Transportation of large format flatbed scanners

[bohngy]

Hi all, I'm a long-time lurker and today is the first time I've needed to post a question that isn't otherwise answered on these forums!

Well today I made the leap into the world of big heavy scanners (for scanning my 4x5s) - I secured an esko Scanmate F8 on ebay. So the question begs.... does anyone know how I can move it? Am I able to lie it down in the back of my estate car? do these scanners have locking heads for transit?

any advice gratefully received, and thanks for all the info I've gleaned from these pages over the years.

[sanking]

Most scanners have a protocol for locking down the head and securing the scanner to be moved. That information should be in the scanner manual, if that is available. You definitely do not want to move a scanner without securing it.

Sandy King

Hi all, I'm a long-time lurker and today is the first time I've needed to post a question that isn't otherwise answered on these forums!

Well today I made the leap into the world of big heavy scanners (for scanning my 4x5s) - I secured an esko Scanmate F8 on ebay. So the question begs.... does anyone know how I can move it? Am I able to lie it down in the back of my estate car? do these scanners have locking heads for transit?

any advice gratefully received, and thanks for all the info I've gleaned from these pages over the years.

[Mark Sawyer]

Sandy is correct, and speaking from expert personal opinion, unlocking the head after transport will save perhaps thirty minutes of colorful language directed at the error message during your next scan.

[IanMazursky]

Proper lockdown of the moving head is very important or flatbeds as well as drum scanners. Its all to easy to damage a very expensive and precision device.
There is an option if you cant find or the lockdown is damaged.
But I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it. In the car, tilt the scanner so the scanning head is in the home position. Keep it tilted the whole time so it doesn't move during travel.

Properly locking it down is preferred to this method. Most flatbeds have either a metal locking flange or a plastic tab with a lock symbol on it. The head usually has to be in the home position to lock it down.

Before powering it, remember to unlock it. If you dont, there is a chance that you can damage the motor, belts, sensors and tabs beyond repair. Ive seen it and its not pretty at all.

[Lenny Eiger]

There are also special types of shippers that will insure that fragile equipment is taken care of differently. You can't use Fedex or UPS. I have used TrumpCard before with some success.

That's of you're not moving it yourself...

Lenny