Scanner Recommendation Please

[xwordmad]

Hi, I want to de-clutter and scan my old photos and paperwork. Can anyone recommend a decent scanner - reasonable price. Thanks.

[Buenchico]

At one time the scanners built into 'all-in-one' printers were generally nowhere near as good as standalone flatbed scanners. These days though they're just as good for everyday scanning tasks. So, if you've already got an 'all-in-one' printer, you've almost certainly already got a scanner which is up to the job. If not, I'd suggest this:
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/printers-scanners-and-ink/printers/canon-pixma-mg5750-all-in-one-wireless-inkjet-printer-10143745-pdt.html
(It's the updated version of the model I've got myself. It produces excellent scans despite having a resolution somewhat lower than some standalone scanners).

If you need a higher resolution (which you probably don't anyway for your needs) then I'd suggest sticking with Canon and considering this standalone scanner
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/printers-scanners-and-ink/scanners/canon-canoscan-lide-120-flatbed-scanner-10029719-pdt.html
or this
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/printers-scanners-and-ink/scanners/canon-canoscan-lide-220-flatbed-scanner-10029726-pdt.html

The foregoing assumes that you'll only want to scan photographic prints (and documents), rather than negatives or slides. If you need a film scanner you can either seek out a dedicated one (as well as buying a flatbed scanner) or consider this, from Epson, to do both tasks:
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/printers-scanners-and-ink/scanners/epson-v370-perfection-flatbed-scanner-20023039-pdt.html
(At one time the film scanner facility built into flatbed scanners was little more than a joke but nowadays you can get good quality results from them. I'd only consider using a standalone film scanner, as well as a flatbed scanner, if you've got a large number of negatives or slides to scan, as they can be a lot quicker to use).

[xwordmad]

Thank you, very useful links. When I do start scanning, what will the document open in, will it be a pdf? What's the difference between pdf and tiff etc? thank you

[Buenchico]

You can choose the type of file you want for the scanner's output. For photographs I'd always choose jpeg (.jpg). It's the compressed format which all digital cameras use by default.

For documents PDF might be a suitable format unless, say, you wanted to embed the image into another document. (For example, you might be writing your memoirs and want to write "Here's what my very first school report looked like", with a picture of it appended). Under those circumstances, jpeg would again be your best choice.

Note that, while most scanners (including those which come as part of an all-in-one device) have an automatic 'Scan' button on them, you'll get far more control of your scans if you use software on your computer to take control of your scanner. (For example, you'll be able to crop that old newspaper report of your success in the Cub Scout sports day to remove the corset advert which appeared alongside it. You'll also be able to get rid of the yellowing of the newspaper). Most scanners come with suitable software or you can use almost any image-editing program and go to File > Acquire to import a scan into it.