The Large Format Scanner

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Large format scanners are required and used by many businesses, manufacturers, and even art museums to name a few. They allow anyone with the technical know how, how to scan paintings, newspaper, blueprints, and other documents that are much too large to be scanned with regular flatbed scanners.

You can find large format scanners in a few different styles that allow better scanning for certain types of projects. Some scanners are sheet fed, some flatbed, and some are even designed to be waved over the item to be scanned. All of these scanners are capable of producing high quality representations and have software to match their capabilities.

When we mention large format scanning, there are two thoughts that come to mind. The first is often thought in terms of pixels or resolution of a picture. But in fact, true large format scanners are intended for large physical items as mentioned above.

The biggest downside to these types of computer scanners is that they cost a lot of money. This makes it extremely important to understand your scanning needs. Here is a look at 2 large format scanners for you to consider.

The Epson Expression 10000XL large format scanner is a flatbed photo scanner. It is designed to scan photos with incredible accuracy, 2,400 x 4,800 pixel resolution. It can scan a3 sized photographs which is about 12.2” x 17.2” and has the ability to scan slides or film negatives. One of the great benefits of this scanner is that it is so incredibly precise that you can actually take a photograph of a leaf and see the cells of the leaf without using a microscope. The downside is the price. You can buy the Epson Expression 10000XL for about $1999. This is definitely something that a serious scanner or photo lab expert would consider for professional use.

For serious scanning professionals, the HP Designjet 4500 large format scanner is the cream of the crop. This scanner is a roller scanner which means that you literally roll the item you want to scan over the surface of the table. The scanning table also includes its own monitor so you can modify your scan and preview it while you are scanning. We would recommend this type of scanner for scanning artwork or blueprints. This scanner works with PC, Unix, and MAC systems so there is no need to worry about it being incompatible with your operating system. The biggest concern is again, the price. A refurbished Designjet 4500 will cost about $6500 where as brand new it would be closer to $10000 for this large format scanner.