Printer with Photo Scanning

DE_612183

Hi all, I'm looking for a new printer that that I can also use to scan some old photos ( b&w and colour ).

My old printer has scan resolution of "Up to 1200 dpi (optical)"

But it was quite old - should I be looking for something that has a higher or lower dpi?

Thanks

Mark_d

If the high quality scanning of these photos is important to you, then I would buy a separate printer and scanner.

EssexExile

My HP Envy 6022 scans at 1200 dpi and I find that fine for scanning photos into the computer and printing out. I suppose it all depends on what quality you want.

Vitor

Better to take to a bureau for drum scanning IMHO. 

DullGreyGuy

DE_612183 said:

Hi all, I'm looking for a new printer that that I can also use to scan some old photos ( b&w and colour ).

My old printer has scan resolution of "Up to 1200 dpi (optical)"

But it was quite old - should I be looking for something that has a higher or lower dpi?

The higher the DPI, in principle, the better the image could be but like most things the quality is only as good as its weakest component. A higher DPI however will also make scanning slower and the files larger and so some will choose a balance. 

Is it just photos you want to scan or slides/negatives as well? You can get reasonable results for photos in a standard mutli-function printer. There are certainly better results to be had with a dedicated machine. If you are wanting to scan negatives then that puts things into a whole different area

DE_612183

DullGreyGuy said:

DE_612183 said:

Hi all, I'm looking for a new printer that that I can also use to scan some old photos ( b&w and colour ).

My old printer has scan resolution of "Up to 1200 dpi (optical)"

But it was quite old - should I be looking for something that has a higher or lower dpi?

The higher the DPI, in principle, the better the image could be but like most things the quality is only as good as its weakest component. A higher DPI however will also make scanning slower and the files larger and so some will choose a balance. 

Is it just photos you want to scan or slides/negatives as well? You can get reasonable results for photos in a standard mutli-function printer. There are certainly better results to be had with a dedicated machine. If you are wanting to scan negatives then that puts things into a whole different area

Just photos.

I didn't really want to fork out for a dedicated machine, which would probably be for a one time exercise...

uknick

If you want to print them out, having a printer with a DPI less than the scanner may well negate the better DPI scans.  As most lasers print at 600 dpi, are you wasting your money on a higher resolution scanner than you currently have?

DE_612183

uknick said:

If you want to print them out, having a printer with a DPI less than the scanner may well negate the better DPI scans.  As most lasers print at 600 dpi, are you wasting your money on a higher resolution scanner than you currently have?

No, I only want the digital versions

bob_a_builder

The true optical resolution of the majority of 'normal' scanners is 600dpi, anything above that would be an interpolated resolution