefer a gamma of 2.2 and an auto exposure right at the middle value, but I am using the V600. I have seen (as shown below) an oversaturation of color and resulting loss of detail if the gamma is at 1.8. Personal preference. I review this on page 12 of my guide. I always check back to see how the card looks in hand and try to match that to the scan. The deeper colors of 1.8 may look nicer, but when I compared to the card in hand they were not accurate.

Gamma 2.2

Gamma 1.8

RufussCkingston · July 9, 2021 11:23AM

Just curious, how is the led light diodes different on the v600/500 so that they don't give off the dot reflection on the slab? Or is it in some hardware processing. Since the scans posted from the V370 have the dots reflections as well, I'd assume a v300 would have the same issue (plus it is the counterpart to my v30)

NGS428 · July 9, 2021 12:23PM

@RufussCkingston said:
Just curious, how is the led light diodes different on the v600/500 so that they don't give off the dot reflection on the slab? Or is it in some hardware processing. Since the scans posted from the V370 have the dots reflections as well, I'd assume a v300 would have the same issue (plus it is the counterpart to my v30)

Good question. Nothing in the specs between the 2 models explains it. I have reached out to Epson, we shall see if they reply…

dictoresno · July 9, 2021 8:22PM

@NGS428 said:

@RufussCkingston said:
Just curious, how is the led light diodes different on the v600/500 so that they don't give off the dot reflection on the slab? Or is it in some hardware processing. Since the scans posted from the V370 have the dots reflections as well, I'd assume a v300 would have the same issue (plus it is the counterpart to my v30)

Good question. Nothing in the specs between the 2 models explains it. I have reached out to Epson, we shall see if they reply…

its probably the size of the LED's or their placement/separation distance. the V600 may have more LED's, or a continuous strip as opposed to less on the V370 spread out across the element. the closer they are, the less bars will appear and they will blend to form a single strip of light. you can see in my pictures of the V370 in action, there are 17 or so individual LED's that produce a hot spot around each, creating the jail bar effect.

NGS428 · July 10, 2021 3:44AM

Thanks for the pics of the V370, I have not seen the type of light the bar produces. When I scan with my V600 I can not make out the individual LEDs. Below are some pics of it while scanning..

dictoresno · July 10, 2021 5:01AM

@NGS428 said:
Thanks for the pics of the V370, I have not seen the type of light the bar produces. When I scan with my V600 I can not make out the individual LEDs. Below are some pics of it while scanning..

well, there's the answer to that.

estang · July 10, 2021 10:23AM

Epson V600 for me as well. Great scanner!

RufussCkingston · July 11, 2021 2:46PM

Forgot that I have a couple of $100 amex Dell credits, so put in an order.

What about the SilverFast SE 8 software that you get a serial number for. I know in the guide it talks about VueScan, but what about this "freebie"?

NGS428 · July 11, 2021 4:13PM

@RufussCkingston said:
Forgot that I have a couple of $100 amex Dell credits, so put in an order.

What about the SilverFast SE 8 software that you get a serial number for. I know in the guide it talks about VueScan, but what about this "freebie"?

I have it installed but have never used it. The stock software worked fine, so I didn’t go any further with silverfast. If I ever get super super bored I may give it a shot….

Xara · February 9, 2022 9:42AM

Hi! I want to buy a scanner for scanning PSA-graded cards. I am considering scanners from the list NGS428 made, such as Epson V37, V370 and V600. The V37 is the cheapest and the V600 the most expensive. Is there any other difference between those scanners to make me choose one over the other? I am particularly worried about not exposing my cards to harmful light. Does any of those scanners have a less intense light source or lower UV emission?

Thank you for your advice in advance!

NGS428 · February 9, 2022 9:45AM

@Xara said:
Hi! I want to buy a scanner for scanning PSA-graded cards. I am considering scanners from the list NGS428 made, such as Epson V37, V370 and V600. The V37 is the cheapest and the V600 the most expensive. Is there any other difference between those scanners to make me choose one over the other? I am particularly worried about not exposing my cards to harmful light. Does any of those scanners have a less intense light source or lower UV emission?

Thank you for your advice in advance!

The V600 has a higher density/more LEDs than the other models.

Really the biggest different is the light streaks you see when you scan with a non V600. You will see that in my guide.

Xara · February 9, 2022 9:57AM

Thank you very much for your quick reply. If the light streaks are the only issue with the V37, I probably go with a used unit of this model first. The V600 is currently 10x more expensive compared to a used V37. Maybe further down my collection career I will get the more professional V600.

hyperchipper09 · February 9, 2022 10:55AM

I think I mentioned before:
Epson V600. It's a monster.

RufussCkingston · February 9, 2022 3:01PM

If you need a scanner to scan graded cards for the purpose of selling, then you have no excuse to not get a V600 (well, I guess unless you are selling $10 slabs!), it's called the cost of doing business.... For the most part, the reason why the cheaper scanners don't work is because the LED bar is a series of little round lights that show up in the scanned image reflection. The V600 has a SOLID LED light bar which makes all the difference.

What flatbed scanner do you all recommend?

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