Ive been needing a printer for a while so today i decided to go get one, Mainly for printing ebay transaction There was a 40 dollar printer and a 50 dollar printer scanner so i was like what the hey Ill get a scanner to why not It has a little trouble getting those dark bronze coins, and some of the morgans luster, below are some pics of the scans, Not bad for 50 bucks id say.
If you want to add a nice background to your scans, instead of that ivory-looking dull back, you can do this: After you placed your coin face down to scan it, put on top of it a piece of paper or folder of any color. Then, scan the thing, and you'll get something like this: No fancy photoshop or anything involved, that's a regular scan with a dark blue regular folder behind the coin.
A scanner is best for paper- banknotes. For coins, it's okay for showing the coins in general. Scanner pics make the coins look dull. Camera pics work much better.
Scanner pics are just fine, as I said, for general shots. I've used it a few times when I'm in a hurry and just want to show a pic of a coin.
Scanners do an excellent job of showing off all the problems a coin may have in the worst possible light. Plus they are good for general shots, as stated. Since all the surfaces are not flat against the scan bed, the focus of the scan is not going to get everything in focus. Most coins in coin slabs or 2x2 holders tend to suffer from reflections and soft focus. The harsh lighting also causes inaccurate color representation and is difficult to depict true surfaces... and you can forget about picking up luster. Even a cheap digital camera with basic macro settings can net better coin pics if the above aspects are what you need to avoid or capture in images. Scanners are a must for note collectors. High resolution scans of fine engraving work are really nice for studying details on notes up close.
That's why I always scan my notes Chris, and I get great results. For my purposes, scans are fine for silver coins but not so for copper. As far as counterstamps go, I rarely get a decent scan so I always photograph them. On counterstamps the stamp almost always appears raised instead of incused due to inproper lighting angles and such. Only on very shallow punches are scans decent. Bruce
What kind/brand of scanner did you buy? I still have an HP ScanJet 3400C from 2001 that I have attached to my old Windows ME computer, it works, but will not work with Windows Vista.
I bought the Hp Deskjet 3050, I have it hooked up on my computer, windows vista, Its wireless thats another reason i bought it