Cheapest Drum Scanner?

[Dvenosa]

For how "little" can I get a drum scanner? I dont mind slow scanning times and using old computers (pre-power pc macs).

[paul stimac]

I tried this once. I bought a used drum scanner for $1800... It worked 1 day. I got a quote for $4,000 to get it fixed. Now I just send out what my Epson can't handle.

[Dvenosa]

wow...sorry to hear that, mate. I guess Im going to save a little more money and buy an Imacon.

[vinny]

I got mine for $226 on ebay. It included a mounting station, computer, external hard drive, and software. GOOD LUCK beating that. It runs great.

[Bruce Watson]

You can get them for free if you are willing to pick them up. I've seen some old Hell scanners go like this. Now, they weigh more than 2500 Kgs, and you have to shore up your floor to hold them. They take a rigger with a crane to move, and they require three phase electrical power. But.... they are free. Hard to beat the price. And for this you get excellent scan performance and huge drum size. But only 8 bit captures. Sorry.

The old Hells are of course an extreme case. My point being that drum scanners as a class of equipment very widely in size, weight, environmental and power requirements, and of course capabilities.

That said, once you have one you have to learn how to use it. There are a number of learning curves to traverse, and for most scanners it's somewhat difficult to impossible to find anyone to teach you. So you're on your own to learn esoteric stuff. And you are also generally on your own to maintain and repair them.

If you stick to current manufacturers (so you can get parts and service if you actually need it) then your price to buy a used scanner will shoot up. This is because having parts and service available makes these used scanners considerably more valuable to everyone else too.

I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that you should really consider the total cost of ownership. The purchase price is just a small consideration in the larger cost of ownership.

Me? I've got two working drum scanners, and two more non-working "parts boxes" that I can rob parts from to keep the other two going. This is not the recipe for making a happy spouse I can assure you. And that's yet another part of the total owning cost.

[daverich4]

I bought a Screen 1030ai on Ebay for $700 a couple of months ago. I bought it specifically to scan a large quantity of B&W negs my Dad shot during the war. So far I've done over 150 scans without a problem. I originally bought an Epson 750 and the Better Scanning film holder to do the scans but found the quality to be unacceptable. For basically the same price, the Screen is a huge step up.

-dave-

[IanMazursky]

Bruce explained it very well. It all boils down too Caveat Emptor! Let the buyer be ware!

Drum scanners are precision machines. They are easily damaged in shipping or from years of abuse and misuse. There are many junkers floating around on ebay. I have heard some interesting horror stories.
If it looks to good to be true, it probably is. I once saw someone that sold the same drum scanner 3 or 4 times to different people.
It was an obvious scam and his feedback eventually proved it. Thats not to say that there arent some great deals to be had.
Before I purchased my Howtek 7500, I went to the guys house and tried it out. I made sure that i wasn't buying a lemon.
I recently bought another 7500 for parts just in case. Its a wise move for anyone that makes a living form drum scanning like i do.

The drums are very sensitive and are usually scratched up. I recently bought one for my Howtek 7500 on the bay.
The seller said it was in excellent condition but as you might have guessed, it was not. It was fairly cheap so i wasn't that pissed since i already have 3 good ones but still.......Just add it to the collection. It is going out next year for refinishing.

The older the scanner the more likely there will be problems. My old Optronics comes to mind. A great scanner in its day but if something goes wrong, your in deep. A simple problem becomes a huge one without support and your investment goes to the scrap heap.
I think i barely broke even on the Optronics before it passed on.

There are only a few manufacturers still around that support the older drum scanners.
Aztek is fantastic and they continue to support the Howtek lines. I am forever in there debt for the help they have given me. They are also the US distributing warehouse for the Kami line of drum scanning fluids.

Learning the proper cleaning, mounting, calibrating.....techniques takes a serious investment in time and some money.
It does takes time to get it right. Lots of trial and errors (hopefully on junk film). But once you get the hang of it, it become second nature. I have been doing this for 7.5 years and I love every minute of it. Wow that sounded corny!

The good news is that drum scanning supplies are readily available from many sources in the US and quantity discounts really help keep the costs manageable. I just stocked up on Kami SMF (4 cases) to divert the inevitable rise in prices. I can feel it coming.
The prices for most of the supplies seem to be going through the roof. The worst is the mylar overlay, tape and film kleen.
Those will continue to rise because of there petroleum content.


For those interested in the art of drum scanning (Yes! its an art), check out the Yahoo group Scan Hi End (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ScanHi-End/). The group members are probably the best resource for drum scanning around. If you search the database, you will find tutorials and help on most of the scanner ever made.

[Geckophoto]

Well, I got my Screen DTS 1030 for $77.00 on Ebay...it works just FINE! Ran my first 8x10 test film the other day, been scanning other formats too, no mounting station but I"m learning how to do it right on the machine with acceptable results..here is my pic.

http://geckocustomlab.com/810film.jpg

[IanMazursky]

Looks good! How do the full res ones look?
Did you decide on fluid mounting or dry?