A3 Flatbed Scanner Recommendations

yelmarb · Aug 1, 2021

I'm in the market for a quality A3 flatbed scanner to scan prints only. Ideally I would like a new model with a USB connection. I've seen the Epson 12000XL scanner but winced at the price, it's also had some differing reviews which makes me nervous about spending that amount of money.

I'm less inclined to do the camera copy stand setup as the amount of desk space with lights etc that it will take up is not appealing.

Can anyone recommend a good A3 flatbed scanner?

Alan Edward Klein · Aug 2, 2021

What do you intend to do with the scans?

yelmarb · Aug 2, 2021

Alan Edward Klein said:
What do you intend to do with the scans?

Make high resolution digital files of color prints.

wiltw · Aug 2, 2021

What I could find on the topic...

https://www.thescannershop.com/a3-scanners/

but most seem to be 'document scanners' and not 'photo scanners'
The Canon 9000F could scan photos, and I know about it because it was the successor to my 8800F, but could only handle A3, or the Epson 12000X, which seems to be the sole scanner capable of 11x17" at $4000... Yet it seems that scanners related to photographys/negatives/slides has been a shrinking market segment with fewer and fewer products being offered.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-photo-scanners

"Though they are geared to photo scanning, most photo scanners can also be used for general-purpose scanning, and some include optical character recognition (OCR) software for digitizing the occasional document. This is a niche segment of the hardware market; you will see relatively few models of photo scanner on the market, and they tend to have very long shelf lives. (As you click through our models chosen above, you'll note that many were reviewed years and years ago. Yes, they're still the current models.)"
'

yelmarb · Aug 2, 2021

wiltw said:
What I could find on the topic...

https://www.thescannershop.com/a3-scanners/

but most seem to be 'document scanners' and not 'photo scanners'
The Canon 9000F could scan photos, and I know about it because it was the successor to my 8800F, but could only handle A3.. But it seems that scanners related to photographys/negatives/slides has been a shrinking market segment with fewer and fewer products being offered.
'

Thanks for that. I was really after some personal recommendations. I'm guessing the Epson 12000XL is what I need but was hoping there might be a cheaper option.

wiltw · Aug 2, 2021

Rather than find an A4 capable scanner (which is very expensive), I think I would photograph an existing print using a dSLR!

At the 4800 ppi that scanners use for prints, you could equal the pixel count with a 30MPixel dSLR.

yelmarb · Aug 2, 2021

wiltw said:
Rather than find an A4 capable scanner (which is very expensive), I think I would photograph an existing print using a dSLR!

I did think of that but unfortunately I don't have the desk space needed for an A3 reflective artwork copy stand setup.

wiltw · Aug 2, 2021

yelmarb said:
I did think of that but unfortunately I don't have the desk space needed for an A3 reflective artwork copy stand setup.

mount the photo vertically, and phtograph it with camera on tripod!

yelmarb · Aug 2, 2021

wiltw said:
mount the photo vertically, and phtograph it with camera on tripod!

Thank you for the input, but I'm not wanting to use a camera setup. Just looking for recommendations on an A3 flatbed scanner.

Alan Edward Klein · Aug 2, 2021

Why don;t you email the photo conservation department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Met. They have a photo conservation department and could give you recommendations. There's also a lot of information here that might help you. Good luck.
Photograph Conservation | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

yelmarb · Aug 2, 2021

Alan Edward Klein said:
Why don;t you email the photo conservation department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Met. They have a photo conservation department and could give you recommendations. There's also a lot of information here that might help you. Good luck.
Photograph Conservation | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

Thanks Alan, any notable museum would be using the Phase One Cultural Heritage System or something similar for their reproduction work. I'm just looking for recommendations on a home office A3 scanner to produce high resolution files of A3 color prints.

Does anyone own an A3 scanner that they could recommend?

Alan Edward Klein · Aug 2, 2021

Here's a review of scanners. Top 11 Best Photo Scanners in 2021 (Recommended) (archfoundation.org)
The Best Photo Scanners for 2021 | PCMag

Alan Edward Klein · Aug 2, 2021

The specs for the V600 seems wrong on one of the reviews above Top 11 Best Photo Scanners in 2021 (Recommended) (archfoundation.org)

I believe its 8 1/2 x 11.

wiltw · Aug 3, 2021

yelmarb said:
Thank you for the input, but I'm not wanting to use a camera setup. Just looking for recommendations on an A3 flatbed scanner.

As I have said, fewer scanners today than 10 years ago. Although now discontinued, you could look for a Canon 9000F scanner which some place might still have as existing new stock; I have a Canon 8800F and used to own 8000F....I wish the 8000F were supported with current O/S, as I could scan 4x5 transparencies, not possible on 8800F.! The Epson V600 is suggested as a current alternative to the discontinued Canon line.

wiltw · Aug 3, 2021

Alan Edward Klein said:
The specs for the V600 seems wrong on one of the reviews above Top 11 Best Photo Scanners in 2021 (Recommended) (archfoundation.org)

I believe its 8 1/2 x 11.

B&H has the V600 specs listed as "Maximum Scan Area: 8.5 x 11.7""

cramej · Aug 3, 2021

yelmarb said:
I'm in the market for a quality A3 flatbed scanner to scan prints only. Ideally I would like a new model with a USB connection. I've seen the Epson 12000XL scanner but winced at the price, it's also had some differing reviews which makes me nervous about spending that amount of money.

I'm less inclined to do the camera copy stand setup as the amount of desk space with lights etc that it will take up is not appealing.

Can anyone recommend a good A3 flatbed scanner?

