I have tested recently and in the past , Drum Scanners , Imocan and Creo Eversmart.

I own Epson1000xl , Fuji 2500 , Imocan and now Creo Eversmart. Also I have access to a ICG drum scanner.

After years of searching scanning and printing thousands of images I would have to say they are pretty much equal . The big issue is as Dan points out the service and parts, I was seriously looking at the Aztek Premier he had and tested it against the Imocan, and the Creo Eversmart Supreme.

Twice now with different operators on Aztek ,Imocan and ICG scan we scanned common negatives by good operators on their machine, I then made 30 x40 inch prints on high gloss material , I tried to balance each scan as close as possible.

Each time I would have over 10 clients, staff, myself blind test the images and rate the quality of final print, I did not tell the viewers which one was which.

Each time I got a pretty even draw on which print was best and this last time the Creo and the Aztek were top with Imocan close behind. ( each scanner got votes so it was not a slam dunk)

So I decided to buy the Creo, sorry Dan, but as he points out the parts and service are a huge concern to anyone , as well as support. Genesis Equipment ( Mike Streeter) is in Michigan and I purchased the Creo with regular mounts and oil mount capability. We could drive to pick up the machine and he is close to visit for service.

I am completely satisfied with this decision as the Eversmart delivers huge, high quality scans, It has a large platform so I can scan both negative, positive and flat art up to 12 x18 and at 16 bit
so I have a lot of headroom when editing.

As Dan mentioned the relationship with the vendor is critical and Michael has been nothing short of phenomenal in his patience with me as I learn the machine.
He can drive the machine from his home in Michigan and I can watch him work and this has been fantastic and is part of his service and I think critical. As I would be
lost trying to figure out the machine by myself in a very busy shop.

Critical for any scanner is a clean work area, good humidity, and a good understanding of how the end points work and when you will be above the different paper fall off points.


I also like how Bernice explains things and I would give a big plus 1 on that post.