Hi Alex,
Are you only considering a traditional flatbed, i.e. the type where you place the item face-down on a glass surface, close the lid etc..or are you considering the more advanced system with a book cradle and the camera component pointing down ? Something like the CopiBook would be ideal, if you have the funds:
http://www.i2s-digibook.com/products/digitize/a2-book-scanner/
The choice of A2 flatbed is limited, i.e. I don't think Epson or Canon make anything.
If you're only going to be scanning single sheet objects, and not bound material, flatbeds can give excellent results. I personally prefer flatbeds for digitising photographs, although they are much slower than other types. You need to factor in scanning time. We do use photographic equipment here at Manchester for archival standard images, but these are very high-end digital medium format cameras with very high quality lenses - the overall cost is many times higher than a DSLR. We wouldn't use a DSLR for this type of work.
An advantage of high-end flatbeds is that they often allow scanning of photographic transparencies, which might be beneficial in the long term.
Hope this helps,
Regards, Ben.
Ben Green | Digitisation Infrastructure Manager | The University of Manchester Library | The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PP | Tel: 0161 306 4935 | [log in to unmask] | www.manchester.ac.uk/library
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-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alex Smith
Sent: 15 February 2013 11:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: large flatbed scanner - advice
Hi there,
I'm looking into getting a new scanner for our service. It is for scanning both images and documents to create archival quality digital surrogates. We are looking for something bigger than A3 as many of our collection items are bigger than this.
I know that most people are turning to DSLRs with copy stand instead of flatbed, but I’ve been asked to look into a flatbed solution. I wondered if anyone has any advice on a good large scale flatbed scanner?
Cheers,
Alex
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