Best colormatching scanner.....and printer? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

scoobydugan · 06-02-2005, 07:03 PM

I was wondering what is the best colormatching scanner for around $200. Same question but for a printer(has to use pigment based ink i.e epson durabrite) upto $300?

shakran · 06-02-2005, 07:31 PM

I've gotten really good results off of Canon's LED scanners. They use three colors of LEDs (RGB) to scan the document, and white balance off the platten cover. Very reliable color matching every time. Way better than my old fluorescent scanner,w hich always scanned green.

As for the printer. . .well.. .good luck. Printers are CMYK, monitors are RGB. Getting them to match can be a hassle. The Epson stylus photo line of printers make pretty darn good prints though. I'd probably look there.

portereight · 06-03-2005, 05:07 AM

Color matching is not guaranteed no matter what combination of scanner, monitor, printer you have. You have to calibrate your system to get anywhere close to color fidelity. You will need to generate .icc profiles for printers monitors and scanners. These profiles basically tell software how the device interprets colors so that software can make corrections where necessary to ensure consistency. On a Mac this is made somewhat easier as display calibration is built into the OS so color is consistent across all applications. On the PC you have to use some kind of third party program to allow you to alter the way color is displayed.
The simplest system I've seen to calibrate the imaging chain is Monaco EZ Color. This software simply walks you through setting up your profiles. If you have good light you can't go wrong.
I work as an architectural illustrator and I have found color matching can be a nightmare particularly when working in a mixed Mac and Windows environment.
- Good luck.

06-02-2005, 07:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
scoobydugan Crazy	Best colormatching scanner.....and printer? I was wondering what is the best colormatching scanner for around $200. Same question but for a printer(has to use pigment based ink i.e epson durabrite) upto $300?

06-02-2005, 07:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	I've gotten really good results off of Canon's LED scanners. They use three colors of LEDs (RGB) to scan the document, and white balance off the platten cover. Very reliable color matching every time. Way better than my old fluorescent scanner,w hich always scanned green. As for the printer. . .well.. .good luck. Printers are CMYK, monitors are RGB. Getting them to match can be a hassle. The Epson stylus photo line of printers make pretty darn good prints though. I'd probably look there.

06-03-2005, 05:07 AM	#3 (permalink)
portereight Crazy	Color matching is not guaranteed no matter what combination of scanner, monitor, printer you have. You have to calibrate your system to get anywhere close to color fidelity. You will need to generate .icc profiles for printers monitors and scanners. These profiles basically tell software how the device interprets colors so that software can make corrections where necessary to ensure consistency. On a Mac this is made somewhat easier as display calibration is built into the OS so color is consistent across all applications. On the PC you have to use some kind of third party program to allow you to alter the way color is displayed. The simplest system I've seen to calibrate the imaging chain is Monaco EZ Color. This software simply walks you through setting up your profiles. If you have good light you can't go wrong. I work as an architectural illustrator and I have found color matching can be a nightmare particularly when working in a mixed Mac and Windows environment. - Good luck.