this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2024
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Buy it for Life

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Basic Scanner (as close to BIFL as possbile) (lemmy.world)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by wolfeh to c/[email protected]
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22583951

I'm currently still using my CanoScan F910114 from ~2006 (pictured). The light recently burned out, but it still works for scanning documents if I add some contrast and brightness after the fact. Not great for photographs, though.

If I'm not able to replace the light, I might be in the market for a new scanner. Are there any that you all recommend for durability and potential repairability?

Obviously no electronics are truly going to be BIFL, but I figure I can at least aim high and see what I can find.

Edit: Thank you all for your replies! I'm probably going to go for a used Epson Perfection v600 or v700. I've learned a lot about scanners following your leads.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

i found one of these in the Street recently, brought it to school and home.. sad to say, its broken.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 days ago

I bought a brother toner printer with a scanner over ten years ago. It's still going. I buy a package of toner a year, maybe. 10/10 would reccomend.

[–] cosmicrookie 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

unless it is part of multi machine from HP, in which case, if you happen to use incorrect ink cartridges, or you have had your unit too long, all features will stop working even though they are not dependent.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

I have no love or brand loyalty, but the color laser printer i have from HP has been great. I've had it a little over three years, and when I bought it, printers were hard to find. So I couldn't get a Brother at the time.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

Got one of those LIDE scanners back in the day in college. It was USB-powered so I could go to the university library with my laptop, and scan book excerpts to PDF instead of having to pay copying fees. OCR so it was searchable too. Was so dope. Still have it, bet it still works.

WEEKEND PROJECT!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

How often do you plan to use it?

I basically replaced my flatbed scanner with my phone. A good document scanner app, and it couldn't be easier or more convenient to scan vs. before.

Is that an option for you?

[–] wolfeh 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Not an option for me, I'm afraid. If I were casually scanning a few documents here or there a phone app might be okay, but I have a lot of old photographs to scan. I really need the accuracy and quality of a proper flatbed scanner. :3

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

but I have a lot of old photographs to scan.

Ah, yes. I was in the same situation, and it would have been impractical for me to use my smartphone. I was lucky enough to have access to a high-end document scanner, which really made the process easy.

I wish I had something specific to offer you, but best of luck in your search!

[–] wolfeh 1 points 2 days ago

No worries! Thank you for your response. :3

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

For photos the epson v800/v850 seem to be the standard. You can also get the v700/v750 second hand and it's just a bit slower.

[–] wolfeh 1 points 2 days ago

Ooh, those are scanners I aspire to own. I probably shouldn't be spending v800/850 money, but a used v700/v750? That's looking tempting.

They even provide Linux drivers.

Thank you for your help!

[–] recklessengagement 1 points 4 days ago

Fujitsu ix1600

Expensive but extremely worth it

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

I need something like this with the document feeder. My laser printer is just a printer without scanner

[–] Bonesince1997 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I wish I had one of these again. I used to use a combo printer/scanner back in the day. Good for scanning CDs for their cover art, ones that are harder to simply find good art for already on the internet (when ripping those CDs into digital files).