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...abloid-scan-large-photographic-prints.185008/

Any of the Epson A3 scanners will do. Ebay UK has a plethora of them.

alanrockwood · Aug 6, 2021

How about using a smaller format scanner, scan the photos in pieces, and then stitch them using software? I have done this on large documents, and it worked quite well. I haven't tried it with pictorial pictures.

Anaxagore · Aug 7, 2021

For the sake of competition vs Epson: Doesn’t Microtek still manufacture some A3 scanner, the ArtixScan 3200XL ? I’m sure the true resolution is much less than the advertised one, but that’s a possible, currently manufactured, alternative to the Epson.

wiltw · Aug 7, 2021

Anaxagore said:
For the sake of competition vs Epson: Doesn’t Microtek still manufacture some A3 scanner, the ArtixScan 3200XL ? I’m sure the true resolution is much less than the advertised one, but that’s a possible, currently manufactured, alternative to the Epson.

Scantek indeed offers an A3 scanner that handles films and paper print, but you need $3000 in your wallet to buy one, Scantek ScanMaker 1000XL Plus
Scantek ArtixScan 3200XL only costs $10800

Hard to compete vs the Epson V600 at $230, or even the V850 at $1150
There is also the Plustek A320 at $550

Alan Edward Klein · Aug 7, 2021

wiltw said:
Scantek indeed offers an A3 scanner that handles films and paper print, but you need $3000 in your wallet to buy one, Scantek ScanMaker 1000XL Plus

Scantek ArtixScan 3200XL only costs $10800

Hard to compete vs the Epson V600 at $230, or even the V850 at $1150

My V600 has ICE which will correct colors from faded prints. It also has ICE which correct tears, creases, on prints as well as color film but not BW film.

It even added in colors that weren't apparent in my underwater shots that tend to be bluer due to water absorbs color light rays. Here are samples.

Scuba_07 by Alan Klein, on Flickr

Album: Scuba Journey - 35mm Film | Flickr
Scuba Working - 35mm Film | Flickr

Cholentpot · Aug 16, 2021

I'm going to hijack this thread a bit instead of starting a new thread if OP doesn't mind.

I've inherited my family collection of negatives and prints. I've worked my way through most of the negatives but I need to scan the prints as many of them do not have negatives associated with them. Most are smaller prints and snapshots. Will a basic Twain/document scanner do the job or does someone have suggestions for me to get something that'll do a far better job. It's going to be a tedious job but someone's got to to it and that someone is going to be me.

Auer · Aug 16, 2021

Cholentpot said:
I'm going to hijack this thread a bit instead of starting a new thread if OP doesn't mind.

I've inherited my family collection of negatives and prints. I've worked my way through most of the negatives but I need to scan the prints as many of them do not have negatives associated with them. Most are smaller prints and snapshots. Will a basic Twain/document scanner do the job or does someone have suggestions for me to get something that'll do a far better job. It's going to be a tedious job but someone's got to to it and that someone is going to be me.

Almost any basic modern name brand scanner will work for prints.
A $200 Epson V600 is a decent cheap option that also will do negatives, 35mm and 120. Comes with ok software too and a free copy of Silverfast 8.

wiltw · Aug 16, 2021

Cholentpot said:
I'm going to hijack this thread a bit instead of starting a new thread if OP doesn't mind.

I've inherited my family collection of negatives and prints. I've worked my way through most of the negatives but I need to scan the prints as many of them do not have negatives associated with them. Most are smaller prints and snapshots. Will a basic Twain/document scanner do the job or does someone have suggestions for me to get something that'll do a far better job. It's going to be a tedious job but someone's got to to it and that someone is going to be me.

Taken from this article:
https://www.lifewire.com/scanner-buying-guide-2769187

"Photo Scanners
Scanning documents doesn't require high resolution or color depth, but scanning photos does. Many all-purpose scanners scan photos, meaning that you don't need a separate device to handle your photographs. If you only use a scanner to digitize film negatives or slides, a photo scanner is a better deal. However, it may be more expensive than an all-purpose scanner.

Photo scanners include specialized technology that deals with slides and negatives. These scanners also offer built-in software to clean up old photos. The Epson FastFoto FF-640 scanner, for example, is a great photo scanner. It costs a bit more than an average scanner or printer. Photo scanners like these come with adapters for scanning slides and negatives and scan at higher resolutions than other types of scanners."

Cholentpot · Aug 16, 2021

Auer said:
Almost any basic modern name brand scanner will work for prints.
A $200 Epson V600 is a decent cheap option that also will do negatives, 35mm and 120. Comes with ok software too and a free copy of Silverfast 8.

Thanks.

wiltw said:
Taken from this article:
https://www.lifewire.com/scanner-buying-guide-2769187

"Photo Scanners
Scanning documents doesn't require high resolution or color depth, but scanning photos does. Many all-purpose scanners scan photos, meaning that you don't need a separate device to handle your photographs. If you only use a scanner to digitize film negatives or slides, a photo scanner is a better deal. However, it may be more expensive than an all-purpose scanner.

Photo scanners include specialized technology that deals with slides and negatives. These scanners also offer built-in software to clean up old photos. The Epson FastFoto FF-640 scanner, for example, is a great photo scanner. It costs a bit more than an average scanner or printer. Photo scanners like these come with adapters for scanning slides and negatives and scan at higher resolutions than other types of scanners."

The FF-640 is now going for $1K+ USD. It's older brother The FF-680 is going for $600. I've looked into them and I should have picked one up back when the price was normal.

grat · Aug 16, 2021

There's a FF-680W refurb on Epson's site for $400.

I'm not sure how happy I'd be with only 600 DPI, though. Maybe I should try running a photo or two through my Fuji ScanSnap 1300 (also 600 DPI).

A3 Flatbed Scanner Recommendations

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