Opinions: Is it worth buying a see-thru scanner for waterslide decals?
LRP
I am doing some restoration work on a '76 Satin Doll, and I'm
basically wondering about doing EXACTLY what's outlined on
http://www.pinrepair.com/restore/kppf.htm. The sticking point is that
I don't have the scanner. I have no problems buying one, but I'm
essentially wondering if they're worth having? In the grand scheme of
things, putting out $100 on eBay is no big deal if I'm going to use
the living daylights out of it over the course of a few years. With
that said, I've never prior to this point thought "Man, I wish I had a
see-thru flatbed scanner!" Any opinions would be appreciated. Also,
if anyone knows the difference between the HP 4600 and HP4670
scanners, I'd like to know. Thanks for your time.
Luke
chuck
> Hi all,
>
> I am doing some restoration work on a '76 Satin Doll, and I'm
> I don't have the scanner. I have no problems buying one, but I'm
> essentially wondering if they're worth having? In the grand scheme of
> things, putting out $100 on eBay is no big deal if I'm going to use
> the living daylights out of it over the course of a few years. With
> that said, I've never prior to this point thought "Man, I wish I had a
> see-thru flatbed scanner!" Any opinions would be appreciated. Also,
> if anyone knows the difference between the HP 4600 and HP4670
> scanners, I'd like to know. Thanks for your time.
>
> Luke
When I did the waterslide decals I used my digital slr to get the
images. I did have to do a little bit of warping to make it perfect
but it didnt take much
Mike Mills
>
> I am doing some restoration work on a '76 Satin Doll, and I'm
> I don't have the scanner. I have no problems buying one, but I'm
> essentially wondering if they're worth having? In the grand scheme of
> things, putting out $100 on eBay is no big deal if I'm going to use
> the living daylights out of it over the course of a few years. With
> that said, I've never prior to this point thought "Man, I wish I had a
> see-thru flatbed scanner!" Any opinions would be appreciated. Also,
> if anyone knows the difference between the HP 4600 and HP4670
> scanners, I'd like to know. Thanks for your time.
>
> Luke
I have an HP4670, and I use it quite a lot. It's showing it's age,
but it does work in Windows 7 and I've been able to use it to get
pretty darned accurate scans. It's pretty good at getting side art
and playfield scans, but as compared to a more modern scanner, the
resolution is really limited (400dpi or so before it begins to multi-
pass when scanning a full platen) and there are definite color
inconsistencies at least with mine. When it begins to multi-pass, it
will back up the scanning head and scan the same area a second time -
this usually results in very small inaccuracies in the scan. It also
has a tendancy to be a bit too big to fit in some places without
having to disassemble playfield parts or removing cabinet parts. The
whole scanner needs to be flat against the item being scanned,
otherwise the image will get a bit skewed. Lastly, I notice a tiny
amount of inaccuracy in the sizing of the scan versus "real life".
This is present in many consumer-grade scanners, but is a bit more
noticeable in the 4670. Just be aware of that flaw and you can easily
compensate in your editing software. Scan graph paper or an accurate
ruler, and you'll get a good idea on the skew. It's tiny, but it
matters in reproduction.
It probably sounds like I don't like the scanner, but really, it's a
unique and pretty awesome piece of technology. I keep other scanners
that work better for traditional scans, but this one is not leaving my
collection unless somebody makes a modern replacement. Just
understand that it has it's own limitations and you will be able to
work around them without any trouble.
Joe Entropy
with it. In addition to scanning pinball related stuff for
restoration, my wife used it to scan a wallpaper design she wanted to
reproduce, and my daughter carried it with her to the National
Archives to scan some photos for stuff she's doing for the National
Pinball Museum.
Joe
Hans
IIRC the 4600 and 4670 were the same basic scanner model, but the 4670
added the backlighting attachment for transparencies.
Good scanner so far, but I do have banding issues with mine that I
haven't gotten totally worked out yet (haven't used it THAT much yet).
-Hans
Steve Yates
>
> I am doing some restoration work on a '76 Satin Doll, and I'm
> I don't have the scanner. I have no problems buying one, but I'm
> essentially wondering if they're worth having? In the grand scheme of
> things, putting out $100 on eBay is no big deal if I'm going to use
> the living daylights out of it over the course of a few years. With
> that said, I've never prior to this point thought "Man, I wish I had a
> see-thru flatbed scanner!" Any opinions would be appreciated. Also,
> if anyone knows the difference between the HP 4600 and HP4670
> scanners, I'd like to know. Thanks for your time.
>
> Luke
See if this works for you. If so you can save the money for the
scanner.
http://tools.reelpinball.com/instructions.php
Steve Yates
Team-EM
http://REELpinball.com
LRP
Thanks for the suggestions. I ended up buying one on eBay; I
figured that for $30, it probably can't hurt to have kicking around.
I'll snap some pictures of how the decals turn out once it shows up.
Luke