Digital BW, The Print

----- Original Message -----
From: <sdmey4@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 1:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] scanners


> In a message dated 3/11/2003 12:59:09 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> mark@... writes:
> Snip>
> > Just keep in mind that these bargain drum scanners like my Howtek are
about
> > >10 years old at this point and repairs are expensive. Someone recently
> > >bought one with loading station and software for $1,300 but it died
almost
> > >immediately and had to be shipped off to be repaired. Shipping is not a
> > >trivial matter since they are heavy beasts. Mine weighs 150 pounds and
is
> > >about 24" by 36".
> > Hey Martin that was me! Just checking in. The main reason It died
> Immediately was because it was shipped to me improperly and the alignment
got
> out of whack so it couldn't calibrate! Got the scanner back from Aztek
> finally Last Week, I bought the scanner in Dec 2002. Shipped from Texas to
> Seattle, and Seattle round trip to Southern California. You can't just put
> them in a box and Ship. They are very, very sensitive to rough handling.
If
> the original shipping crate from Howtek was available that would make me
feel
> much better about buying another that needed to be shipped.
> The standard Howtek Service is 900.00 That got it going and up to spec. I
> added one of the more expensive fans that was making noise that cleaning
> didn't help so that was another 150.00 Shipping was 460.00 round trip. A
> major Hassle.
> But Now I'm up and running and actually think it was worth it! I was
tempted
> to write it off many times. 1500.00 for the scanner, 1500 in repairs and
> shipping and close to 2000.00 for DigitalPhotoLab Howtek software. So I'm
at
> 5k
> I would suggest buying from a dealer that has them guaranteed or if you
buy
> on the cheap just have it sent directly to Aztek for a Maitenance Service
> @900.00
> Finally all is good.
> For scanner buyers out there, and I'm sure Martin will agree, Buy the best
> scanner you can afford, or you'll be replacing you budget models on a
regular
> basis.
> Steven Meyers
>
Steve,

Glad to hear you got the scanner back without having to do any major
repairs. At this point you should be in really good shape with it. Let me
know how you like DigitalPhotoLab. I passed in favor of Silverfast strictly
for economic reasons. $1,300 vs. $2,100 at the time.

The scanner game is a lot like the enlarger game. Start out with a small
35mm enlarger, then trade it for a medium format, then a 4x5 each time
taking a loss. All together I am probably out of pocket close to $10,000
over 3 years for scanning solutions. Of course 3 years ago the Howtek would
probably have set me back $10,000+ proving that the bleeding edge does
indeed bleed you dry!

Martin Wesley