>Hi folks,
>
>I'm in the market for a scanner - well actually, we bought one, a Microtek
>Scanmaker X6EL, last week. It does a decent job on color, but scans of
>black & white images (especially drawings), are pretty bad. Very few of the
>lighter grays come through. This is the main reason we want a scanner - for
>b&w work. Microtek support has so far been unreachable. Does anyone have
>any ideas about this? Is it the scanner, or are we doing something wrong?
>
>If it's the scanner we're thinking of getting a more expensive one, in the
>$600-800 range - IF we can find one that does a good job on black and
>white. Research has turned up the Epson Expression 800 Artist Scanner
>($800.00), which is one of the few that mentions the range of greys it can
>support. Anyone know of this scanner? Any other suggestions?
>
>Thanks much for any input,
>
>Erica

Erica,

I get very respectable results from my old MicroteK IISP scanner.

How are you scanning your b&w artwork? If you are scanning for line...
getting a good scan takes a little work. Scan as a greyscale, then adjust
the contrast and brightness, eliminating light grey tones. Then convert to
a bitmap. I would suggest 600 dpi. If your scanner is not 600 dpi, then
scan 300 dpi at 200%.

I highly recommend the book REAL WORLD SCANNING AND HALFTONES.

Karen Ackoff
Assistant Professor of Fine Arts
Indiana University South Bend
1700 Mishawaka Avenue
South Bend, IN 36634
Ph: 219-237-4124
E-mail: [log in to unmask]