So I met this guy online who works in the tv and film industry clearing art for sets. (I keep hoping he will contact me to get permission to use some of my art on a show or in a movie but alas, not yet!) He recently emailed and asked what kind of scanning services artists in licensing use. I told him I thought most of us did our own scanning in our studios. I know I do, and I know I’ve read other blogs about how to scan things that are bigger than your scanner, etc. I told him I’d ask for feedback and see if I was correct in my assumptions.
If you want to be quick about it, here’s a fast poll. If you are open to sharing more details, let us know what size, make and model scanner you use, how you like it, etc. Or let us know if you have someone else do your scanning for you. This could become a great product review for artists looking to buy or upgrade their scanner as well.
[polldaddy poll=4355664]
Thank you in advance for your feedback!
– Tara Reed
When I started out and didn’t know any better, I used an HP Officejet All-in-One. Not surprisingly, I soon found out that most artists seem to write those off as not good enough. I don’t know if I got a special machine or what, but mine gets fabulous results. I’ve been selling prints for 5 years now and have always gotten excellent feedback about my prints. We all know paper and printer plays a huge part in the quality…but so does the initial scan.
My scanner is 8.5″ x 11″ and most of my work is bigger than that, so I scan in sections and then stitch them together digitally. (It takes good eyes and steady hands but it’s totally possible to get a clean, seamless final file!)
But one thing you have to be SUPER careful about…if that little ledge surrounding the glass on the scanner bed is too deep, you will not be able to get a clean scan of anything over 8.5″ x 11″. I got a new HP All-In-one and I don’t ever use the scanner portion. If you try to scan anything bigger than the scan bed, it’s blurry and pretty awful.
This is a fantastic question because I have done a fair amount of research to see what kind of new printer/scanner to get, and have not been able to develop conclusive results.
I currently use a scanner that is part of my MP470, which is not a high end machine, but has worked fine for me. I also use VueScan, which is a software which is very good at giving you far better scans than most other softwares.
If the scanner is not working – let’s say I have flourescent colors in a painting, which do not capture well in a scanner, or I have a big painting, I take pictures outside with my Canon Rebel T1i.
Have an amazing day!
Creative Christine
I am fortunate to have a Cruse scanner available to me nearby. This is the Rolls Royce of scanners in my opinion. No desktop machine can come anywhere near the quality that this machine produces. It does a direct scan of art up to I believe a 40″ X 60″ scanned directly on the bed. The Smithsonian uses one. Most other scanners are toys compared to this. It requires a small room to fit the machine all by itself and they aren’t cheap so I don’t even think about buying one.