What Exactly Is A Scanner? (For Images)

I guess somebody should say this: Today, most printers are also scanners. I use an Epson WF-3620. Much more than I need and it takes up space, but it was on sale.

Don

Be aware though, that the image quality from most "all in one" units are usually not as good as those from a dedicated flatbed scanner.

I'm quoting this for truth. My HP 3 in 1 printer / copier / scanner just died and since I can live without the printer and the replacement ink costs I moved to a Canon flatbed scanner. It really is night and day difference and the flatbed scans are much better quality, not to mention much more accurate with colors and shades.

I'd also add that the software and settings that are used play a critical role in image quality.

It's best if you can scan without any enhancement settings and do any post processing with an additional piece of software. This allows you to control the enhancements instead of the scanner software.

Use caution when using software to 'enhance' images. First, you are dialing in the image to look 'better' only on your monitor. Second, it is one thing to make an image look 'better' for your own purposes, it is another to make an image look 'better' if you are using the image to sell the item. For example, there are thousands of stamp listing on ebay right now where the seller has over-saturated the image colors to make the stamp look 'better'.

For the most part, many buyers would prefer an image which has not been highly manipulated but rather reflects the way the stamp actually appears when viewed under natural light as opposed to some sharpen, over-saturated image.
Don

One also needs to realize the device (scanner or camera) does processing to create the initial image so it is already a processed image. The key is to insure the camera/scanner settings are set to the least enhancing mode. This may not be the default since they often want a nice looking image to improve customer satisfaction (a little sharpening, increase color saturation).