Anyone know where I can see A3 scanners and not get sticker shock?
Can they networked? ie. can they be shared across the network, like a printer, with the files dropped onto the receiving computer?
Ta!
Kenneth
Bump. Same question here. My old scanner isn’t working with my XP x64 system, and was too small anyway, so I’m thinking of upgrading to a larger flatbed. My oracle bone rubbings are almost A3 size, and it would be nice to be able to scan them in one pass, if the machine isn’t too pricey. Failing that, something halfway between A4 and A3 would be acceptable; I’m looking for compatibility with XP 64-bit, hi-speed USB, a high-rise or removable lid, min. 2400 dpi (more is better), and 48-bit color depth, I guess. I like Epson’s one-touch button feature: pressing a button on the front of the scanner launches the software of your choice for the scan.
I do not need doc sheet feeding or a transparency adaptor.
Cheap is good, of course.
Any leads?
Sorry nothing came up except that I found A3 scanners hugely expensive.
Kenneth
Can you define ‘hugely’ for me? Roughly? :s
Over NT$10,000 and upwards - Quickly!
Kenneth
¡Ay, caramba! 
All my A3-size stuff is black and white. Heck, I’d settle for a greyscale scanner in that size if that’s what it takes to get the price way down, then I’d add a cheapie color scanner in A4 size on the side. Do they make greyscale A3’s? :help:
Mustek make some that aren’t too pricey (under US$200), but I’ve no idea if they’re any good, or even if they’re available in Taiwan. Google some combination of “mustek a3 scanner” and you might find something.
OT - how is the new PC? Nam’s building me one now that’s almost the same as he built for you (except with 4GB RAM), I should have it in a couple of days.
I’ll try that, thanks!
Nice – still getting used to it. Photoshop runs quickly. The Liquify filter is still dog slow to load, but once it’s up, the changes appear instantly, which never happened before; I used to have to wait ages for them. Nam provides very good service too.
So far, I’m finding
shopping.pchome.com.tw/?mod=item … -A01722400 for 29900 yes, that’s right!
and
shopping.pchome.com.tw/?mod=item … -A13034292 for 9900
and
that’s it!
Wow, Ken, since May 2002 we’ve only squeezed 913 posts out of you, but mention a scanner, and you reply like lightning! 
Thanks much!!! I looked up a Mustek A3 here
http://www.mustek.com/ProductDetail.aspx?product=ScanExpress%20A3%20USB
but it doesn’t mention running on Windows XP 64-bit, which is why my current one stopped being useful.
The physical size is nice, though – better than the big clunky ones in the other links. I don’t want any bells and whistles, doc trays, etc.
I’m quite willing to accept the lower resolution or go grayscale to get a low price; I can hook up my old scanner to Dragonbabe’s PC or to my old notebook for the occasional color scan or pick up a second scanner for $1k for that purpose. Mustek’s A3 says:
Resolution
• Optical: 300 dpi (H) x 600 dpi (V)
• Maximum: 9600 dpi (H) x 9600 dpi (V) (Software interpolated)
I’ve read that one should ignore the software interpolated resolution figures, so this is just a 300 dpi (low res!) scanner, right? Even cheap A4’s come in around 2400+, right? For my ancient rubbings, 300 dpi is fine, so I might go with this, if I can find an XP x64 driver. I’ll check Mustek’s website next.
I took a look and didn’t see any 64bit drivers. It’s also USB1.1 which would be very, very slow, even if a driver was available.
Thanks, I checked too. Nothing listed. I emailed customer support but am expecting a ‘sorry, no’. If this were really my only option for affordable A3, I could live with USB1.1, but frankly, I’m pretty disappointed in the A3 offerings. What, no one has books or magazines larger than A4 that they might want to scan a page from? Tax dox etc. are often larger than A4. I can’t believe the market hasn’t filled the >A4 home use niche. :loco:
It’s like that for printers too. The cheapest A3 photo printer is around $20K, whereas A4 photo printers are about $3K. A3 office printers start at about $7500, and A4 at $1000.
Are there any sizes between the two?
Not that I know of.